by Matt Page

Created on: December 11, 2007

The popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has exploded across the United States and it has become one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment internationally. While MMA has inspired new fans to faithfully watch weekly television programs, purchase monthly Pay-Per-Views and take up martial arts training, it has also raised the concern of many who view the matches as barbaric and violent. Those in protest highlight that many of these matches take place in a cage and that the two fighters are encouraged to "win" by knocking their opponent senseless, cutting them badly enough that a doctor stops the match, choking them to unconsciousness or causing serious skeletal damage so that their opponent can no longer continue. From this understanding, MMA is seen more as "human cockfighting" than a sporting event.

In North America it is easy to understand how this scepticism of MMA as a sport arose. On November 12, 1993 in Denver, Colorado the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was held, pitting eight combatants, each representing a different type of martial art, against one another in a tournament-style event. The publicized idea behind the event was to determine which martial art was supreme, and thus the matches would occur with no weight divisions, no time limits, no protective equipment and "no rules" (although biting and eye gouging were not permitted) in a caged octagon offering no combatant an advantage. This first incarnation of the UFC revelled in and built its reputation on the brutality of the event. Oddly enough the event was won by Royce Gracie, who defeated all of his opponents by submission, each undamaged and able to walk out of the cage of their own accord. Nonetheless, the UFC promoters pushed the brand as extremely violent in hopes of making economic gain off the shock and curiosity of viewers.

It's important to note that this version of the UFC went bankrupt as it was dropped from Pay-Per-View due to political pressure. While the UFC owners Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) sought to appease protests by abandoning the tournament style, introducing weight classes, protective gloves, limitations on striking, time limits, and even proper sanctioning under an athletic commission the damage had already been done. SEG was forced to sell its product to Zuffa LLC, owned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White, in 2001. Since then, Zuffa LLC has begun rebuilding and branding the former spectacles of the UFC into safe, sanctioned and profitable

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