It's hard to imagine a time when MMA was not a popular sport, but the history of MMA dates back only about three decades. In that time, many events have shaped the course of Mixed Martial Arts. Obviously, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship was a big deal, but here are a few other events that have altered the future of this sport.
While UFC 1 certainly was very important in the history of MMA, the audience was fairly small, with just 86,000 people paying for the fight on pay-per-view and less than 15,000 people in attendance at the event. It took some years, but in 2008, UFC 91 became the first MMA event to have a pay-per-view buy above one million. The event included a bout between Brock Lesnar and Randy "The Natural" Couture.
There are definitely fans that would prefer that MMA was a Fight Club-esque free-for-all, but that's not what's best for fighters or for the sport. For safety's sake, the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts have been adopted. Of course, these didn't come into effect officially until 2009, and before that every fight organization and state athletic commission had their own set of rules. You might not like all of the rules, but they helped legitimize the sport and prove that MMA was not simply "human cockfighting," as John McCain once called the sport of which we presume he wasn't a big fan.
While it took quite a bit of time to build an audience for MMA, a few TV shows helped make the sport more successful and mainstream. Spike TV began airing episodes of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 and viewers soon became hooked, and not just the ones that already were following MMA. It helped that the first two coaches were highly popular veterans of the sport - Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.
As with any sports, women have had to work hard into to be included in mixed martial arts. For a long time, UFC President Dana White swore women would never be allowed to participate at a UFC event. Other organizations, notably Bellator and Strikeforce, saw more potential in women fighters and allowed the fights. In 2009, Gina Carano faced off against Cristiano Justino in a well-watched bout that proved women were tough competitors and fun to watch. Interest in women's MMA has grown exponentially since that point.
It took Dana White and the UFC 30 years to include women on the fight card, but when they finally did, it was in a big way. During UFC 157 in February, 2013, Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche went head to head during the main fight of the night, which had a total gate of more than $1.3 million.
While UFC 1 certainly was very important in the history of MMA, the audience was fairly small, with just 86,000 people paying for the fight on pay-per-view and less than 15,000 people in attendance at the event. It took some years, but in 2008, UFC 91 became the first MMA event to have a pay-per-view buy above one million. The event included a bout between Brock Lesnar and Randy "The Natural" Couture.
There are definitely fans that would prefer that MMA was a Fight Club-esque free-for-all, but that's not what's best for fighters or for the sport. For safety's sake, the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts have been adopted. Of course, these didn't come into effect officially until 2009, and before that every fight organization and state athletic commission had their own set of rules. You might not like all of the rules, but they helped legitimize the sport and prove that MMA was not simply "human cockfighting," as John McCain once called the sport of which we presume he wasn't a big fan.
While it took quite a bit of time to build an audience for MMA, a few TV shows helped make the sport more successful and mainstream. Spike TV began airing episodes of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 and viewers soon became hooked, and not just the ones that already were following MMA. It helped that the first two coaches were highly popular veterans of the sport - Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.
As with any sports, women have had to work hard into to be included in mixed martial arts. For a long time, UFC President Dana White swore women would never be allowed to participate at a UFC event. Other organizations, notably Bellator and Strikeforce, saw more potential in women fighters and allowed the fights. In 2009, Gina Carano faced off against Cristiano Justino in a well-watched bout that proved women were tough competitors and fun to watch. Interest in women's MMA has grown exponentially since that point.
It took Dana White and the UFC 30 years to include women on the fight card, but when they finally did, it was in a big way. During UFC 157 in February, 2013, Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche went head to head during the main fight of the night, which had a total gate of more than $1.3 million.
About the Author:
Rod Bourgoine enjoys writing about mixed martial arts benefits. For more information about San Diego mma classes or to find a jiu jitsu gym in San Diego, go to The Arena MMA website today.
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