THE UFC® FACT SHEET
 

WHAT is the ENTITY THAT OWNS THE UFC® [ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP®] BRAND OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA)?

The entity that owns the UFC® [Ultimate Fighting Championship®] brand is the world’s leading mixed martial arts sports association, formed in January, 2001 by Zuffa, LLC. The UFC® event productions feature 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 Brand 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?

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 CHARACTERIZES ULTIMATE FIGHTING® MMA EVENTS? 

Ultimate Fighting® is a proprietary term and registered trademark and service mark of Zuffa, LLC, associated exclusively with the UFC® brand of MMA events. Ultimate Fighting® events feature the highest caliber mixed martial arts competition  in the world 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, many of whom earned their way into the UFC events by being participants in “The Ultimate Fighter®” reality-based television series 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 ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® PRODUCTION?

The new Ultimate Fighting Championship® production is a series of international competitive mixed martial arts events televised throughout each year and available live or tape-delayed on pay-per-view and other formats, seen domestically and internationally. The New Ultimate Fighting Championship® producers are 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® brand of MMA event 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® events are produced exclusively in cooperation with and under the exclusively ownership of Zuffa, LLC.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES UFC® EVENTS FROM THOSE OF ITS COMPETITORS?

The elite level of the competitor also known as  “The Ultimate Fighter® athletes.”

The UFC*® events bring 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® stars that makes each of them 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:

Competitors may only use Zuffa 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™ Competition Enclosure

The octagonal competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks and/or trade dress of Zuffa, LLC and are symbolic of the highest quality mixed martial arts events brought to you under the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand name.  In 1993, UFC events were the first to feature an eight-sided competition configuration which has become known worldwide as the UFC Octagon™

The UFC Octagon™ competition enclosure is unique from any other fighting arena because the octagonal shape and structure have become inherently associated with Zuffa and the UFC® brand name among mixed martial arts consumers, other mixed martial arts organizations and the national media.  The UFC Octagon competition enclosure is regularly featured on UFC Pay-per-view events, UFC® Fight Night™ and The Ultimate Fighter® reality TV series.  The UFC Octagon™ competition enclosure creates a neutral arena to showcase the skills of UFC mixed martial arts athletes. The UFC organization has established a reputation for providing the maximum safety to the fighters with commission approved ring structures, canvas, and all safety padding and fences.  Zuffa makes major investments to ensure the safety of competitors in the UFC Octagon enclosure -- as a result, when people see The Octagon™ enclosure they associate it with the reputation and quality delivered only by Zuffa at UFC® events. 

Absolute adherence to commission mandated rules for MMA:

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.