| |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed Martial Arts promotion |
| Founded | November 1993 |
| Founder | Art Davie, Campbell McLaren, John Milius, Rorion Gracie, Bob Meyrowitz |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Key people | Dana White, President Marc Ratner, VP Regulatory Affairs Mick Maynard, VP Talent Relations/Matchmaker |
| Owner(s) | WWE |
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion company, a subsidiary of the parent company WWE, 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. Based in the United States, the UFC produces events worldwide that showcase ten weight divisions and abide by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. 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. 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. In 2016, it was sold to WME-IMG for $4 billion, but WME was sold to Apple Inc. later in the year who listed all assets of WME under the WWE.
With a TV deal and expansion into Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Asia, and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2016 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. As of 2016, 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[ 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 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.
Current Champions[]
Men[]
| Championship | Current champion(s) |
Reign | Date Won |
Days Held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFC Heavyweight Championship | James Harrison | 2 | August 17, 2019 | 2050 |
| UFC Light Heavyweight Championship | Jon Jones | 2 | December 29, 2018 | 2281 |
| UFC Middleweight Championship | Israel Adesanya | 1 | October 6, 2019 | 2000 |
| UFC Welterweight Championship | Kamaru Usman | 1 | March 2, 2019 | 2218 |
| UFC Lightweight Championship | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 1 | April 7, 2018 | 2547 |
| UFC Featherweight Championship | Max Holloway | 1 | June 3, 2017 | 2855 |
| UFC Bantamweight Championship | Henry Cejudo | 1 | June 8, 2019 | 2120 |
| UFC Flyweight Championship | Henry Cejudo | 1 | August 4, 2018 | 2428 |
Women[]
| Championship | Current champion(s) |
Reign | Date Won |
Days Held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFC Women's Featherweight Championship | Amanda Nunes | 1 | December 29, 2018 | 2281 |
| UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship | Amanda Nunes | 1 | July 9, 2016 | 3184 |
| UFC Women's Flyweight Championship | Valentina Shevchenko | 1 | December 8, 2018 | 2302 |
| UFC Women's Strawweight Championship | Sasha Banks | 1 | November 4, 2017 | 2701 |
Records[]
- Main article: List of UFC records
| Record | Fighter | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Youngest Champion | James Harrison | 18 years, 287 days |
| Oldest Champion | Randy Couture | 45 years, 146 days |
| Longest reign as a Champion | James Harrison | 3,859d (10y 6m 25d) |
| Most championship reigns | Randy Couture | 5 |
| Most Bouts | Donald Cerone | 33 |
| Most Wins | James Harrison | 27 |
| Most Finishes | James Harrison | 27 |
| Most Knockouts | Vitor Belfort | 12 |
| Most Submissions | James Harrison | 18 |
| Most Decision Wins | Georges St-Pierre | 12 |
| Most wins in title bouts | James Harrison | 21 |
| Most title bouts | James Harrison | 22 |
| Most consecutive title defenses | James Harrison | 18 |
| Longest winning streak | James Harrison | 21 |
| Most Post Fight Awards | Nate Diaz Joe Lauzon |
15 |
| Most Performance of the Night Awards | James Harrison | 7 |
| Most Knockout of the Night Awards | Anderson Silva | 7 |
| Most Submission of the Night Awards | James Harrison | 9 |
| Most Fight of the Night Awards | Nate Diaz | 8 |
| Most total fight time | Frankie Edgar | 6:02:51 |
| Most takedowns in a single bout | Khabib Nurmagomedov | 21 of 27 attempts |
| Fastest knockout | James Harrison | 0:02 |
| Fastest submission | Oleg Taktarov | 0:09 |
| Fastest Title Fight Knockout | James Harrison | 0:02 |
| Fastest Title Fight Submission | James Harrison | 0:11 |