Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is a combat sport with full-contact allowed. The sport/genre has grown in the past decade thanks to the performances of several stars.

Although the term was coined in the 90s, there have been many fights where the two opponents were from different backgrounds.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali took on Antonio Inoki in 1976. Inoki was a Japanese wrestler and this mixed-match saw the rise of other championships such as Pride Fighting and Pancrase.

MMA matches do not have any restrictions on how to fight. However, there are some ground rules in several promotions.

Hitting in the groin area or poking in the eye isn’t allowed. There are also rules regarding the use of elbows and where an opponent could be hit on the head.

MMA promotions are now spread across the world but the biggest at the moment is the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC).

Dana White has to be credited for the meteoric rise of the promotion. The American has held the post of UFC President since 2001 and is still going strong.

White has been at the top even during the change in ownerships and the first UFC event was held in Denver, Colorado in 1993.

The promotion was bought by the William Morris Endeavor (WME-IMG) group in 2016 for a massive amount of $4.025 billion while White kept hold of the UFC president tag.

UFC’s growth into the mainstream has seen a tie-up with ESPN with the deal valued at $1.5 billion over a period of five years.

The promotion has also grown in Asia, Europe and Australia with events being held all across the globe.

The stars of UFC

The promotion has seen some incredible fighters over the years. The promotion also has a two-tier system for their Hall of Fame.

The Pioneer wing sees the stars from the older era who brought the UFC into the limelight. However, the Modern-era wing highlights some of the current stars from the several divisions.

The UFC has seen male and female competitors light up the Octagon. Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes and Conor McGregor are some of the top stars from recent years.

Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Kazushi Sakuraba are some of the stars from the yesteryears. These were the stars helped build the foundation of not only the UFC but also MMA.

Rousey is already a member of the Modern-era wing and there is no doubt that the likes of Nurmagomedov and McGregor will end up in the Hall of Fame too.

The UFC is growing at an incredible rate and there seems to be no stopping it. They have events lined up for the upcoming year and many top stars will be in action in the coming months.

Media Referee | UFC | UFC Rumor Roundup, UFC Superstars Salary, and net-worth

We aim to provide stories and features related to UFC which go beyond the normal news that is shared daily.

Specials, reports, analysis and features make for interesting reading as we look to cover every corner of the UFC and more.

We also include several stories regarding the net worth, salary and lifestyles of the MMA stars.