Quite a lot of people are looking for information about the UFC. What is this abbreviation? UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship; Russian - Absolute Fighting Championship) is a sports association located in the United States of America, namely in Las Vegas. The organization specializes in conducting fights according to mixed rules. Such competitions are held almost all over the world.
Determining which martial art is most effective is the primary goal of the creators of UFC. What such a competition would be in the end, then few people understood, but it was conceived as a one-time one.
However, in 1993 success came to this type of competition, and the creators began to seriously engage in its dissemination. However, a number of changes had to be made in the UFC fights. What such a competition is being held, more and more people learned, and the organization gradually turned the fighting from a spectacle into a sport.
By 2012, under the auspices of the UFC, most famous fighters in various fighting styles are playing.
Appearance
The main contribution to the emergence of the UFC was made by a businessman from California, Art Davy. In the early 90s, he studied martial arts for his client and met Rorion Gracie. He ran one of the jujitsu schools in California. Soon, Dave became his student.
The Gracie family was famous for hosting the Vale Tudo. This type of competition is the forerunner of the UFC. What competition is there, Davy did not know, but was very interested when he heard. So, in 1992, Davy invited John Milius (American screenwriter) and Rorion to organize and conduct a competition of eight fighters, which was called the "War of the Worlds." The main task of the tournament was to identify which martial art is better.
Milius took the place of the creative director of the competition. Davy developed a business plan, and also found investors who invested funds to create WOW Promotions to launch a show on television.
In 1993, the organization began searching for a channel through which the UFC would be broadcast. The sports organization negotiated with many television channels, but SEG decided to become a partner. Soon an octagonal shape was developed for the show. Later, the "octagon" turned into a real symbol of the tournament.
First tournament
On November 12, 1993, the first UFC competition was held in Denver. The list of fighters was varied. The tournament was attended by representatives of various martial arts, which attracted the audience. Royce, Roorion’s younger brother, went to the tournament from the Gracie family. The tournament was very warmly received and earned a huge success. Two thousand eight hundred people came to the stands of the arena where the competition was held. In addition, eighty-five thousand viewers watched the show on a paid channel.
The main question of many viewers was: "Will the wrestler manage to defeat the boxer?" Then, most athletes knew only one martial art, and fights in other forms were not familiar to them. The representative of the fight was the first winner of the UFC. The list of fighters Royce Gracie defeated included three other styles.
Initially, the organizers wanted to stop at the first tournament, but the huge popularity pushed them to organize a second UFC. Athletes were also not opposed to this competition.
Early Tournament Rules
Despite the fact that the organization announced the conduct of fights without rules, a list of the latter was compiled. It was forbidden to bite the enemy and try to squeeze his eyes out. Also, butting, blows in the groin, grabbing the hair, as well as clinging fingers to the cheek were not welcome. In general, these rules were rarely violated by fighters. Deliberate blows in the groin were a very rare occurrence. However, despite a number of rules and restrictions, the UFC is a very fierce sporting event. Therefore, always before the start of a fight, spectators are warned by the UFC organizers.
The list of fighters by weight categories in the first tournaments was not divided, that is, the difference between the fighters could be a hundred kilograms. However, the competition showed that weight is not always the main factor in battles.
Contradictions
Due to its novelty, the UFC has gained immense popularity. Soon, the fierce fighting caught the attention of many critics. A cassette with fights was sent to John McCain, who considered them disgusting. The senator considered that it was necessary to ban the holding of this tournament, and urged all US states to do so.
Soon, the UFC stopped broadcasting on most television channels, and thirty-six states banned the holding of this tournament. The competition showed only one channel that did not have a huge audience.
Conversion
The result of the criticism was that the UFC decided to undergo rule changes. As a result, many brutal elements of the battle disappeared, while the main wrestling and striking techniques remained. Soon, weight categories appeared. Gloves were introduced during the fourteenth UFC tournament. At the same time, it was forbidden to beat the recumbent with legs, to drag by the hair and strike in the groin. Soon there were a number of restrictions: you can not hit the back of the head, as well as the neck and back. The twenty-first UFC tournament was marked by the division of the battle into rounds, which lasted five minutes. It was then that the UFC completely grew into a sports event.
Zuffa and the rise in popularity
In 2001, the UFC was bought by Dane White, as well as the casino executives Station Casinos. For the acquisition, a company was specially created, which was called "Zuffa". The purchase price amounted to two million dollars.
After that, the popularity of the tournament began. The UFC lightweight list, as in other weight categories, has been replenished with more and more new names. Despite its popularity, “Zuffa” suffered quite large losses. As a result of this, the organizers decided to start broadcasting the tournaments on the main channels.
Education The Ultimate Fighter
Soon, the Feritta brothers decided to create their own program for the UFC, which was later called The Ultimate Fighter. Initially, negotiations were held on broadcasting this program with many channels, but they all refused to cooperate. Spike TV agreed to broadcast. At the same time, the creators had to take on ten million broadcasting expenses. The start of the show took place in early 2005. The program instantly gained immense popularity among viewers and significantly increased the organization’s income.
By 2010, the tournament was broadcast in one hundred and thirty countries in twenty languages.
Buying Pride
In 2007, the UFC acquired shares in the Japanese organization Pride Fighte Championship. The transaction price was about seventy million dollars. Pride, in fact, was the Japanese version of the UFC and was its main competitor. Later, this acquisition was called grandiose, as the UFC turned into a huge sports association, conducting competitions in different parts of the world.
At first it was assumed that organizations would conduct tournaments in parallel, arranging joint competitions from time to time. However, soon the UFC director announced that Pride would not pay for itself and would soon be dissolved, and the fighters would start playing under the supervision of the UFC. Here is just a small list of fighters who came under the auspices of the organization: Mauricio Rua, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC heavyweight champion), Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson and others.
The best fighters in the history of UFC
Over the history of the tournament, there were many outstanding fighters who are worthy of mention. However, listing them all is a rather difficult task. Therefore, the following is a list of the most notable athletes.
- Anderson Silva . Considered one of the best middleweight fighters. Ten times he managed to defend the championship title - this is the best result.
- George Saint Pierre. Many fans and experts consider Saint-Pierre to be not only the best fighter of the UFC, but of the whole MMA. Performing in the welterweight, he was able to defend the championship nine times.
- Randy Couture. He is one of the most famous and titled fighters. In addition, he was able to distinguish himself with victories, both in the heavy and light heavy categories. The achievements and contributions to the promotion of the UFC by Randy Couture are invaluable.
- Kane Valaskes. It is considered one of the strongest fighters on the planet, which has repeatedly proved in tournaments. In the opponents more than once he got very famous fighters who were defeated.
- Chuck Liddell. Former UFC champion, whose photo has repeatedly appeared in sports headlines. He is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. He has won victories in many prestigious battles. A long period of time was one of the strongest fighters in the world.
- Dan Henderson. He became the champion of Pride and Strikeforce. In the last organization, the last time he became a champion at the age of forty. Has many sporting achievements and awards. He won over many titled fighters, including Fedor Emelianenko.
Of course, this is only a small part of the popular UFC fighters. It should be borne in mind that each weight category boasts more than one representative.
Russian athletes UFC
Since the UFC is an American organization, the fighters mainly come from this country. There were quite a lot of Brazilians who were able to succeed in battles under the auspices of this sports organization. However, with growth and spread, more and more fighters from the most diverse countries began to arrive in its ranks, Russia was no exception.
- Oleg Taktarov. He became a fighter who opened the way for Russian athletes to the UFC organization. Oleg was struck by many experts by his calmness and poise in the ring, as well as his ability to skillfully hold asphyxiation techniques. The sixth tournament was marked by the championship of Taktarov. This news surprised many martial arts fans. In the next tournament, Oleg had a terrific battle against Ken Shamrock, but the winner was not revealed.
- Andrey Semenov. He began to take part in the UFC battles only in the thirty-fifth tournament. Within the organization, he spent only two fights (one won; one lost). He could not find special fame.
- Ansar Chalangov. He took part in the fifty-sixth UFC tournament. However, after two fights, he could not win a single victory.
- Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko. The organizers tried to get the brothers to take part in the UFC battles, but they joined Strikeforce. Speaking under the auspices of Pride, Emelianenko was heard by every martial arts fan. Nevertheless, after joining, they failed to achieve significant results, and also suffered several crushing losses.
This list shows the fighters who managed to somehow take part in the battles of the organization and write their name in the story. However, today many young representatives of Russia show excellent results, and experts predict a certain future for them.
Earnings fighters
Basically, UFC athletes do not receive constant wages, in many respects it depends on the terms of the contract. Many novice fighters get paid in the region of four thousand dollars, while celebrities and champions can get more than five hundred thousand in one fight. It is worth saying that the athlete pays for the services of trainers, managers and so on. Most fighters, in addition to the main fees, receive money from sponsors. Often they are significantly more than the main wage. In addition, a system of bonuses for victories in various competitions is applied, the size of which is fifty thousand dollars.