WHAT is the ENTITY of the NEW UFC® [ULTIMATE FIGHTING
CHAMPIONSHIP®]?
The entity of the New UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] is the
worlds leading mixed martial arts sports association, formed in
January, 2001 by Zuffa, LLC. The New UFC features a strong
ownership and a depth of management experience across a spectrum of
live event sports, television production and ancillary business
development. The New UFC is positioned well for the future as the
standard bearer for the evolving and exciting sport of mixed
martial arts.
WHAT is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS? [Top]
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is an intense and evolving combat sport in
which competitors use interdisciplinary forms of fighting that
include jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and
others to their strategic and tactical advantage in a supervised
match. Scoring for mixed martial arts events in Nevada, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, and Florida is based on athletic-commission approved
definitions and rules for striking (blows with the hands, feet,
knees or elbows) and grappling (submission, choke holds, throws or
takedowns). No single discipline reigns.
WHAT is ULTIMATE FIGHTING in the UFC? [Top]
Ultimate Fighting is a proprietary term of the UFC. It is defined
as mixed martial arts competition between high level professional
fighters who utilize the disciplines of jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing,
kickboxing, wrestling, and other forms in UFC live events. UFC
competitors or Ultimate Fighters are among the best-trained and
conditioned athletes in the world. While this is a highly intense
sport, fighter safety is of paramount concern to UFC ownership and
management: it is noteworthy that no competitor has ever been
seriously injured in a UFC event.
WHAT is the NEW ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP? [Top]
The new Ultimate Fighting Championship is a series of international
competitive mixed martial arts events televised several times
yearly and available live or tape-delayed on pay-per-view and other
formats, seen domestically and internationally. The New Ultimate
Fighting Championship is committed to providing the highest quality
live event and television production available to entertain and
engage viewers in a fascinating sport. The New Ultimate Fighting
Championship distinguishes itself from the controversial spectacle
of the last decade: The first event produced under new ownership
and management was February 23, 2001.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is produced exclusively in
cooperation with Zuffa, LLC.
WHAT DISTINGUISHES UFC FROM ITS COMPETITORS? [Top]
The elite level of the competitor also known as an Ultimate
Fighter.
The UFC brings together the most talented martial arts experts in
the world. UFC fighters come from the US, Canada, Brazil, Japan,
Russia, Holland, England, etc. All UFC fighters have previous
combat sports experience and many are world or Olympic champions.
UFC athletes train up to six hours a day or more in preparation for
an event. Almost all have studied martial arts as a lifelong
vocation and many are college educated. In addition to their UFC
careers, many of these men are business owners. They are also
students, professionals or managers working for diverse types of
companies. But it is the success, discipline and focus of the
Ultimate Fighter that makes him different from just about any other
competitor in or out of mixed martial arts.
Absolute consistency of rules: presence of officials, judges,
weight divisions, rounds, time limits
Leadership in obtaining commission approval for a new sport
Mandatory Equipment: [Top]
Competitors may only use UFC and commission approved 4-6 oz gloves,
designed to protect the hand but not large enough to improve the
striking surface or weight of the punch.
Commission approved MMA shorts and kickboxing trunks are the only
uniforms allowed. Shirts, gis and shoes, and the problems they
present for grabbing are not allowed.
The Octagon: [Top]
The UFC Octagon is unique from any other fighting arena. Doctors
and martial artists designed it to create an enclosure that would
act as a neutral arena to showcase the skills of martial arts
disciplines while providing maximum safety to the fighters with
commission approved ring structures, canvas, and all safety padding
and fences.
The Octagon ensures that all of the action stays safely contained
in the fighting area, whereas competitors can fall over or through
the ropes of a boxing ring.
Absolute adherence to commission mandated rules for MMA:
[Top]
Commission approved gloves
Weight classes
Time limits and rounds
Mandatory drug testing
No head butting or kicking to the downed opponent
No knees to the head of a downed opponent
No downward point of the elbow strikes
No strikes to the spine or the back of the head
No groin or throat strikes
State Athletic Commission approval in such major states as New
Jersey, Nevada, Florida & Louisiana.
