The fastest growing sports organization in the world, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), started in 1993 as a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. UFC has revolutionized the fight business, and today stands as the world's leading MMA promoter, offering the premier series of MMA sports events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe.
The UFC organization follows a rich history and tradition of competitive MMA dating back to the Olympic Games in Athens. About 80 years ago, a Brazilian form of MMA known as Vale Tudo (anything goes) sparked local interest in the sport. Today, the UFC has evolved into an organization where hybrid athletes are required to know various disciplines in order to compete at an elite level in a regulated environment where safety is paramount. UFC athletes are skilled in many forms of martial arts, including karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, grappling, wrestling, sumo and other combat sports.
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world, broadcast in over 129 countries and territories, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox.
In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which airs on FOX Sports 1 in the United States.
The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website,
UFC.com, as well as social media sites
Facebook,
Instagram and
Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter.
The UFC organization also licenses over 100
UFC GYM® locations, and owns
UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world),
UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program),
UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with
EA SPORTS,
UFC Fight Club®,
UFC Fan Expo®,
UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit
UFC.com and follow UFC at
Facebook.com/UFC,
Twitter and
Instagram: @UFC.
