In 1993, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, the initial Ultimate Fighting Championship was held. Semaphore Entertainment Group was the television partner, after HBO and Showtime turned it down, and it was broadcast on pay-per-view and did very well. It was marketed as the war of the worlds, a no holds barred tournament. For once, everyone was going to see who was the best mixed martial artist.
Though the initial UFC event was a win, they were faced with a mountain of complications. The sport was too extreme for politicians as well as athletic commissions and ended up getting banned in most of the fifty states. There were no rules, fighters could headbutt, soccer kick a downed opponent, as well as even strike to the private parts. This led to the sport being labeled "human cockfighting," and Direct TV PPV was their only television partner. By that time, the owners of the UFC were looking for a way out. They were being pressured to add additional rules as well as reduce the violence. Nonetheless, they believed the brutality was what led to the first big hit of the UFC.
Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta (Station Casinos executives) as well as boxing promoter Dana White approached the owners of the UFC with an attempt to buy them out. A deal was made and the two brothers became the owners, while Dana White took over as the ring leader. They begun to work with athletic commissions and toned down the ferocity. They implemented weight classes, got rid of headbutting and strikes to the crotch, etc. They got approved in most of the fifty states and the cable television networks took them back. Nevertheless, it was the Ultimate Fighter reality show which launched the sport that has now emerge as one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
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