The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, itself a majority owned subsidiary of The WME Group. The largest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC has over 578 fighters contracted that fight across 11 weight divisions (eight men's and three women's). The organization produces events worldwide and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. As of 2026, it had held over 750 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie, martial artist Rorion Gracie, and film director John Milius, with the backing of Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) CEO Bob Meyrowitz, President David Isaacs, and Head of Programming Campbell McLaren. The first event was held in 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the UFC's early competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a contest with minimal rules and no weight classes between competitors of different fighting disciplines. In subsequent events, more rigorous rules were created and fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create a separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.
The UFC was initially owned by SEG until it developed financial problems and was sold to the brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in 2001, who formed the company Zuffa to operate the UFC, and placed Dana White as the president of the company. In 2016, UFC's parent company, Zuffa, was sold to a group led by Endeavor, then known as William Morris Endeavor (WME–IMG), including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital for US$4.025 billion. In 2021, Endeavor bought out Zuffa's other owners for $1.7 billion.
With a TV deal and expansion in Australia, Asia, Europe, and new markets within the United States, the UFC has achieved greater mainstream media coverage. It earned US$609 million in 2015, and its previous domestic media rights agreement with ESPN was valued at $1.5 billion over a five-year term. The UFC has also purchased and absorbed rival organizations such as PRIDE Fighting Championships, World Extreme Cagefighting, and Strikeforce, consolidating much of the global MMA market under its banner.
In April 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings announced that UFC would merge with the wrestling promotion WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with Vince McMahon serving as an executive chairman of the new entity and White remaining as UFC president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023. In January 2024, McMahon had ended his ties with the company amid a sex trafficking scandal. In 2025, the UFC signed a 7-year, US$7.7 billion deal with Paramount Skydance (operators of CBS Sports and Paramount+) beginning the next year, exiting the pay-per-view business entirely.
Contents
History
Early 1990s competition
Art Davie proposed to John Milius and Rorion Gracie an eight-man single-elimination tournament called "War of the Worlds". It was inspired by the "Gracies in Action" video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie jiu-jitsu students defeating martial artists of various disciplines such as karate, kung fu, and kickboxing on Vale Tudo matches. The tournament would also feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art, and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie saw on the videos. Gracie accepted, as he was interested in showcasing and promoting his family's own jiu-jitsu for a wide audience. Milius, a film director/screenwriter and Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan, and 28 investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions to develop the tournament into a television franchise.
In 1993, WOW Promotions sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO (HBO) and SET (Showtime), and Campbell McLaren and David Isaacs at Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG—a pioneer in pay-per-view television that had produced such offbeat events as a tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova—became WOW's partner in May 1993. UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. SEG contacted video and film art director Jason Cusson to design a fighting arena for the event. Rorion and Davie didn't want a traditional roped ring, citing fears—by showing old Vale Tudo footage—that the fighters could escape through the ropes during grappling and use it as an advantage, or fall off and hurt themselves. SEG's executives agreed, and also wanted a way to visually differentiate their event from professional boxing and professional wrestling. Some ideas included a traditional roped-ring surrounded by netting, a moat with alligators, a raised platform surrounded by razor-wire fence, electrified fencing, men in togas and netting that could be lowered from the ceiling by a pulley. Eventually Cusson designed an arena with eight sides surrounded by chain-link fence, the trademarked Octagon, which became the event's signature setting. Cusson remained the group's production designer through UFC 27. SEG devised the show's name as "The Ultimate Fighting Championship".
WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later retroactively called UFC 1, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993. Art Davie was its booker and matchmaker. It proposed to find answers for sports fans' questions such as, "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?" As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and little experience against opponents with differing skills. The television broadcast featured kickboxer Kevin Rosier, taekwondo practitioner Patrick Smith, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, karate expert Zane Frazier, shootfighter Ken Shamrock, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer Art Jimmerson, and 175 lb (79 kg) Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Royce Gracie—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion, whom Rorion selected to represent his family. Royce's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship after submitting Jimmerson, Shamrock, and Gordeau in succession. The show was extremely successful, with 86,592 pay-per-view television subscribers.
Late 1990s controversy and reform
The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of U.S. authorities.
In 1996, U.S. Senator John McCain saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. He led a campaign to ban the UFC, calling it "human cockfighting", and sent letters to the governors of all 50 US states asking them to ban it.
Thirty-six states enacted laws that banned "no-holds-barred" fighting, including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12, forcing it to relocate to Dothan, Alabama. The UFC continued to air on DirecTV PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the era's larger cable pay-per-view platforms.
In response to the criticism, the UFC increased cooperation with state athletic commissions and modified its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For UFC 14, gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15 saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21, the UFC gradually rebranded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle. The implementation of rules changed the game of many fighters, such as Mark Coleman; Coleman made potent use of headbutts for his ground-and-pound tactics, which was banned with the new ruleset.
Led by UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick and referee John McCarthy, the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions. Blatnick, McCarthy, and matchmaker Joe Silva created a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and rules to help in getting the UFC sanctioned by the athletic commissions, many of which exist to this day. Blatnick and McCarthy traveled around the country, educating regulators and changing perceptions about a sport that was thought to be bloodthirsty and inhumane. By April 2000, their movement had clearly made an impact. California was set to become the first state in the U.S. to sign off on a set of codified rules that governed MMA. Soon after, New Jersey adopted the language.
2001 and the beginning of Zuffa era
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy, when Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their business partner Dana White approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying 'What are you getting?'" Lorenzo Fertitta revealed to Fighters Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said 'What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.'" Along with the trademark, they acquired a wooden octagon and around a dozen fighter's contracts. Later on, they negotiated a deal to buy UFC's DVD rights from Lionsgate for an additional two million dollars.
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television, with UFC 33 featuring three championship bouts.
The UFC slowly rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view, and subsequent home video and DVD releases.
White later said that "Nobody took us seriously, except Donald Trump. Donald was the first to recognize the potential that we saw in the UFC, and encouraged us to build our business". With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net. The Best Damn Sports Show Period aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5. Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC.
UFC 40 proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event was a near sellout of 13,022 at the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay-per-view buys, a rate roughly double that of the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card headlined by a championship match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock, who had previously left to professionally wrestle in WWE before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997. UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event, and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC, and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts could become big. Beyond the rivalry itself, the success of UFC 40 was due in part to the marketing and outreach power of crossover athletes – from Pro Wrestling to MMA and MMA to Pro Wrestling – a practice with roots in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships. Long time UFC referee John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
Mid-2000s expansion
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52, the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer, Randy Couture, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC's match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie — featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61 featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3. The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against no holds barred fighting, lobbied numerous athletic commissions to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that had yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL) from making a deal with Versus (now NBC Sports Network). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract. The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes.
In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA). The WFA had signed major fighters at the time, most notably Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida, but their events turned out to be a financial disaster. Zuffa bought select assets from WFA, including select fighter contracts, as well as trademarks and other intellectual property.
Late 2000s–mid-2010s growth with UFC 100
Popularity surged in 2009 with UFC 100 and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94, and 98. UFC 100 was a success, garnering 1.6 million buys under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, Canadian Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian Thiago Alves, and American Dan Henderson opposing British Michael Bisping at middleweight after the two were rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom.
UFC 100 drew interest from ESPN, which provided coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it. ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of MMA Live on ESPN2 in May 2010.
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues—including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.
However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson—rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights—at UFC 114, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by black fighters. The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at UFC 116, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin before 1.25 million PPV viewers. Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal. However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm-triangle choke to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights.
2016 sale to WME-IMG and a new era
In May 2016, ESPN originally reported that the UFC's parent company Zuffa, LLC was in talks to sell the company for $3.5 billion to $4 billion. In 2015, the UFC had a reported EBITDA of $200–250 million. No official comment was made from the UFC or Dana White regarding the sale. Companies initially interested in the sale were Dalian Wanda Group, China Media Capital, and WME–IMG (Endeavor).
On July 9, 2016, it was officially announced that the UFC would be sold to a group led by WME–IMG, its owner Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital, for $4.025 billion. At the time, it marked the largest-ever acquisition in sports. Flash Entertainment (owned by the government of Abu Dhabi) retained its 10% minority stake in the company. White, who owned 9% of the UFC, stayed, having been given a stake in the new business. White remained president. Fertitta stepped down as chairman and CEO. WME–IMG was renamed Endeavor in September 2017. Three years into the Endeavor era, White revealed that an undisclosed company bid $5 billion but the Fertittas chose WME–IMG due to a connection they already made with its CEO Ari Emanuel.
In October 2016, MMAJunkie obtained a UFC financial report released by Endeavor, detailing that the promotion had reached a year-to-year high of $609 million in revenue during 2015. 76% of the total was credited to "content" revenue, covering media rights, PPV buys and UFC Fight Pass subscriptions; in turn, 42% of content revenue was credited to pay-per-view buys, followed by U.S. and international media rights.
In May 2018, UFC reached new U.S. media rights deals with Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International and ESPN Inc., succeeding those with 21st Century Fox, which began in January 2019. The five-year contracts were cumulatively valued at $300 million per-year for digital and linear rights, roughly doubling the amount paid by Fox in the final year of its previous contract, and included 42 events on ESPN platforms per-year. ESPN linear networks televised preliminary cards for UFC PPV events, and 10 UFC on ESPN Fight Night events per-year. The subscription streaming service ESPN+ broadcast 20 exclusive events per-year under the branding UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night; regardless of network, all Fight Night events featured a full, 12-fight card, and their preliminaries aired exclusively on ESPN+. The ESPN+ service also held on-demand rights to UFC library and archive content, new seasons of Dana White's Contender Series, and other new original content. UFC Fight Pass was purchasable as an add-on for ESPN+ to stream pay-per-view events.
TKO era
On September 12, 2023, Endeavor merged with professional wrestling promotion WWE to form a new publicly traded company under the stock symbol "TKO", overseen by Endeavor's CEO Ari Emanuel. WWE's shareholders held a 49% stake in the new company, with Vince McMahon serving as an executive chairman before resigning on January 26, 2024, after Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit against McMahon for sex trafficking and sexual assault; the merger agreement valued UFC at $12.1 billion. White continued to serve as the CEO for UFC, with his role remaining the same as during the Endeavor period.
On June 6, 2025, the UFC announced the creation of UFC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (UFC BJJ), a sister submission grappling promotion company described by the UFC as "the world's new premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu live event series". The promotion held its inaugural event, UFC BJJ 1: Musumeci vs. Gabriel, on June 25, 2025, as part of UFC 317 International Fight Week. During the build-up to UFC BJJ 1, the UFC BJJ: Road to the Title reality web television series aired daily on YouTube.
On August 11, 2025, UFC announced a seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights agreement with Paramount Skydance; the agreement will see all UFC events stream exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States, including 13 numbered events and 30 UFC Fight Night cards per-year. Under the agreement, UFC will move away from the pay-per-view model for numbered events: they will stream at no additional charge to Paramount+ subscribers, and it was stated that "selected" numbered events would also be carried by the CBS broadcast network. TKO Group CEO Mark Shapiro described the PPV model as "outdated"; while the exact number of events on broadcast television has not been determined, Shapiro did not rule out that all numbered events could be aired by CBS. Contrarily, White did not rule out "one-off" PPV events in a hypothetical scenario. The contract is one of the first major new rights agreements reached by the company since its acquisition by Skydance Media. On October 28, 2025, UFC and Paramount Skydance announced that all UFC events would also stream exclusively on Paramount+ in Latin America, while Australia would exclusively get all UFC Fight Nights and preliminary matches for the numbered events on their version of the service, as the main card rights are held by Foxtel.
Facilities
UFC Apex
The UFC Apex is a live events and production facility. The facility was officially opened on June 18, 2019. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, several UFC events (including UFC 250) were held at Apex behind closed doors. The Octagon at the Apex is notable for being smaller than the Octagon used at all other UFC events, with 25-foot width rather than the usual 30-feet.
UFC Performance Institute
The UFC Performance Institute is the official mixed martial arts school for UFC. The building is located in Las Vegas, Nevada opposite the UFC Apex. The institute was opened in 2017, and is the world's first mixed martial arts center for innovation, research and training. As many as 400 MMA athletes have visited the center, as well as NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB athletes.
In June 2019, a second facility was opened in Shanghai, China. In 2021, UFC was named the official "high performance advisor" of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), under which the Performance Institute in Shanghai would be designated as an official high performance training facility of the COC, and would offer access to its resources for Chinese athletes training to compete in the Olympic Games.
In February 2024, the third Performance Institute was opened in Mexico City, Mexico.
Drug policy efforts
During the early years of mixed martial arts, when Pride Fighting Championships along with the Ultimate Fighting Championship were early premierships of the sport, it has been documented that there was a noteworthy lack of rules and regulations regarding drug testing for performance-enhancing drugs. This led to a widespread debate and discussion regarding how prevalent the use of steroids were in the sport, as well as a long list of competitors in the UFC and other major organizations facing failed drug tests. This was further highlighted by continued problems with UFC champions, including Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, failing drug tests. So in February 2015, UFC announced a more aggressive year round, random-testing approach for its competitors to begin in July 2015.
USADA anti-doping partnership (2015–2024)
UFC announced a partnership with United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on June 3, 2015, as the UFC's official, independent anti-doping agency. The UFC USADA testing program became effective on July 1, 2015, and includes a minimum of 2,750 drug tests per year with an average of five tests per fighter, and punishments for fighters who fail the tests. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, fighters are subject to random tests at any time and place on all in- and out-of-competition blood and urine samples collected by USADA. Fighters must participate in the testing pool for at least six months prior to a fight in order to qualify for a UFC event. In February 2017, UFC made changes to the anti-doping policy, effective April 1, 2017, as follows: (1) Fighters who are new to the UFC with no previous contract would be subject to a one-month testing rule. The same rule applies to returning fighters who were terminated or whose contracts were not renewed at the decision of the UFC. Previously, returning or terminated fighters were required to undergo four months of testings prior to competing in a fight. (2) Returning fighters who have chosen to retire, go on hiatus, or had a non-renewal of their contract, are required to be in a six-month testing pool prior to competition. (3) No doping violation is handed down to newly signed UFC fighters who voluntarily disclose the use of a prohibited substance prior to testing. (4) "In-competition" testing begins at noon on the weigh-in day and ends one hour after a fighter clears a post-fight medical for non-selected post-fight testing. For fighters who are subjected to post-fight testing the in-competition testing ends after any post-fight testing is done.
In September 2018, it was indicated no announcements would be made on fighters who have been flagged for a potential doping violation until the entire adjudication processes are conducted with the results of the potential doping violation. This came after several cases of fighters, such as Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos, Josh Barnett and Cris Cyborg, being flagged for potential doping violations, but cleared after they were proved of unintentional use of performance enhancing drugs (usually in the form of contaminated supplements). On November 25, 2019, news surfaced that the UFC and USADA had revised their policies, providing a list of certified supplements that will not lead to sanctions should contaminated samples occur. In January 2021, USADA announced that marijuana would no longer be included in the list of banned substances and they would not penalize any fighter for testing positive for it either before, during, or after a fight. The only exception would be if a fighter was visibly impaired on fight night. Fighters are subject to be suspended up to four years depending on the banned substance used. The common banned substances detected by USADA from suspended fighters are 7-keto-DHEA for weight loss, Anastrozole for estrogen blocker, Clenbuterol for thinning blood to increase oxygen, EPO for stimulating the production of red blood cells which would increase oxygen to muscles, Higenamine for increase heart contraction and speeding up heart rate, Tamoxifen for estrogen blocker, Furosemide, Hydrochlorothiazide for diuretic agent to mask potential doping evidence, Meldonium for stimulating the production of red blood cells which would increase oxygen to muscles, Cocaine, Fentanyl for substances of abuse, Boldenone, Turinabol- (steroid for horses), Drostanolone, hGH, Ibutamoren, Ipamorelin, LGD-4033, Metandienone, Ostarine, Stanozolol, Trenbolone for increased muscle mass and strength, Androstenedione, Androsta, Clomiphene, Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone, and Testosterone for increased testosterone.
Drug Free Sport International anti-doping partnership (2024–present)
With the UFC's partnership with USADA coming to an end in 2023, the UFC announced a new partnership with Drug Free Sport International, the same company that oversees the anti-doping programs of the NCAA, MLB, NFL, and NBA. The administration of the UFC Anti-Doping Program, including sanctioning decisions, will be handled exclusively and independently by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), where the former FBI agent George Piro would serve as the independent administrator of the UFC's anti-doping program. This partnership began in 2024, after their contract with USADA expired on December 31, 2023. The UFC announced that former FBI agent George Piro would serve as the independent administrator of the UFC's anti-doping program.
Anti-piracy efforts
UFC has been one of the largest and most aggressive spenders among anti-piracy political lobbyists in the United States since the end of the 2000s. One thing in particular that sets them apart from other sports leagues is that, in addition to supporting efforts of stricter piracy laws, they have also on numerous occasions gone after selected individuals in addition to pirate hosting websites. Some of the most notable cases have included, a well publicized lawsuit with Justin.tv in 2011 and a $32 million settlement involving a New York man in 2014.
UFC has always maintained the stance that the large amounts of illegal streams of their events causes massive financial losses. In response to having such a stringent stance it has been extremely controversial and has caused a number of debates within the mixed martial arts community on its effectiveness. As a result, the UFC began experimenting on an online subscription model known as UFC Fight Pass in 2014. It is unclear how beneficial the service has been since its emphasis has been largely minimal next to UFC's partnership with Fox and noticeable decline in average PPV buyrates, highlighted by the S&P downgrading Zuffa's credit rating in late 2014.
Insurance policy
On May 9, 2011, it was announced that UFC would be providing year-round customized insurance coverage for any injury suffered by Strikeforce and UFC independent contractor athletes. The policy covers any injuries that occur during competition, training, and non-training related accidents. The policy was underwritten by Houston-based specialty insurance group HCC Insurance Holdings and went into effect on June 1, 2011.
The details of the policy include:
Coverage for all athletes signed by the UFC or Strikeforce.
Coverage for athletes residing both within and outside of the United States.
Zuffa paying for all premiums for the policy, with athletes not required to pay anything.
Allowing athletes to use up to $50,000 in annual coverage for any injuries that occur while under contract to Zuffa. This includes services such as, doctor services, laboratory tests, emergency medical evacuation, and physical therapy.
Coverage for athletes regardless of if they are scheduled to compete.
Life and dental insurance at no cost to the athletes.
No coverage for minor illnesses, but training-related illnesses like staph infections are covered.
An insurance policy is not a first for mixed martial arts or combat sports as a whole. Former promotions such as the International Fight League, offered insurance to its athletes. However Zuffa's policy is the first to cover a large group of combat sport athletes. According to UFC president Dana White, the policy was a goal of the company since Zuffa first purchased the UFC in 2001. In addition UFC chairman and CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta stated that the policy took three years to establish while trying to find possible insurers. Prior to the introduction of this policy, Zuffa provided up to $100,000 for an athlete on each event to cover injuries sustained during competition. However, if an athlete was injured outside of competition they would have to pay for their own medical expenses.
Impact on MMA regulations
The current rules used in the UFC were first established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board in 2000, in consultation with the UFC and other MMA promotions in the United States. The first UFC event under the new rules was UFC 28, held before Zuffa's takeover. New Jersey's Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts has since been established throughout the country by other state athletic commissions, including Nevada and California. The UFC has, however, kept close ties with state commissions, especially the Nevada State Athletic Commission, of which Lorenzo Fertitta is a former board member.
Legal disputes and monopoly accusations
Federal Trade Commission investigation
In the months following the March 2011 acquisition of rival promotion Strikeforce, rumours began to circulate that a possible investigation by the FTC would take place. These rumours later came to be true when it was officially announced around the end of January 2012 that the FTC had in fact conducted an investigation, and found no wrongdoings regarding the UFC being a monopoly.
Class action lawsuits
On December 16, 2014, a class action lawsuit was filed against UFC by fighters Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry. Within a few days, Javier Vazquez and Dennis Hallman filed a second class action. And on December 24, Brandon Vera and Pablo Garza filed a third lawsuit. Shortly after the initial news spreading, UFC quickly responded following the first class action with the statement that, "The UFC will vigorously defend itself and its business practices." This soon led other promoters such as Scott Coker, President of Bellator MMA, expressing an interest in the outcome of the lawsuit, while rejecting his organization as being labeled a "minor league" as was done several times in the initial filing. By the end of December 2014, the UFC made a formal statement stating, "We are proud of the company we have built, confident in our legal position, and intend to prevail in this lawsuit."
On February 7, 2015, a fourth lawsuit was filed against the UFC, this one by Mac Danzig and Gabe Ruediger. It was around this time that UFC motioned to move the hearing date from May 7 to March 26, as well as to move the venue from Northern California to Las Vegas, where they are headquartered. A few weeks later, UFC motioned to have the lawsuits dismissed, in four separate documents they claim, "The Complaints' vague and conclusory allegations fall far short of the Supreme Court's requirements in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, for pleading specific facts showing a plausible antitrust claim."
Shortly thereafter, a fifth lawsuit was added by Kyle Kingsbury and Darren Uyenoyama on March 20, 2015. On April 12, the plaintiff athletes filed an opposition to February's motion to dismiss and transfer. Following the May 7 hearing regarding the motion to change venue, a Californian federal judge granted UFC the motion to change venue to Las Vegas after citing contract agreements from the former employees. As a result of the change of venue to Nevada, UFC was denied its motion to remain a discovery for 15 years of its financial records. This would prompt a debate, especially by MMAFA founder Rob Maysey, on who should have access to the UFC's sensitive information and how that information should be viewed.
Both sides have argued for different criteria, so as not to put them at a disadvantage. However, UFC has requested a two-tiered system of confidentiality: confidential and highly confidential. They have stated they feel that Maysey's access to highly confidential information could have an influential impact on him and his role in the MMAFA. Meanwhile, Maysey has openly stated his goal is to represent the fighters and ultimately try to get a reform similar to the Ali Act of 2000.
Relationships with combat sports organizations
International Fight League
Throughout the existence of the International Fight League (IFL) between 2006 and 2008, both UFC and the IFL had competed in a hostile relationship. UFC accused the IFL and sued them for illegally using proprietary information obtained by hiring executives from their organization. The IFL responded with their own suit claiming that UFC was threatening potential partners not to work with the IFL, including Fox Sports Net (a deal with Fox Sports was later signed before resolution of the suit). The tension between the IFL and the UFC worsened with accusations that the IFL had attempted to buy out several top UFC fighters.
In July 2008, there were reports of the IFL's possible purchase by the UFC. That same month, Joe Favorito, former IFL senior vice president, cited financial troubles for the closing of the company on July 31, 2008. Anonymous sources stated that UFC had bought the IFL. Other reports cited the UFC's airing of IFL footage on its programming, and the signing of previous IFL fighters, as an indirect confirmation of the purchase. As of 2026, the reports of the UFC's purchase of the IFL have not been confirmed and IFL footage does not appear on UFC Fight Pass.
World Fighting Alliance
On December 11, 2006, the UFC acquired the assets of the World Fighting Alliance (WFA), and formed a WFA-focused subsidiary to handle these assets, including select fighter contracts. On the same day, it was reported that UFC was formalizing plans to buy World Extreme Cagefighting, to be run as a separate promotion.
World Extreme Cagefighting
Following the purchase of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), UFC made several changes to the promotion. This included modifying the WEC's cage, transferring to a focus on lighter weight classes, giving it the ability to host events in Las Vegas, and having the championships of fighters who were contracted UFC fighters vacated. From 2007 to the end of 2010, the WEC was run as a separate promotion under the UFC banner, airing events 28 to 53 on Versus in the US and on The Score in Canada. On October 28, 2010, Dana White announced that the WEC would be absorbed into the UFC in early 2011.
Pride Fighting Championships
On March 27, 2007, it was announced that the UFC's Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta were acquiring the assets of Pride Fighting Championships, the UFC's largest rival, from Dream Stage Entertainment. To handle the take over, the Fertitta brothers created a new corporate entity to handle the assets, Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. With common ownership in place, Zuffa and Pride Worldwide would be working closely together. Although goals of reviving Pride were not realized, many of Pride's assets, including contracts with fighters and intellectual property, are now regularly utilized by the UFC.
Strikeforce
On March 12, 2011, it was announced that the UFC had purchased Strikeforce in a deal made with partial owner Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment. The amount of money involved has not been officially disclosed, however, it has been reported that the deal was worth $40 million. The deal included licensing rights, fighter contracts, and the Strikeforce video library. Strikeforce continued to operate as a separate company, similar to that of the WEC, until January 12, 2013. After the final show was held in Oklahoma City, the promotion was dissolved and several fighter contracts were absorbed into the UFC.
United Glory
When United Glory was originally formed in 2006, it was known as Ultimate Glory before a lawsuit with UFC forced a name change.
Invicta Fighting Championships
In June 2014 the UFC announced that they had signed a multi-year, multi-event broadcast deal to show and archive all Invicta Fighting Championships events on UFC Fight Pass. This has allowed the UFC to further expand its women's divisions by adding a strawweight division in July 2014, and signing Invicta fighters such as Carla Esparza and Felice Herrig.
Shooto
In June 2014 the UFC announced that they had signed a development deal with the recently revived, Vale Tudo Japan. A brand that was brought back in 2012 by the long running, Shooto promotion. The UFC plans on promoting and operating a new tournament series that will focus on 135 and 145 pound divisions. There were plans of a The Ultimate Fighter-like TV show to help promote these tournaments but it is unclear on what the status remains on it.
Rules and features
The current rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were originally established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. The set of "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" that New Jersey established has been adopted in other states that regulate mixed martial arts, including Nevada, Louisiana, and California. These rules are also used by many other promotions within the United States, becoming mandatory for those states that have adopted the rules, and so have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the country.
Rounds
UFC matches vary in maximum length, depending on whether the match is for a championship title, or is a fight card's "main event" fight. In all fights, each round can be no longer than five minutes. Championship fights last for a maximum of five rounds. Beginning with UFC 138 on November 5, 2011, non-championship "main event" fights (i.e. the final fight on the card) will also last for a maximum of five rounds. Non-main event bouts last for a maximum of three rounds. UFC 263 marked the first time in UFC history that a non-title bout other than the main-event was scheduled for 5 rounds. UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann featured the organization's first two flyweight fights as part of its first flyweight tournament, which consists of bouts that, in the event of a draw, go to a fourth "sudden victory" round held to determine the winner, who advances. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.
Cage
The UFC stages bouts in an eight-sided enclosure officially named "The Octagon". Originally, SEG trademarked the concept as well as the term and prevented other mixed martial arts promotions from using the same type of cage, but in 2001 Zuffa gave permission for other promotions to use octagonal cages, reasoning that the young sport needed uniformity to continue to win official sanctioning. Today Zuffa reserves exclusive use of the name "The Octagon".
The UFC cage is an octagonal structure with walls of metal chain-link fence coated with black vinyl. The standard octagon has a diameter of 30 ft (9.1 m) with a 6 ft (1.8 m) high fence. The cage sits atop a platform, raising it 4 ft (1.2 m) from the ground. It has foam padding around the top of the fence and between each of the eight sections. It also has two entry-exit gates opposite each other. The mat (also referred to as the canvas), painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event.
For smaller venues and events, the UFC often uses a smaller cage, which is only 25 ft (7.6 m) across.
Attire
All competitors fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Tops are only approved for female competitors. Required safety equipment include padded gloves, mouthguard, and protective cups held in place with a jockstrap for males. The open-fingered gloves have at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. To ensure compliance, fighters are checked by a state athletic committee official before being allowed to enter the cage/ring.
Originally the attire for UFC was very open. Many fighters still chose to wear tight-fitting shorts or boxing-type trunks, while others wore long pants or singlets. Several wore wrestling shoes. Multi-time tournament champion Royce Gracie wore a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi in all of his early appearances in UFC (Gracie wore shorts against Matt Hughes at UFC 60), while Art Jimmerson appeared in UFC 1 wearing one standard boxing glove. As of UFC 133 there has been a ban on speedo style shorts after Dennis Hallman wore one in his fight against Brian Ebersole. UFC president Dana White was so furious about the fighter's choice of attire that he awarded an honorary "getting those horrifying shorts off TV as soon as possible" bonus of $70,000 to Ebersole for finishing the fight in the first round, and in following post-fight interviews made it clear that speedo style shorts will no longer be tolerated.
On December 2, 2014, the UFC and Reebok held a press conference to announce an exclusive deal for Reebok to become the worldwide outfitter for the UFC, beginning in July 2015. Financial terms of the six-year partnership were not released, but UFC officials said that though the agreement represents the most valuable non-broadcast contract the company has ever signed, the UFC will not directly profit from the new deal. Instead, company execs said the deal is structured so that the "vast majority of the revenue" from the deal – taking out only the costs associated with administering the new program – will be paid directly to UFC fighters.
Payment on the new deal was originally expected to be based on the fighter's spot in the official UFC rankings, with the exception of the UFC champions. Fighters ranked No. 1 to 5 would be paid at one level, No. 6 to 10 at a lower level, No. 11 to 15 below that, and unranked fighters at a base rate. The payments would remain consistent regardless of where the athletes' bouts air. In addition to the per-fight rate, fighters would also receive royalty payments representing 20 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness. The royalty program would also include retired fighters and continue in perpetuity. The deal itself was reported to be worth 70 million dollars which was what the fighters would be paid over the next six years which is roughly 260 thousand dollars per UFC fight card. In April 2015, the UFC announced that they scrapped the idea of the ranking and that payment will be based on the fighter's number of bouts in the octagon, with different tiers (1–5 fights, 6–10 fights, 11–15 fights, and 16–20 fights). Exceptions are made in the event of title fights, with champions and title challengers receiving greater compensation. The kits were revealed on June 30, 2015. All kits feature the fighter's name on the back of the jersey and fighters have the option to choose between a universal kit or a country kit, related to their nationality. There is also a champion kit, designed to be used only by title holders.
New glove
On April 12, 2024, UFC announced a new glove where changes were made to reduce hand injuries and eye pokes (every 14 fights with an average delay of 50 seconds), while maintaining dexterity and not affecting performance. The new gloves were already tested during the ten weeks of the Dana White's Contender Series 2023 and gloves will be used starting June 2024. New features of the gloves include: (1) a wristband locking system to prevent grabbing of the gloves; (2) all seams are now on the palm side with a lack of seams on top of the hands to minimize abrasions and cuts; (3) removal of finger binding that allows the hand to close maturely to reduce eyes pokes, abrasions, and cuts; (4) padding to the sides of the index and pinky finger of the glove to protect bone; (5) ergonomic curved wristband for better fit around the wrist scooped or angled finger holes to eliminate bunching on the inside of the fisted hand lining; (6) and thicker foam padding for maximum flexibility and protection with an updated law profile hook and loop that minimizes snag and reduces weight; they have an authentication and data chip which allows the UFC to identify a pair of gloves to a fighter in a specific fight.
The gloves come in XXXS to XXXXL sizes with weight lighter by 1 to 1.5 ounces compared to the previous gloves; the new glove weighs between 3 and 4.9 oz. New gloves include five different glove colors: gun-metal gloves will be used for traditional UFC fights; gold gloves with an octagon trim for championship fights and main event bouts; black gloves for "The Ultimate Fighter"; blue gloves for Dana White's Contender Series; and red gloves for Road to the UFC tournaments.
On November 12, it was reported that the UFC had notified fighters competing in upcoming events, starting from UFC 309, that the organization will reintroduce its previous glove design, which had been replaced at UFC 302 in June. UFC president Dana White cited frequent complaints from fighters as being the reason for the change, even though the new design had only been in use for six months.
Match outcomes
Matches may end via:
Submission: a fighter clearly taps the mat or their opponent, verbally submits, or clearly communicates being in pain (such as by yelling) to a degree that causes the referee to stop the fight. Also, a technical submission may be called when a fighter either loses consciousness or is on the verge of or suffers a serious injury while in a hold.
Knockout: a fighter is put into a state of unconsciousness resulting from any legal strike.
Technical Knockout (TKO): If the referee decides a fighter cannot continue, the fight is ruled as a technical knockout. Technical knockouts can be classified into three categories:
referee stoppage (the referee ends the fight because one fighter is deemed unable to intelligently defend themselves)
doctor stoppage (a ringside doctor decides that it is unsafe for one fighter to continue the bout, due to excessive bleeding or physical injuries)
corner stoppage (a fighter's cornerman/cornerwoman signals defeat for their own fighter)
forfeit (a fighter fails to compete or intentionally and prematurely ends the bout for a reason besides injury, resulting in the opponent's victory)
Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for fighter A)
majority decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a draw)
split decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B)
Judging criteria
The ten-point must system is in effect for all UFC fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points while the loser receives nine points or fewer (although 10–10 rounds are given in the rare event that a judge feels the rounds was too close to warrant giving one fighter 10 and the other 9.) Scores of 10–8 are typically awarded for dominant rounds and anything more dominant is scored less. 10–7 rounds are very rare, with only five known instances in UFC history—if a round is lopsided enough that a 10–7 score would be justified, the referee will usually declare a technical knockout and stop the fight as a safety precaution.
Fouls
The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls:
Head-butting
Eye-gouging
Biting
Hair pulling
Fish-hooking
Groin attacks
Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent (see Fish-hooking)
Small joint manipulation
Striking to the spine or the back of the head (see Rabbit punch)
Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
Grabbing the clavicle (collarbone)
Kicking to the kidney with the heel
Spiking an opponent to the canvas on the head or neck (see Piledriver)
Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area
Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
Spitting at an opponent or the referee
Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent
Holding or grabbing the ropes or the fence
Match conduct
After a verbal warning, the referee can stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position or working towards one). This rule is codified in Nevada as the stand-up rule.
If the referee pauses the match, it is resumed with the fighters in their prior positions.
Grabbing the cage brings a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt fails or if the fighter continues to hold the cage, the referee may charge a foul.
Early UFC events disregarded verbal sparring/"trash-talking" during matches. Under unified rules, antics are permitted before events to add to the excitement and allow fighters to express themselves, but abusive language during combat is prohibited.
Evolution of the rules
UFC 1 – Although the advertising said There Are No Rules, there were in fact some rules: no biting, no eye-gouging and no groin attacks. Fights ended only in the event of a knockout, submission or the corner throwing in the towel. Despite this, the first match in UFC 1 was won by referee stoppage, even though it was not officially recognized as such at the time.
UFC 2 – Groin attacks were unbanned. Time limits were dropped ending the need for judges. Modifications to the cage were added (the fence became 5 feet tall but would continually grow in height afterwards and the floor became the canvas that is still used today).
UFC 3 – The referee was officially given the authority to stop a fight in case of a fighter being unable to defend himself. A fighter could not kick if he was wearing shoes. This rule would later be discarded, then changed to 'no kicking with shoes while on the ground' and then reinstated, before finally being discarded.
UFC 4 – After tournament alternate Steve Jennum won UFC 3 by winning only one bout, alternates (replacements) were required to win a pre-tournament bout to qualify for the role of an alternate.
UFC 5 – The organizers introduced a 30-minute time limit. UFC 5 also saw the first Superfight, a one-off bout between two competitors selected by the organizers with the winner being crowned 'Superfight champion' and having the duty of defending his title at the next UFC.
UFC 6 – The referee was given the authority to restart the fight. If two fighters were entangled in a position where there was a lack of action, the referee could stop the fight and restart the competitors on their feet, in their own corner. In UFC 6 they officially adopted the 5-minute extension to the 30-minute rule which had been used in UFC 5.
Ultimate Ultimate 1995 – This event was the first to introduce the no fish-hooking rule and to reinstate judges. Time limits were changed to 15 minutes in the quarter-finals, 18 minutes in the semi-finals and 27 minutes in the finals.
The Ultimate Fighter rules
Fights that occur on The Ultimate Fighter are classified as exhibition matches under NSAC sanctioning, and thus do not count toward a fighter's professional record. Match outcomes also do not need to be immediately posted publicly, which allows for fight results to remain unknown to the public until the airdate of the episode.
For two-round matches, if there is a draw after two rounds, an extra five-minute round ("sudden victory") is contested. If the extra round concludes without a stoppage, the judges' decision will be based on that final round.
These exhibition matches variably have two or three rounds, depending on the rules used for each season. In most seasons, preliminary matches (before the semi-final bouts) were two rounds; in season two, all matches had three rounds. All matches past the first round use three rounds as per standard UFC bouts. During the finales for each series, the division finals have the standard three rounds, plus a fourth round if the judges score a tie.
Weight divisions and current champions
The UFC currently uses nine weight classes: Updated as of August 15, 2026, after UFC 330.
Non-title fights have a one-pound leniency. In title fights, the participants must weigh no more than that permitted for the relevant weight division. The Commission may also approve catch weight bouts, subject to their review and discretion. For example, the Commission may still decide to allow the contest the maximum weight allowed is 177 pounds if it feels that the contest would still be fair, safe, and competitive. In addition, there are five weight classes specified in the Unified Rules which the UFC does not currently use: Super Lightweight (165 pounds), Super Welterweight (175 pounds), Super Middleweight (195 pounds), Cruiserweight (225 pounds), and Super Heavyweight (>265 pounds).
Roster
As of October 20, 2020, the UFC roster consisted of fighters from 71 countries. As of June 14, 2025, there are 596 fighters on the UFC roster, a plurality of which, 207 or 35%, are American. Despite having the largest pool of fighters, there are no male American champions in the UFC as of June 22, 2025.
Fighter salaries and contracts
UFC fighters are paid a substantially lower share of revenue than athletes in comparable sports, and other large MMA promotions. UFC fighters are paid per fight, with amounts depending on how well-known the fighters are and how well sponsored a fighter and an event is. Fighters will typically get paid money to fight, called show money, with an additional bonus if they win, called a win bonus. Despite not being officially confirmed by the UFC, Justin Gaethje revealed in January 2019 that headlining an event nets an additional $25,000 per fighter. While fighters new to the UFC can make as little as about $10,000 per fight (without a win bonus), more established fighters have made as much as $500,000 to $1 million per fight. Occasionally, fighters will earn more. For example, at UFC 202, Conor McGregor made a reported $3 million, a UFC record for one fight, while his opponent Nate Diaz made a reported $2 million. The combined $5 million made between the fighters was the largest combined fight purse in UFC history.
Cash bonuses are also awarded for "Fight of the Night" and "Performance of the Night" (formerly awarded separately as "Knockout of the Night"). The size of these bonuses can sometimes be US$80,000 (but are normally US$50,000). For less well-known fighters, they can be several times larger than the contracted amount for the fight. Contracted amounts generally have to be declared to the state athletic commission; however, the UFC also pays undisclosed locker-room bonuses to fighters. In early 2021, Dana White revealed that these bonuses vary from $4,000 to $25,000. In recent years, UFC fighters' contracts and merchandising rights have been the subject of dispute between fighters (represented by growing the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association) and UFC, which has attempted to defend existing regulations.
UFC is contractually bound to offer every fighter three fights per calendar year and if they don't, the organization has to pay the fighter for the lacking fights. For example, if the UFC offers a fighter only one fight during the year, they have to pay the fighter for two additional fights. However, if a fight is offered but turned down by the fighter, it is still counted as an offered fight from the contractual viewpoint.
Starting at UFC 273, three "Fan Bonus Of The Night", for every pay-per-view event, were awarded by Crypto.com, as part of Crypto.com UFC sponsorship incentive fight kits deal, for every pay-per-view event starting UFC 273. Viewers vote up to three times per pay-per-view on Crypto.com/FanBonus, starting from the opening of the PPV preliminary card and ending an hour after the conclusion of the main card. The bonuses are paid in bitcoin in US dollars ranging from US$30,000 for first place, US$20,000 for second place, and US$10,000 for third place. From 2023, the times these awards were given less frequent and not for every pay-per-view for unknown reasons.
UFC rankings
As of January 27, 2020, it was announced through Twitter by Bruno Massami that the UFC has decided to separate its pound-for-pound ranking. Men and women will have their own pound-for-pound rankings.
Men's pound-for-pound ranking
Rankings released on September 8, 2026, after UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse.
Women's pound-for-pound ranking
Rankings released on September 8, 2026, after UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse.
UFC events
MMA journalists and fans have criticized the UFC for putting on too many shows and thus diluting the quality of their product.
Production team
Comedian, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Taekwondo black belt Joe Rogan teams up with play-by-play announcer Jon Anik, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and Megan Olivi to provide commentary during broadcasts of most UFC events in the US. For 20 years Rogan and Mike Goldberg provided commentary at live events. The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is announcer Bruce Buffer. Arianny Celeste, Rachelle Leah, Brittney Palmer, Carly Baker, Vanessa Hanson, Chrissy Blair, Jhenny Andrade, Camila Oliveira, Luciana Andrade, Jamilette Gaxiola, and Red Dela Cruz are Octagon girls. Each fighter is assigned a cutman by the promotion who cares for the fighter before the fight and in between rounds. Jacob "Stitch" Duran was one of the best known cutmen working for the organization. Matches are made by matchmakers, and VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva and Sean Shelby.
Media
Television
UFC Connected is a magazine style television show. In 2018 the UFC announced a monthly show to be hosted by UK presenter Layla Anna-Lee With regular contributions from Dan Hardy and John Gooden, UFC Connected features a behind the scenes look at the UFC and its athletes. The show is also shown on BT Sport in the UK.
UFC Now is a long running weekly television show presented by Karyn Bryant. The show has grown in popularity over the years where UFC fighters such as Cub Swanson, Kenny Florian and Alan Jouban appear as regular guests and analysts. The show is available on UFC Fight Pass and is aired on BT Sport in the UK. The show has regular segments such as breaking down the latest fighters for up and coming events, a roundhouse quiz, a top 5 selection and a rapid fire taking questions from fans via various social media platforms. Other guests who have regularly appeared are Michael Bisping, Tatiana Suarez, Daniel Cormier, Brendan Schaub, Brian Ortega and more throughout the years. It was reported in 2016 Schaub will no longer appear due to being banned from the show.
UFC Tonight is a television series produced by Fox Sports 1 and the UFC. Hosted by Kenny Florian and Karyn Bryant, the program features the latest news, highlights, and analysis from the UFC. This program was carried over to FS1 from Fuel TV (now Fox Sports 2).
UFC Unleashed is a television series produced by Spike TV and the UFC. It features matches from past UFC events. Episodes are one hour in length, showing several UFC bouts and "best of" compilations of popular fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. In Australia, the show can be seen on Weeknights on FX. In Sweden, the show can be seen on TV4 Sport. In Portugal, the show can be seen on Sic Radical. In Germany, the show can be seen on DSF. In the United Kingdom, the show can be seen on ESPN UK every Thursday at 10 pm. In Denmark, the show can be seen on Canal 8 Sport and Canal 9. In Finland, the show can be seen on MTV3 MAX. In France, the show can be seen on RTL9. In Brazil the show can be seen on Combate In Middle East, the show can be seen on ShowSports and FX Middle East.
Fox UFC (until 2018)
UFC All Access
UFC Primetime
Music
UFC: Ultimate Beatdowns, Vol. 1, an album of music featured in and inspired by the UFC.
Video games
Ultimate Fighting Championship (Dreamcast and PlayStation)
UFC: Tapout (Xbox)
UFC: Throwdown (GameCube, PlayStation 2)
UFC: Tapout 2 (Xbox)
UFC: Sudden Impact (PlayStation 2)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)
UFC Undisputed 2010 (PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone)
UFC Personal Trainer (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)
UFC Undisputed 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
EA Sports UFC (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
EA Sports UFC 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
EA Sports UFC 3 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
EA Sports UFC 4 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
EA Sports UFC 5 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
EA Sports UFC 6 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
In January 2007, Zuffa and video game developer/publisher THQ announced a license agreement giving THQ worldwide rights to develop titles under the UFC brand. The agreement gives THQ exclusive rights to current and next-generation consoles as well as to PC and handheld titles. Also included are "certain wireless rights" which were not detailed. The licensing agreement was set to expire in 2011, although it appeared to have been extended to 2017. On June 4, 2012, THQ announced they will be giving the license of UFC Undisputed to EA.
Action figures
The first UFC action figure collectibles were released by Round 5 Corporation in May 2008. Series one of their figures includes Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, and Randy Couture. Series two (released on November 10, 2008) includes Wanderlei Silva, Sean Sherk, Rich Franklin, and Anderson Silva.
In July 2009, Round 5 acquired the UFC license through Jakks Pacific and subsequently released five more series under the UFC and Pride brands. Two packs were released in August 2010 and include a UFC Octagon cage and Pride ring display stand. Limited edition versions include fabric walk-out tees or paint variations and are limited in number with foil and holographic packaging variances. Special edition and exclusive versions have been released at various UFC Fan Expo events.
On June 10, 2008, it was announced that UFC had signed an exclusive four-year contract with Jakks Pacific to create action figures for UFC. As of 2009 the schedule envisages the release of these figures in November 2009. They have currently been 8 series released and they feature special Legends, Pride, and WEC style figures as well. Three 2 packs series have also been released, as well as several expo and internet exclusives. There are also several different octagon cage playsets that have been released, including the "Octagon Playset", "Official Scale Octagon Playset", and "Electronic Reaction Octagon Playset". A Pridestyle ring playset was also originally planned; however, no news have been given on its status or release date since then.
Jakks Pacific UFC Deluxe Figure Lineups
Series 0: Royce Gracie (Legends Packaging), Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, Houston Alexander, Kendall Grove, Miguel Angel Torres (WEC Packaging)
Series 1: Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping, Evan Tanner (Legends Packaging), Kevin Randleman (Pride Packaging), Cheick Kongo, Mike Swick
Series 2: Nate Marquardt, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mike Thomas Brown (WEC Packaging), Bas Rutten (unreleased in this series, moved to series 6), Georges St-Pierre (unreleased in this series, moved to series 6), Lyoto Machida (unreleased in this series, moved to series 5), Quinton Jackson (unreleased in this series, moved to series 8), Thiago Alves (unreleased in this series, moved to series 6)
DVDs
Various UFC events have been released onto DVD. UFC 23 through UFC 29 were not released in the US on home video or DVD by SEG. They have since been released onto boxsets which feature around 10 events each set, in chronological order.
PlayStation Network and Xbox Live
UFC on-demand content launched for Xbox 360 on December 20, 2011. Subscribers were able to view pay-per-view events in high definition, connect with friends to predict fight results, and have the ability to compare fighter statistics and records. The UFC Fight Pass application was also planned for PlayStation 4 in early 2015. In 2015, UFC Fight Pass became available on the Xbox One. In December 2022, a PlayStation version of the app was released.
NFTs
In August 2021, the UFC began to release NFTs to commemorate big fights, milestones and moments via their official trading card partner, Panini America.
International broadcasters
The UFC's PPV events are broadcast live on pay-per-view in the US and TNT Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom
In the UK; BT Sport's first ever live event was August 3, 2013 UFC 163 headlined by José Aldo and The Korean Zombie. BT Sport were the first major broadcaster in the UK for the UFC where previously they had small coverage on Bravo, Setanta Sports and finally ESPN UK in August, 2012 until the BT Sport deal was in place.
As of August 2025, TNT Sports, the successor of BT Sport, holds exclusive rights to UFC in the United Kingdom.
Mexico
Events are broadcast live on Fighting Sports Network in Pay TV (Cable and Satellite) of SKY Satellite. Free TV Channels in Mexico, Fox Sports and Fox Premium in Pay TV (Cable and Satellite) Central America are broadcast with tape-delay.
Brazil
In Brazil, events are broadcast live on open television through Rede Bandeirantes, which transmits the Fight Night events and preliminary cards of main events, while the numbered events are on Fight Pass. Previously, Rede Globo broadcast it on its own martial arts channel Combate from 2011 to 2022, with select events on its broadcast network.
Asia
In Southeast Asia (exclude the Philippines), Hong Kong, and Papua New Guinea, UFC events are broadcast on Fox Movies Premium (2012–2013) and Fox Sports (2013–2021).
In India, events are broadcast on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 1 HD and Sony Ten 2 HD.
In the Philippines, UFC was also aired on Balls (now ABS-CBN Sports + Action HD) from 2009 until 2015, since moved to Sports5 (including TV5, AksyonTV and Hyper on Channel 91 (SD) and 261 (HD) via Cignal) starting January 3, 2016 until December 31, 2018, and is currently airing on TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation-owned sports cable television channel Premier Sports since October 2021.
In Sri Lanka, UFC events have been broadcast on several television networks over the years. Previously, UFC events were aired on various channels from 2012 to 2017, including Dialog TV and PEO TV. Starting January 15, 2018, Sony Sports Ten 2 became the primary broadcaster for UFC events in Sri Lanka, airing the events in English. Additionally, UFC events have been available via UFC Fight Pass, which offers live streaming of events and on-demand content for viewers in Sri Lanka.
In Indonesia, UFC events are currently broadcast on tvOne starting January 15, 2018; previously, this events was also broadcast on RCTI, iNews since 2012 until the end of 2017.
United Arab Emirates
On April 13, 2019, UFC's event was broadcast on Abu Dhabi Media.
Poland
In Poland since 2018 the official broadcaster of UFC it's Polsat Sport. Previously the UFC events in this nation are broadcast by Orange Sport and Extreme Sports Channel. The main Polish broadcasters of UFC telecasts, are Andrzej Janisz and Łukasz "Juras" Jurkowski.
Canada
In 2024, Rogers successfully bid for the rights to broadcast UFC in Canada on its Sportsnet channels. The UFC was previously on Sportsnet and French broadcaster TVA from September 2011 through the end of 2014 in Canada.
Russia
In Russian, UFC events are broadcast on Match TV, a Russian sports channel owned by Gazprom Media, starting 2022.