UFC

The story of UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was founded by businessman Art Davie, martial artist Rorion Gracie and film director John Milius, backed by Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). The first event, later called UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.

Facing financial trouble, SEG sold the UFC in 2001 to brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who formed Zuffa and named Dana White president. The promotion later acquired Pride, the WEC and Strikeforce. In 2016, Zuffa was sold for $4.025 billion to a group led by WME-IMG, later renamed Endeavor.

Since September 12, 2023, the UFC has been owned by TKO Group Holdings, formed through its merger with WWE. Dana White is president and CEO. The company is headquartered at the UFC Performance Institute near Las Vegas. As of September 26, 2026, the UFC has held 791 events in 170 cities across 33 countries.

Since 2026, every event has streamed on Paramount+ in the United States under a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal that ended pay-per-view. In France, events air on RMC Sport. The UFC has held a card at the Accor Arena in Paris every year since 2022, and in September 2026 Ciryl Gane became the first French undisputed UFC champion.