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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) production company, the biggest of such in the entire world and featuring the best fighters on offer.

The UFC is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was established in 1993, with the first event taking place in Denver Colorado.

Originally, the premise of the UFC was to pit fighters of different styles and weights against one another, such as the question of whether a “wrestler can beat a boxer”, in what was described as a “War of the Worlds” type event in late 1993.

It was intended to be a one-off event, but the popularity of it let to its gradually development into the UFC of today.

At its inception, interest was devoted to determining which fighting style was most effective. Competitors of many disciplines, such as boxing, ju-jitsu, Muay Thai and judo, amongst others, fought against one another with no distinct weight classes.

Through such a vast combination of different styles, it indirectly led to the development of the modern sport of MMA, which encompasses elements of many different fighting styles.

The UFC, at present, uses 9 different weight classes. The minimum weight class is strawweight, with competitors typically between 106-115 lbs, or between 48 and 52 kilograms. The maximum weight class is heavyweight, inclusive of those fighters weighing between 206-265 lbs, or 93-120 kilograms.

Non-title fights allow a very minor one-pound exception to the weight rules, whereas title fights strictly fall between the precise numbers of the given weight class.

The UFC has currently hosted 487 events, with 18 more booked for the remainder of 2019, which would put the number at 505. This equates to roughly 19 events per year on average. As such, the UFC has been criticised for hosting too many events, and therefore diminishing the quality of each particular event.

Despite this, the UFC has continued to surge in popularity and viewership. Ultimate Fighting Championship has continued to expand worldwide, with TV deals in Australia, Asia and Europe, becoming a multi-billion dollar, global powerhouse of a sports producer.

At least some degree of the UFC’s popularity can also be garnered from its investment into a women’s’ league. In November 2012, the UFC confirmed its interest in women’s MMA through the signing of then Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey, who would go on to become the premier champion of women’s UFC.

Rousey held the title for three years until she lost a fight with Holly Holm, this match attracting over 56,000 live attendees, which was record breaking for a UFC event. Women’s MMA, in light of this, has and will continue to grow and develop as a sport.

The rules of UFC are lengthy, and pertain to the rules of MMA established in New Jersey titled the “Unified Rules of MMA”. Pertinently, rounds last no more than 5 minutes, and continue until a fighter either taps out, is knocked out; either physically or technically, or disqualified for a rule violation. The winner of the match is determined by a panel of three judges, utilising a scoring system to determine the winner.