Driven by the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) bouts on pay-per-view television, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States. As its name suggests, MMA combines techniques of various other fighting systems, including boxing, jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and taekwondo. Decades after a Brazilian fighting style known as vale tudo (anything goes) began to spark local and international interest in the late 1920s, MMA burst into full-color in America in 1993, with the formation of the UFC. Financed by the Semaphore Entertainment Group, led by New York music promoter Robert Meyrowitz, UFC bouts began more as violent spectacles than sporting events, with fighters from various disciplines battling it out in the same ring to the delight of bloodthirsty crowds. Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian living in California, organized the first fight and designed the trademark arena, the Octagon. Aside from three simple rules—no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking (placing your finger in an opponents mouth and pulling backwards—the UFC prided itself on no-holds-barred fighting, with little regulation. Even as MMAs popularity grew, politicians condemned the sport, including John McCain, who in 1996 called it human cockfighting. In November 2000, the UFC added weight classes and 28 more rules, outlawing head butts, hair pulling, and groin shots. As of May 2007, 23 states and the District of Columbia sanction …

Driven by the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) bouts on pay-per-view television, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States. As its name suggests, MMA combines techniques of various other fighting systems, including boxing, jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and taekwondo. Decades after a Brazilian fighting style known as vale tudo (anything goes) began to spark local and international interest in the late 1920s, MMA burst into full-color in America in 1993, with the formation of the UFC. Financed by the Semaphore Entertainment Group, led by New York music promoter Robert Meyrowitz, UFC bouts began more as violent spectacles than sporting events, with fighters from various disciplines battling it out in the same ring to the delight of bloodthirsty crowds. Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian living in California, organized the first fight and designed the trademark arena, the Octagon. Aside from three simple rules—no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking (placing your finger in an opponents mouth and pulling backwards—the UFC prided itself on no-holds-barred fighting, with little regulation. Even as MMAs popularity grew, politicians condemned the sport, including John McCain, who in 1996 called it human cockfighting. In November 2000, the UFC added weight classes and 28 more rules, outlawing head butts, hair pulling, and groin shots. As of May 2007, 23 states and the District of Columbia sanction …

Driven by the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) bouts on pay-per-view television, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States. As its name suggests, MMA combines techniques of various other fighting systems, including boxing, jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and taekwondo. Decades after a Brazilian fighting style known as vale tudo (anything goes) began to spark local and international interest in the late 1920s, MMA burst into full-color in America in 1993, with the formation of the UFC. Financed by the Semaphore Entertainment Group, led by New York music promoter Robert Meyrowitz, UFC bouts began more as violent spectacles than sporting events, with fighters from various disciplines battling it out in the same ring to the delight of bloodthirsty crowds. Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian living in California, organized the first fight and designed the trademark arena, the Octagon. Aside from three simple rules—no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking (placing your finger in an opponents mouth and pulling backwards—the UFC prided itself on no-holds-barred fighting, with little regulation. Even as MMAs popularity grew, politicians condemned the sport, including John McCain, who in 1996 called it human cockfighting. In November 2000, the UFC added weight classes and 28 more rules, outlawing head butts, hair pulling, and groin shots. As of May 2007, 23 states and the District of Columbia sanction …

Driven by the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) bouts on pay-per-view television, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States. As its name suggests, MMA combines techniques of various other fighting systems, including boxing, jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and taekwondo. Decades after a Brazilian fighting style known as vale tudo (anything goes) began to spark local and international interest in the late 1920s, MMA burst into full-color in America in 1993, with the formation of the UFC. Financed by the Semaphore Entertainment Group, led by New York music promoter Robert Meyrowitz, UFC bouts began more as violent spectacles than sporting events, with fighters from various disciplines battling it out in the same ring to the delight of bloodthirsty crowds. Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian living in California, organized the first fight and designed the trademark arena, the Octagon. Aside from three simple rules—no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking (placing your finger in an opponents mouth and pulling backwards—the UFC prided itself on no-holds-barred fighting, with little regulation. Even as MMAs popularity grew, politicians condemned the sport, including John McCain, who in 1996 called it human cockfighting. In November 2000, the UFC added weight classes and 28 more rules, outlawing head butts, hair pulling, and groin shots. As of May 2007, 23 states and the District of Columbia sanction …

Driven by the phenomenal success of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) bouts on pay-per-view television, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is now the fastest-growing sport in the United States. As its name suggests, MMA combines techniques of various other fighting systems, including boxing, jujitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, kung fu, and taekwondo. Decades after a Brazilian fighting style known as vale tudo (anything goes) began to spark local and international interest in the late 1920s, MMA burst into full-color in America in 1993, with the formation of the UFC. Financed by the Semaphore Entertainment Group, led by New York music promoter Robert Meyrowitz, UFC bouts began more as violent spectacles than sporting events, with fighters from various disciplines battling it out in the same ring to the delight of bloodthirsty crowds. Rorion Gracie, a Brazilian living in California, organized the first fight and designed the trademark arena, the Octagon. Aside from three simple rules—no biting, eye-gouging, or fish-hooking (placing your finger in an opponents mouth and pulling backwards—the UFC prided itself on no-holds-barred fighting, with little regulation. Even as MMAs popularity grew, politicians condemned the sport, including John McCain, who in 1996 called it human cockfighting. In November 2000, the UFC added weight classes and 28 more rules, outlawing head butts, hair pulling, and groin shots. As of May 2007, 23 states and the District of Columbia sanction …