Ultimate Fighting Championship facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
UFC Holdings, LLC

Trade name	UFC
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Mixed martial arts Streaming media
Founded	November 12, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-11-12)
Founders	Art Davie Bob Meyrowitz Campbell McLaren David Isaacs John Milius Rorion Gracie
Headquarters	Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ari Emanuel (CEO, TKO) Dana White (President & CEO)
Products	Home video Live events Merchandise Publishing Streaming network service TV
Services	Licensing
Revenue	US$1.3 billion (2023)
Operating income	US$$142.9 million (2023)
Net income	US$387 million (2022)
Total assets	US$1.1 billion (2022)
Total equity	US$7 billion (2022)
Number of employees	~400 (2016)
Parent	TKO Group Holdings
Divisions	UFC Apex UFC Fight Pass UFC Performance Institute

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a huge company that promotes mixed martial arts (MMA) fights. It is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The UFC is the biggest MMA company in the world. It holds events all over the globe, featuring fighters in 11 different weight divisions. These divisions follow special rules called the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

Since it started, the UFC has held over 600 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001. Under his leadership, the UFC has grown into a massive, multi-billion-dollar business.

The History of UFC

The UFC was started by a businessman named Art Davie and a Brazilian martial artist, Rorion Gracie. Their very first event happened in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The main idea behind these early fights was to find out which martial art style was the best. Fighters from different styles competed with very few rules and no weight limits.

Over time, more rules were added to make fights safer and fairer. Fighters also started mixing techniques from different martial arts. This is how modern mixed martial arts (MMA) was born!

The company that first owned the UFC had money problems. So, in 2001, two brothers, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, bought it. They created a new company called Zuffa to run the UFC. They made Dana White the president.

In 2016, Zuffa (the UFC's parent company) was sold to a group led by Endeavor for over $4 billion. Later, in 2021, Endeavor bought out the other owners. The UFC had 578 fighters signed up in early 2023.

The UFC became even more popular with TV deals and events in Australia, Asia, and Europe. It also grew in the United States. This helped it get a lot of mainstream media attention. In 2015, it made $609 million. Its deal with ESPN for TV rights was worth $1.5 billion over five years.

In 2023, Endeavor announced that the UFC would join with the wrestling company WWE. They formed a new public company called TKO Group Holdings. Endeavor owns most of this new company. Vince McMahon became a top executive, and Dana White stayed as UFC president. The merger was finished on September 12, 2023.

UFC Training Places

UFC Apex Facility

The UFC Apex is a special building where live events and TV shows are produced. It opened in June 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many UFC events were held here. These events were without fans. The fighting cage, called the Octagon, at the Apex is smaller than usual. It is 25 feet wide, not the usual 30 feet.

UFC Performance Institute

The UFC Performance Institute is the official training center for UFC fighters. It is in Las Vegas, Nevada, right across from the UFC Apex. This institute opened in 2017. It is the world's first center for MMA training, research, and new ideas. About 400 MMA athletes have trained here. Even athletes from other sports like the NFL and NBA have visited.

In 2019, a second training center opened in Shanghai, China. In 2021, the UFC became an official advisor to the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC). This means the Shanghai Performance Institute is now an official training place for Chinese athletes preparing for the Olympic Games.

In February 2024, a third Performance Institute opened in Mexico City, Mexico.

How UFC Changed MMA Rules

The rules used in the UFC today were first set up in 2000. This was done by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. They worked with the UFC and other MMA groups in the United States. The first UFC event with these new rules was UFC 28.

These rules, called the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, are now used across the country. Many state athletic groups, like those in Nevada and California, follow them. The UFC has always worked closely with these state groups. For example, Lorenzo Fertitta, a former owner, was once on the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

UFC Weight Divisions and Champions

Current UFC champions in different weight classes.

The UFC uses nine main weight classes. These were updated after UFC 300 on April 13, 2024.

Weight class name	Minimum Weight (lb)	Upper limit		Gender	Current champion	Since	Ref	Days held	Defenses	Next Fight	Ref
		in pounds (lb)	in kilograms (kg)
Strawweight	None	115	52.2	Women	Zhang Weili	November 12, 2022		953	2	TBD
Flyweight	116	125	56.7	Men	Alexandre Pantoja	July 8, 2023		715	2	TBD
				Women	Alexa Grasso	March 4, 2023		841	1	TBD
Bantamweight	126	135	61.2	Men	Sean O'Malley	August 19, 2023		673	1	TBD
				Women	Raquel Pennington	January 20, 2024		519	0	TBD
Featherweight	136	145	65.8	Men	Ilia Topuria	February 17, 2024		491	0	TBD
Lightweight	146	155	70.3	Men	Islam Makhachev	October 22, 2022		974	2	UFC 302 - Dustin Poirier
Welterweight	156	170	77.6	Men	Leon Edwards	August 20, 2022		1037	2	TBD
Middleweight	171	185	83.9	Men	Dricus du Plessis	January 20, 2024		519	0	TBD
Light Heavyweight	186	205	93.0	Men	Alex Pereira	November 11, 2023		589	1	TBD
Heavyweight	206	265	120.2	Men	Jon Jones	March 4, 2023		841	0	TBD
					Tom Aspinall (interim)	November 11, 2023		589	0	TBD

For fights that are not for a championship title, fighters can be one pound over the limit. But for title fights, fighters must be exactly at or under the weight limit. Sometimes, a special "catch weight" fight can be approved. This happens if the fight would still be fair and safe, even if the weight is a little different.

There are also five other weight classes in the rules that the UFC does not currently use. These include Super Lightweight, Super Welterweight, Super Middleweight, Cruiserweight, and Super Heavyweight.

UFC Fighter Roster

As of October 2020, the UFC had fighters from 71 different countries.

Pound-for-Pound Rankings

Since January 2020, the UFC has separated its "pound-for-pound" rankings. This means men and women now have their own separate lists. These rankings show who are considered the best fighters, no matter their weight class.

Men's Pound-for-Pound Ranking

These rankings were updated on February 20, 2024, after UFC 298.

Rank	ISO	Fighter	Record	Win Streak	M	Weight class	Status	Next fight
								Event	Opponent	Ref.
1		Islam Makhachev	25–1	13		Lightweight	Lightweight Champion
2		Jon Jones	27–1 (1 NC)	5		Heavyweight	Heavyweight Champion
3		Leon Edwards	22–3 (1 NC)	4	+1	Welterweight	Welterweight Champion
4		Alex Pereira	9–2	2	+1	Light heavyweight	Light heavyweight Champion	UFC 300	Jamahal Hill
5		Ilia Topuria	15–0	15		Featherweight	Featherweight Champion
6		Charles Oliveira	34–9 (1 NC)	1		Lightweight	#1 in lightweight rankings	UFC 300	Arman Tsarukyan
7		Alexander Volkanovski	26–4	0	−4	Featherweight	#1 in featherweight rankings
8		Sean O'Malley	17–1 (1 NC)	2	−1	Bantamweight	Bantamweight Champion	UFC 299	Marlon Vera
9		Dricus du Plessis	21–2	9	−1	Middleweight	Middleweight Champion
10		Alexandre Pantoja	27–5	5	−1	Flyweight	Flyweight Champion	UFC 301	Stephen Erceg
11		Israel Adesanya	24–3	0	−1	Middleweight	#2 in middleweight rankings
12		Tom Aspinall	14–3	2		Heavyweight	Interim Heavyweight Champion
13		Sean Strickland	28–6	0	−2	Middleweight	#1 in middleweight rankings
14		Max Holloway	25–7	2		Featherweight	#2 in featherweight rankings	UFC 300	Justin Gaethje
15		Aljamain Sterling	23–4	0	−3	Bantamweight	#2 in bantamweight rankings	UFC 300	Calvin Kattar

Women's Pound-for-Pound Ranking

These rankings were updated on February 20, 2024, after UFC 298.

Rank	ISO	Fighter	Record	Win Streak	M	Weight class	Status	Next fight
								Event	Opponent	Ref.
1		Alexa Grasso	16–3–1	0		Flyweight	Flyweight Champion
2		Zhang Weili	24–3	3		Strawweight	Strawweight Champion	UFC 300	Yan Xiaonan
3		Valentina Shevchenko	23–4–1	0		Flyweight	#1 in flyweight rankings
4		Erin Blanchfield	12–1	9		Flyweight	#2 in flyweight rankings	UFC Fight Night 241	Manon Fiorot
5		Julianna Peña	11–5	0		Bantamweight	#1 in bantamweight rankings
6		Manon Fiorot	11–1	11		Flyweight	#3 in flyweight rankings	UFC Fight Night 241	Erin Blanchfield
7		Raquel Pennington	16–8	6		Bantamweight	Bantamweight Champion
8		Rose Namajunas	11–6	0		Flyweight		UFC Fight Night 240	Amanda Ribas
9		Tatiana Suarez	10–0	10		Strawweight	#2 in strawweight rankings
10		Yan Xiaonan	17–3 (1 NC)	2		Strawweight	#1 in strawweight rankings	UFC 300	Zhang Weili
11		Jéssica Andrade	25–12	1		Flyweight Strawweight	#5 in flyweight rankings #4 in strawweight rankings	UFC 300	Marina Rodriguez
12		Amanda Lemos	14–3–1	1		Strawweight	#3 in strawweight rankings
13		Ketlen Vieira	14–3	1		Bantamweight	#3 in bantamweight rankings
14		Irene Aldana	15–7	1		Bantamweight	#4 in bantamweight rankings
15		Mayra Bueno Silva	10–3 (1 NC)	0		Bantamweight	#2 in bantamweight rankings

UFC Records and Achievements

Here are some amazing records held by UFC fighters:

UFC Hall of Fame Members

The UFC Hall of Fame honors important people and fights in UFC history. It has four categories: Pioneer, Modern, Fights, and Contributor.

Images for kids

• 

  The former logo of the UFC, used from 1993 to 1999

• 

  Royce Gracie used Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the early years of UFC to defeat opponents of greater size and strength.

• 

  UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock was very important in helping the UFC become a popular sport.

• 

  A fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Mark Coleman in the Japanese PRIDE organization. PRIDE was once bigger than the UFC.

• 

  Ronda Rousey was the first female UFC champion. She held her Bantamweight Championship for almost three years.

See also

In Spanish: Ultimate Fighting Championship para niños

• List of UFC champions
• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC bonus award recipients
• UFC Fight Pass