| MMA in the United States was a bit slow to grow. In | | | | minutes to an hour jockeying for control. That is where |
| the the early 1990's Royce Gracie rocked the United | | | | what would become Ultimate Fighting lost a lot of its |
| States by showing us that everything we believed | | | | appeal. |
| about fighting was wrong. This little skinny 170 lb man | | | | It wasn't until Zuffa bought the UFC in the early 2000's |
| was able to effectively beat up every other man in a | | | | and re branded the Ultimate Fighting Championship as |
| no holds barred tournament... regardless of size | | | | an athletic competition. They incorporated a list of rules, |
| difference. | | | | and implemented strict time limits to speed up the pace |
| It proved an age old saying that size does not matter. | | | | of the competition. They also focused heavily on re |
| Its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of | | | | branding what was "No Holds Barred" into Mixed |
| the fight in dog. Over the next 20 years fighting would | | | | Martial Arts. |
| be completely revolutionized not just in the United | | | | Three years later and nearly 30 million dollars in debt |
| States, but in the world. Ground fighting was the hot | | | | the UFC managed to pull itself out of impending |
| new kid on the block, and every tough guy wanted a | | | | financial disaster by teaming up with Spike TV and |
| piece of this 'mysterious' fighting system. | | | | creating the Ultimate Fighter Reality TV show. This |
| Even though ground fighting was shiny and new in the | | | | would immediately ignite new interest in the concept of |
| United States, other countries such as Brazil had been | | | | Ultimate Fighting and launch a new generation of Mixed |
| participating in no holds barred fighting for over a | | | | Martial Arts fans. |
| hundred years. Vale Tudo was a popular form of | | | | Today, the UFC is bigger than ever. Consistently selling |
| combat in Brazil and ground fighting was fairly wide | | | | out arena's and selling millions of dollars in PPV. The fall |
| spread. The United States was just slow to catch | | | | of boxing has also helped the Ultimate Fighting |
| onto this concept. | | | | Championship secure its role as an industry leader in |
| Discovering ground fighting did however have its | | | | combat sports. |
| limitations. As collegiate and former Olympic caliber | | | | The freight train that is the Ultimate Fighting |
| wrestlers discovered that they too had quite a bit of | | | | Championship shows no signs of slowing down, and it |
| potential in no holds barred fighting, and tried their hand | | | | could easily become the next truly international sporting |
| in the cage. This led to long drawn out fights, where | | | | event. Rivaling boxing, professional wrestling, and even |
| two guys would lay on top of each other for 30 | | | | soccer. |