The Ultimate Fighting Championship started life as a no-holds barred event intended to showcase the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu against other styles. The first event was held in 1993 in Denver, Colorado and had very few rules. It was less a sport and much more about fighting. Royce Gracie, representing the Gracie family and their style of Jiu Jitsu, dominated his opposition and beat three opponents on his way to claiming the first title, despite his apparent lack of size or strength. This win had far more significance for the Gracie family than it did for the UFC; Brazilian Jiu Jitsu exploded onto the martial arts scene and became popular throughout the world. The Ultimate Fighting Championship itself, as an event, was a success but not an overnight sensation.
The first event was a result of the collaboration of Art Davie, an entrepreneur with an interest in Gracie Jiu Jitsu and the man who made the initial suggestion, and Rorion Gracie (representing the Gracie family) and John Milius, a film director and BJJ student. Drawing over 85,000 pay-per-view customers it was decided that a second tournament be held. The original approach taken at UFC 1 was styled on an 8-man knockout approach. Therefore the winner would have to defeat three opponents to become the champion on the same night. The number of competitors was expanded to 16 for the second event, an event Royce Gracie won again after defeating four opponents.
The sport was violent and that undoubtedly attracted some of the early viewers. A sense of realism was missing from other martial arts sporting events and the movie industry at the time was saturated with low quality products featuring gifted martial artists who couldn't act. The UFC was definitely something new. At the same time, this realism was its own enemy and John McCain in particular took offense to what he saw as 'human cockfighting' and urged states throughout the US to ban the sport.
Faced with widespread banning the organization began to amend its rules to help sanitize the sport. Weight classes were introduced, followed by the mandatory use of gloves. Various targets were prohibited, such as the groin and the back of the head and rounds of 5 minute duration appeared. Owners Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) fought to be sanctioned but nearly bankrupted themselves in the process. By the time UFC 28 - the first sanctioned event - rolled up SEG was looking to sell.
Dana White, a long time boxing fan, saw his chance. He enlisted the help of his millionaire friends, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, of Station Casinos fame, who bought the UFC for two million dollars in January 2001 to be controlled by the parent entity Zuffa, LLC. The curious thing about it was the the Fertittas weren't getting anything more than the name: UFC.
Importantly, Lorenzo had ties with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, along with millions of dollars to funnel into the new business venture. UFC 33 re-appeared on pay-per-view and featured three championship bouts. The long, slow climb back to profitability and worldwide domination had begun.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship began to gain a higher profile, and events were held in larger, more prestigious locations. Fox Sports Net aired the first show on American cable in June 2002. The fighters that would become household names and identifiable with the UFC brand were also competing at this time: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture.
UFC 40 was the next high point with a grudge match between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. A record 150,000 pay-per-view customers watched the fight, more than three times what was normal, and ESPN and USA Today showed an interest. Zuffa was still struggling and still losing money ($34 million by 2004) but there was finally a hint of what kind of success the brand could potentially achieve. Other prominent fighters also made their first appearances, among them Georges St Pierre, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin and Frank Mir, all of whom would go on to become champions.
Pay-per-view sales dropped once more, and at this point Lorenzo asked Dana to start looking at how much he would be able to get if the UFC was sold. Coming back with a figure, Lorenzo decided to sleep on it. The next morning he contacted Dana and said he would try to hold on and make the company profitable. It seems that the desperate situation caused the neurons to go into overdrive and a new concept was launched: The Ultimate Fighter. This was to be a reality TV show with fighters living and training together and engaging in a series of fights eliminating one another until a champion was left, with the winner getting a $100,000 contract to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Various networks were approached but the idea was rejected again and again. Finally Spike TV agreed to air the show, but only after Lorenzo agreed to foot the $10 million production bill himself.
The first coaches on the season were Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture and the final bout featured Forrest Griffin beating Stephan Bonnar. The show was immensely successful and Dana White admits that this saved the UFC from extinction. Interest not only in the fights and the fighters but in training in MMA skyrocketed and Mixed Martial Arts began what Joe Rogan has called the most important revolution in martial arts for hundreds of years.
Other series of The Ultimate Fighter featuring different coaches and fighters at different weight classes were produced and Spike began to broadcast other related shows on a regular basis.
As is customary, at the end of each TUF season the coaches face off in a headline event and UFC 52 Liddell vs Couture generated 300,000 pay-per-view sales. The sales figure finally broke one million with UFC 66 Liddell vs Ortiz. The rest, as they say, is history. Events are now televised around the world and several times a year fights are held overseas. In August 2011 a deal with Fox Sports was announced that will see the sport shown on prime time TV. Zuffa has continued to buy out competitor organizations and has brought more and more names into the parent organization. Almost all of the top fighters in MMA now either fight for The Ultimate Fighting Championship or have done in the past.
