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Main table of contents:
UFC 200
Introduction
Background
Results
Bonus awards
Reported payout
Records set
Aftermath
See also
References
Linked articles
Contents
UFC 200
UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 9, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.[4]
It was the final UFC event under Zuffa ownership, which began in January 2001. The company subsequently announced its sale to WME-IMG, an American talent agency with offices in Beverly Hills.[5]
Background
The event was the first that the organization has hosted at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in April 2016.[4] It took place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week and marked the second time the UFC hosted three events in consecutive days.
Main event changes: McGregor is pulled; Jones tests positive; Tate-Nunes headline
A welterweight rematch between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz and current UFC Featherweight ChampionConor McGregor was originally expected to headline the event.[6][7] The pairing previously met earlier in the year at UFC 196. McGregor was expected to challenge UFC Lightweight ChampionRafael dos Anjos, but dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot only 11 days before the event. Diaz eventually replaced him and the bout was shifted to the welterweight division.[8] Diaz won the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round.[9]
On April 19, after McGregor tweeted a supposed retirement, the UFC announced that he was pulled from the event and a replacement for him was being sought. UFC President Dana White clarified that McGregor's removal was related to his refusal to come to a press conference that week, because "he was in Iceland training and didn't want to ruin his preparation for the fight".[10] McGregor released a statement two days later, claiming he was not retired and that he requested the UFC to allow him to focus more on the fight preparation this time, as he felt he lost his focus during the media obligations for the previous fight. He then stated that he was ready for the event and would come for a scheduled New York press conference, but if that's not enough, he "doesn't know what to say".[11] A report later claimed that the UFC decided to cancel the fight indeed, in what was rumored to be a $10 million paycheck for McGregor.[12]
On April 27, the UFC officially announced the new headliner as a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship unification rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones, who is also the current interim champion.[13] The pairing met previously at UFC 182 in January 2015 with Jones defending his title via unanimous decision.[14] Subsequent to that victory, Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely from the UFC in connection with a hit-and-run incident that he was involved in.[15] Cormier replaced him and went on to defeat Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 to win the vacant title.[16] Their rematch was originally expected to take place at UFC 197, but Cormier pulled out three weeks before the event due to injury and was replaced by Ovince Saint Preux, in what became an interim title bout.[17] Jones went on to defeat Saint Preux by unanimous decision and won the interim title.[18]
The event suffered another major hit only three days before it happened, as it was announced that Jones was pulled out by USADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 16. Cormier declared he would still fight if an opponent brought to him "made sense". Additional information on Jones' situation will be provided as the process moves forward.[19] A day later Jones apologized for the incident, but denied knowingly taking any illegal substance. He and his manager also declined to specify the substance that resulted in the failed test.[20] His "B" sample also came positive for the same substances and Jones' faces a potential two-year suspension.[21]
During the UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez broadcast, it was announced that former UFC Middleweight ChampionAnderson Silva would replace Jones on less than two days notice and face Cormier in a three-round non-title light heavyweight bout.[22]
Due to those major changes, the already scheduled UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then champion Miesha Tate and top contender Amanda Nunes was revealed as the new main event.[22][23]
Main card: a former champion returns; an interim champion is crowned
On June 4, a few hours before the UFC 199 event, MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani broke the news that former UFC Heavyweight ChampionBrock Lesnar was close to finalizing deal to return at this event, despite being active in the WWE. The UFC confirmed the report, via a teaser video clip on the UFC 199 main card broadcast.[24] However, Helwani's news scoop earned him a prompt physical ejection from the event venue and a lifetime ban from covering future UFC live events.[25] The organization faced a major backlash from the media community as well as fans,[26] before reinstating Helwani's media credentials. They also stated that it was their belief "recurring tactics used" by Helwani "extended beyond the purpose of journalism", a statement that MMAFighting.com disagreed with.[27]
Lesnar faced the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner and former interim title contender Mark Hunt.[28] Due to Jones' removal from the card, this bout was briefly promoted as the new main event. However, after the Tate-Nunes bout was announced as the new headliner, Lesnar-Hunt was once again confirmed as the co-main event.[22] Lesnar also headlined UFC 100 and with Jones' absence, he and Jim Miller remained as the only two fighters to compete at both milestone events.
Due to McGregor's experiments outside of his division, an interim UFC Featherweight Championship bout between former champion José Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar took place at this event.[7] It was a rematch, as Aldo previously defended his title against Edgar at UFC 156 in 2013 via unanimous decision.[29]
The main card opened with a heavyweight bout between former two-time champion Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne.[30]
Stacked under-card
The featured bout of the preliminary card was a women's bantamweight contest between former title challenger Cat Zingano and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate winner Julianna Peña.[31] A few other bouts were also part of the Fox Sports 1 televised prelims:
a welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight ChampionJohny Hendricks and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen winner Kelvin Gastelum.[32]a bantamweight rematch between former UFC Bantamweight ChampionT.J. Dillashaw and Raphael Assunção.[33] The pairing first met at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields in October 2013, when Assunção won a close bout via split decision.[34]Opening that portion of the event in the lightweight division was a bout between Sage Northcutt and Enrique Marín.[35]A lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner and former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez was originally booked for UFC 180. However, the bout was cancelled due to both fighters being injured.[36] The fight was later rescheduled for this event and headlined the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card.[37]
A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight ChampionGegard Mousasi and Derek Brunson was expected to take place at the event, but on June 19 it was announced that Brunson pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Thiago Santos.[38][39]
Former PRIDE Lightweight ChampionTakanori Gomi and Jim Miller were chosen to open the event in a lightweight bout.[7]
Weigh-ins
At the weigh-ins, Hendricks missed weight by a quarter of a pound, weighing in at 171.25 lbs. He was not given a second attempt to make the weight because the recently introduced early weigh-in procedures set a 10:00 a.m. cut off time and Hendricks weighed in at the last possible moment. As a result, he was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to Gastelum.[40]
Results
[42]
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[43]
Fight of the Night: Not awardedPerformance of the Night: Amanda Nunes, Cain Velasquez, Joe Lauzon and Gegard MousasiReported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[44]
Amanda Nunes: $100,000 (no win bonus) def. Miesha Tate: $500,000Brock Lesnar: $2,500,000 (no win bonus) vs. Mark Hunt: $700,000Daniel Cormier: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Anderson Silva: $600,000José Aldo: $500,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus) def. Frankie Edgar: $190,000Cain Velasquez: $300,000 (no win bonus) def. Travis Browne: $120,000Julianna Peña: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus) def. Cat Zingano: $35,000Kelvin Gastelum: $86,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus) def. Johny Hendricks: $80,000 ^T.J. Dillashaw: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Raphael Assunção: $42,000Sage Northcutt: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Enrique Marín: $13,000Joe Lauzon: $108,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus) def. Diego Sanchez: $80,000Gegard Mousasi: $110,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus) def. Thiago Santos: $28,000Jim Miller: $118,000 (includes $59,000 win bonus) def. Takanori Gomi: $55,000^ Johny Hendricks was fined 20 percent of his purse ($20,000) for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Kelvin Gastelum. That money was issued to Gastelum, an NSAC official confirmed.
Records set
The event had a $10,700,000 gate, which broke the record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States. The final attendance was 18,202, a record for Nevada, which had hosted 104 prior UFC events.[1] The total disclosed payout for the event reached nearly $7 million at $6,979,000, believed to be the highest combined disclosed payday in UFC history.[44] Lesnar's fight purse was also the highest, breaking Conor McGregor's record from UFC 196 by $1.5 million.[45]
Aftermath
On July 15, it was announced that USADA informed Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28 from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14.[46] Four days later, USADA announced another failed test: this time in-competition. It was the same substance, which was not disclosed.[47] On July 23, reports came that Lesnar tested positive for hydroxy-clomiphene, which was revealed days earlier as one of the substances responsible for Jones' test failure.[48] Lesnar was eventually suspended by the NSAC on December 15 for a period of one year, retroactive to the date of the event and his win was overturned to a no contest. He was also fined 10% of his purse.[41] In early January 2017, USADA also suspended Lesnar for the same period, but this time retroactive to the moment he was provisionally suspended.[49]
On July 18, the NSAC confirmed the substances for which Jones tested positive: hydroxy-clomiphene, an anti-estrogenic agent and letrozole metabolite, an aromatase inhibitor. A temporary suspension placed on Jones' Nevada fight license was subsequently extended by a unanimous vote, while a formal hearing was expected for September or October.[50] On November 7, USADA announced that Jones was suspended for a period of one year retroactive to the July 6 date on which he was provisionally suspended.[51] Two days later, the UFC announced that Jones was stripped of the interim title.[52] The NSAC also suspended Jones for the same period as USADA.[53]
See also
References
This page was last modified on 16 March 2017, at 15:44.
This text is based on the Wikipedia article UFC 200: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_200 which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License available online at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode List of authors: https://tools.wmflabs.org/xtools/wikihistory/wh.php?page_title=UFC_200Contents
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial artspromotion company, a subsidiary of the parent company William Morris Endeavor, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the largest MMA promoter in the world and features most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport.[3] Based in the United States, the UFC produces events worldwide[4] that showcase ten weight divisions and abide by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.[5] The UFC has held over 300 events to date. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC.
The first Ultimate Fighting Championship event was held on November 12, 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.[6] The purpose of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a fight, with minimal rules, between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo, wrestling, Muay Thai, karate, judo, and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.[7] In 2016, it was sold to William Morris Endeavor (WME-IMG) for $4 billion.[8]
With a TV deal and expansion into Europe, Australia,[9] the Middle East,[10] Asia,[11] and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2017 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. As of 2017, viewers can access live UFC fights and fight replays on their subscription network UFC Fight Pass at a cost of $7.99–$9.99 USD per month via devices like Apple TV, iPhone, Android, Xbox, Roku, and Google Chromecast[12] as well as on pay-per-view in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Italy. On network TV, UFC content is available on Fox, Fox Sports 1, and Fox Sports 2[13] in the U.S., on ESPN in the Caribbean, on BT Sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide.
MMA journalists and fans have criticized the UFC for putting on too many shows and thus diluting the quality of their product.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
History
Early competition: early 1990s
Art Davie proposed to John Milius and Rorion Gracie an eight-man single-elimination tournament called "War of the Worlds". The tournament was inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students defeating martial-arts masters of various disciplines such as karate, kung fu, and kickboxing. The tournament would also feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie saw on the videos.[22] Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to act as the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan and twenty-eight investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise.[23]
In 1993, WOW Promotions sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO ( HBO), SET ( Showtime), and Campbell McLaren at the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG – a pioneer in pay-per-view television which had produced such offbeat events as a gender versus gender tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova – became WOW's partner in May 1993.[24] SEG contacted video and film art director Jason Cusson to design the trademarked "Octagon", a signature piece for the event. Cusson remained the Production Designer through UFC 27.[22] SEG devised the name for the show as The Ultimate Fighting Championship.[25]
WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called UFC 1, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993. Art Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker.[26] The show proposed to find an answer for sports fans' questions such as: "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?"[27] As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and had little experience against opponents with different skills.[28] Sc Aaronlad2k15 The television broadcast featured kickboxersPatrick Smith and Kevin Rosier, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, karate expert Zane Frazier, shootfighterKen Shamrock, sumo wrestlerTeila Tuli, boxerArt Jimmerson, and 175 lb (79 kg) Brazilian jiu-jitsu black beltRoyce Gracie—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion, whom Rorion handpicked to represent his family in the competition. Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship[29] after submitting Jimmerson, Shamrock, and Gordeau in succession. The show proved extremely successful with 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
It's disputed whether the promoters intended for the event to become a precursor to a series of future events. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off", eventual UFC president Dana White said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport."[30]Art Davie, in his 2014 book Is This Legal?, an account of the creation of the first UFC event, disputes the perception that the UFC was seen by WOW Promotions and SEG as a one-off, since SEG offered a five-year joint development deal to WOW. He says, "Clearly, both Campbell and Meyrowitz shared my unwavering belief that War of the Worlds[note 1] would be a continuing series of fighting tournaments—a franchise, rather than a one-night stand."[31] With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney faced Emmanuel Yarbrough at UFC 3 with a 9 in (23 cm) height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage.[32] Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him. With the 175 lb (79 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.
During this early part of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Patrick Smith, the competitions also featured competitors such as Hall of FamerDan Severn, Marco Ruas, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Kimo Leopoldo, Oleg Taktarov, and Tank Abbott. Although the first events were dominated by jiu-jitsu, other fighting styles became successful: first wrestling, then ground and pound, kickboxing, boxing, and dirty boxing, which eventually melded into modern mixed martial arts.
In April 1995, following UFC 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.
Emergence of stricter rules
Although UFC used the tagline "There are no rules!" in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules. It banned biting and eye-gouging, and frowned on (but allowed) techniques such as hair pulling, headbutting, groin strikes, and fish-hooking.
In fact, in a UFC 4 qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. Additionally, that same event saw a matchup between Keith Hackney and Joe Son in which Hackney unleashed a series of groin shots against Son while on the ground.
The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the UFC 5 broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the sport.
UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from the inaugural UFC featuring three-time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight". This proved an important development, because singles matches would feature fighters who suffered no prior damage from a previous fight in the same event, unlike tournament matches. Singles matches would become a staple in the UFC for years to come.
"The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face;[33] it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches; by UFC Brazil, the UFC abandoned the tournament format for an entire card of singles matches (aside from a one-time UFC Japan tournament featuring Japanese fighters). UFC 6 was the first event to feature the crowning of the first non-tournament UFC Champion, Ken Shamrock.
Controversy and reform: late 1990s
The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the U.S. authorities.[34]
Senator John McCain ( R- AZ) saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. McCain himself led a campaign to ban UFC, calling it "human cockfighting", and sending letters to the governors of all fifty US states asking them to ban the event.[35]
Thirty-six states enacted laws that banned "no-hold-barred" fighting, including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12, forcing a relocation of the event to Dothan, Alabama.[36] The UFC continued to air on DirecTV PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the larger cable pay-per-view platforms of the era.
In response to the criticism, the UFC increased cooperation with state athletic commissions and redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For UFC 14, gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15 saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21, the UFC gradually re-branded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle.[37]
Led by UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick and referee John McCarthy, the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions.[38] Blatnick, McCarthy, and matchmaker Joe Silva created a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and rules to help in getting the UFC sanctioned by the athletic commissions, many of which exist to this day.[38] Blatnick and McCarthy traveled around the country, educating regulators and changing perceptions about a sport that was thought to be bloodthirsty and inhumane.[38] By April 2000, their movement had clearly made an impact.[38] California was set to become the first state in the U.S. to sign off on a set of codified rules that governed MMA.[38] Soon after, New Jersey adopted the language.[38]
As the UFC continued to work with the athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, and venues, such as the Lake Charles Civic Center. The markets included places more in the South, such as Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Alabama. SEG could not secure home-video releases for UFC 23 through UFC 29. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships (IFC) secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed-martial-arts event, which occurred in New Jersey on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, UFC 28, under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's "Unified Rules".[39]
As the UFC's rules started to evolve, so too did its field of competitors. Notable UFC fighters to emerge in this era include Hall of Famers Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Pat Miletich, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, and Tito Ortiz, as well as notables Vitor Belfort, Mark Kerr, Pedro Rizzo, Murilo Bustamante, Frank Shamrock, Mikey Burnett, Jeremy Horn, Pete Williams, Jens Pulver, Evan Tanner, Andrei Arlovski, and Wanderlei Silva, among others.
The Zuffa era: early 2000s
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy when Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their business partner Dana White approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying 'What are you getting?'" Lorenzo Fertitta revealed to Fighter's Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said 'What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.'"[40]
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33 featuring three championship bouts.
Struggle for survival and turnaround
The UFC slowly, but steadily, rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising,[41] corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view and subsequent home video and DVD releases.
With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net. The Best Damn Sports Show Period aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5.[42] Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC, featuring one-hour blocks of the UFC's greatest bouts.
UFC 40 proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event was a near sellout of 13,022 at the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate roughly double that of the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card headlined by a highly anticipated championship grudge match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight ChampionTito Ortiz and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock, who had previously left to professional wrestling in the WWE before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997.[43]UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time.[44] Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses.[44] The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts could become big.[45] Beyond the rivalry itself, the success of UFC 40 was due in part to the marketing and outreach power of crossover athletes - from Pro Wresting to MMA and MMA to Pro Wresting - a practice with roots in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships.[46] Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
“"When that show (UFC 40) happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it's going to make it." –"Big" John McCarthy[47]”Despite the success of UFC 40, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC.[48] Fighters who came into prominence after Zuffa's takeover include Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Matt Serra, Ricco Rodriguez, Robbie Lawler, Frank Mir, Karo Parisyan, and Nick Diaz.
The Ultimate Fighter and rise in popularity
Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality television series, American Casino,[49] and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC having its own reality series.
Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)–a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches–was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.[48]
In January 2005, Spike TV launched TUF in the timeslot following WWE Raw. The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract, an event that Dana White credits for saving the UFC.[50]
On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continued to create and air new seasons until the show moved to FX in 2012.[51][52]
Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike also picked up UFC Unleashed, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live UFC Fight Night, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards.
After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox, Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, "The Ultimate Fighter season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with the UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future."[53]
With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, The Ultimate Fighter, which entered its 14th season in that September, moved to the FX network to air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. Along with the network change, episodes are now edited and broadcast within a week of recording instead of a several-month delay, and elimination fights are aired live.[54]
Surging popularity and growth: mid–2000s
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52, the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer Randy Couture, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000,[55] doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC's much-hyped match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie—featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61 featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3.[56] The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.[57]
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner, former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission,[58] as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against no holds barred fighting, became a catalyst for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States. Ratner continues to lobby numerous athletic commissions[59] to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that have yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL) from making a deal with Versus (now NBC Sports Network). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract.[60] The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes.[61] Notable WEC fighters included Urijah Faber, Jamie Varner, Carlos Condit, Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Eddie Wineland, Miguel Angel Torres, Mike Thomas Brown, Leonard Garcia, Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz, and José Aldo.
In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA). In acquiring the WFA, they acquired the contracts of notable fighters including Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Martin Kampmann.
The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing for the first time in terms of betting revenues.[62] In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE and boxing.[63]
The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.[64]
Pride acquisition and integration
On March 27, 2007, the UFC and their Japan-based rival the Pride Fighting Championships announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the Pride brand.[65][66]
Initial intentions were for both organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable[67] and the organization would likely fold with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Maurício "Shogun" Rua, Dan Henderson, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Wanderlei Silva, and others already being realigned under the UFC brand.[68] On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).[69]
On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico, and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.[70]
Fighters exposed to the UFC audience—or who became prominent—in the post-Pride era include Anderson Silva, Jon Fitch, Lyoto Machida, Cain Velasquez, and Jon Jones, among others.
UFC 100 and continued popularity: late 2000s – mid-2010s
Popularity took another major surge in 2009 with UFC 100 and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94, and 98. UFC 100 was a massive success garnering 1.7 million buys[71] under the drawing power of former NCAAwrestling champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian knockout[72] artist Thiago Alves, and Pride legend Dan Henderson opposing British middleweight Michael Bisping; rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom.
UFC 100 was unique in that it drew significant interest from ESPN, which provided extensive coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it.[73] In fact, ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of MMA Live on ESPN2 in May 2010.[74]
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues[75][76]—including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis[77]—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.
However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson—rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights—at UFC 114, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by African-American fighters.[78] The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys[79] as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at UFC 116, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin before 1.25 million PPV viewers.[80] Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal.[81] However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm triangle choke to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media[82][83][84] for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights that were featured on the televised card.
After a dramatic fifth round, last minute victory by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Lesnar finally surrendered his belt to the undefeated Cain Velasquez via 1st-round TKO at UFC 121. The fight produced Velasquez's eighth knockout or technical knockout in his first nine MMA fights.[85]
UFC 129 featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently the largest UFC event in North American history,[86][87] which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre.[88][89] The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million,[90] shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.[90]
On November 5, 2016 the UFC had their first exhibition in New York City after years of being delayed by government officials and red tape with a dramatic first match, Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez (Which Conor won).[91]
WEC merger
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased World Extreme Cagefighting in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007.[92] Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on that network in June 2007.[93]
On October 28, 2010, Zuffa announced that WEC would merge with the UFC. The WEC held its final card on December 16, 2010. As a result of the merger, the UFC absorbed WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight divisions and their respective fighters. The UFC also made the last WEC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champions, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz respectively, the inaugural UFC Champions of their new weight divisions.[94]
Reed Harris, who started World Extreme Cagefighting with Scott Adams, had mixed emotions on the merger. "It's kind of like when your kid goes off to college: at first you're not happy, but after you think about it for a while, you're really happy," Harris told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive interview immediately following the announcement. "At the end of the day, I never imagined this thing would be where we're at today. I'm extremely proud and happy that I was involved with something that will now be part of what may be, some day, the largest sports organization in the world."[95]
Strikeforce purchase
On March 12, 2011, Dana White revealed that Zuffa had purchased Strikeforce.[96] White went on to explain that Strikeforce will operate as an independent promotion, and that Scott Coker will continue to run the promotion. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced the return of Fedor Emelianenko on an unspecified July or August event and said that Zuffa-owned company would continue to co-promote with M-1 Global.[97] Following the purchase, the UFC signed many of Strikeforce's top stars and champions, such as Jason Miller, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem, and Cung Le. Under Zuffa's ownership, Strikeforce made minor changes, including adopting the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts in full, closing the promotion's men's weight classes below lightweight, and ceasing promotion of amateur undercard bouts. After an extension was reached to continue Strikeforce through 2012, the promotion's heavyweight division (sans Heavyweight Grand Prix finalists) was merged into the UFC, and the promotion's Challengers series was ended.
The final Strikeforce show was Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine on January 12, 2013, after which the promotion was dissolved and all fighter contracts were either ended or absorbed into the UFC.
Fox partnership
On August 18, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox announced a seven-year broadcast deal through the Fox Sports subsidiary, effectively ending the UFC's Spike TV and Versus (now NBC Sports Network) partnership. The deal includes four events on the main Fox network, 32 live Friday night fights per year on their cable network FX, 24 events following The Ultimate Fighter reality show and six separate Fight Night events.
The promotion's first broadcast television event – UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos – broke form by showcasing only one fight to television viewers. In the main event, Junior dos Santos abruptly dethroned then-undefeated UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez by knock-out at 1:04 in the first round. The telecast peaked with 8.8 million viewers tuning into the fight with an average audience of 5.7 million, making it by far the most watched MMA event of all-time and the most watched combat sports event since 2003's HBO bout between Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko.[112]
One of the other programming opportunities that is already in motion is a weekly UFC magazine-style show. When asked about the potential for a weekly magazine-style series, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta responded, "Not only weekly, but, potentially, multiple times per week you'll have a UFC magazine (show)."[113] The UFC will maintain production control of its product, including the use of its broadcast team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Fox Sports will produce the pre- and post-shows.
Women's MMA
On November 16, 2012, the eve of UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit, Dana White confirmed with Jim Rome the UFC would feature women's MMA with the signing of its first female fighter, Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.[114] She subsequently became the first female UFC champion, the first Olympic medalist with a UFC title, and the first woman to defend a UFC title. She would successfully defend her title six times over a grand total of 1,074 days, before she was defeated by Holly Holm on November 15, 2015, at UFC 193.
On December 11, 2013, the UFC purchased the contracts of 11 female fighters from Invicta Fighting Championships to launch their 115-pound Strawweight division. Eight of the Invicta fighters took part in the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Pettis vs. Team Melendez, along with eight additional fighters signed up for the tournament via open tryouts.[115] Season winner, Invicta FC's Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza became the first UFC women's strawweight champion, defeating Rose Namajunas in the finale. Other fighters on the show included Felice Herrig, Tecia Torres, Bec Hyatt, Randa Markos, Jessica Penne, and Joanne Calderwood.[116]
International expansion
The first UFC event to be held outside the United States was UFC 8 in Puerto Rico, a US territory, in 1996. Subsequently, the UFC has visited 15 countries in Asia, Europe, Oceania, South America, and North America.
Canada has hosted events 18 times, starting with UFC 83 in 2008 and most recently in 2015 with UFC 186.[117] UFC's biggest event to date was also in Canada, as UFC 129 held at Rogers Centre featured a record-breaking attendance of 55,724.[118]
The United Kingdom has been home to 16 events. The first was UFC 38 held in London in 2002. UFC returned to the United Kingdom in 2007 with UFC 70, and visited Northern Ireland for UFC 72. The UK's most recent event was at England with UFC 204 in 2016. Ireland has held UFC 93 in 2009 and UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao 5 years later.[119] In continental Europe, Germany has hosted 5 times, the first being UFC 99 in 2009, UFC 122 in 2010, UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi in 2014, UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne in 2015 and the latest was UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett in 2016.[120]Sweden has hosted 3 times, starting with UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva in 2012, and recently with UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson in 2015.[121][122]Poland had its first event with UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 in 2015.[123] There are also Fight Night events due to take place in 2016, in Rotterdam, Netherlands
