UFC Bitcoin Sports Betting

The Ultimate Fighting Champion is an American mixed martial arts organization based in Las Vegas and was founded way back in 1993 as an underground sporting event. Fast forward today, it is one of the watched sports in the world. Fans of UFC are now able to bet Bitcoins through their favorite sports betting websites with the help of the provided upcoming betting odds below.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts organization. It is the world’s largest MMA organizer and market leader. The company is owned by Zuffa LLC, a U.S. sports distributor headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The association’s first event, based on Valeudo rules, took place in Denver on November 12, 1993. In 1997, a television contract was signed with Fox Sports Net. In 2005, they moved to Spike, where they made their breakthrough with the reality casting show The Ultimate Fighter. Several times a year, Spike continued to broadcast special events under the name Ultimate Fight Night. The partnership with Spike ended in 2011. Since then, the various UFC formats have been broadcast on the channels of the US television network FOX. Thus, the well-known Ultimate Fight Nights are now broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

The main events are broadcast as pay-per-view. The record sales figure was reached on 11 July 2009 at UFC 100 with approx. 1.6 million units.

History

The idea of competing between different martial arts in this case goes back to the advertising expert Art Davie, who met Rorion Gracie, who ran a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school in Torrance, California, during his 1991 marketing research on martial arts. In 1992, Davie Rorion and John Milius had the idea for an eight-man KO tournament called War of the Worlds (WOW). Milius, Gracie’s student, as well as a director and screenwriter, agreed to participate in the event. Davie drew up a business plan and signed contracts with 28 investors who provided the seed capital for WOW. The goal was to build a television show with the tournament.

In May 1993, Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG), a pay-per-view broadcaster, agreed to partner with WOW after negotiations with the industry leaders in the sector, HBO and Showtime, had failed last year. SEG changed its name to The Ultimate Fighting Championship. The first broadcast of the two companies took place on November 12, 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. Davie was responsible for selecting the fighters and determining the fights. The first show featured two kickboxers (Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier), a Savate black belt (Gerard Gordeau), a karate expert (Zane Frasier), a shootfighter/wrestler (Ken Shamrock), a sumo wrestler (Teila Tuli), a professional boxer (Art Jimmerson) and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt (Royce Gracie). The debut was a success with a respectable 86,592 orders for SEG. Royce Gracie, the younger brother of Rorion Gracie, won the tournament and became the first UFC champion. In April 1995 Davie and Gracie sold their shares in SEG and dissolved the WOW league.

Development of the rules

In the early ’90s, there were no rules! (German translation: There are no rules!) was the motto of the UFC. But this was not quite correct, because there were some rules. You could neither bite your opponent nor stab him in the eyes. Head bumps, hair pulling and blows into the groin area were undesirable, but nevertheless allowed. At UFC’s fourth event, Keith Hackney hit Joe Son’s groin area several times. Hence the negative public perception that the UFC was very brutal and an underground sport.

The brutal nature of the burgeoning sport quickly attracted the attention of regulators, with the result that UFC events were banned in some U.S. states. In Germany, too, the sport had to struggle with resistance, with the result that the small German MMA scene moved into the European hinterland. After heavy criticism and letter campaigns under the leadership of US Senator John McCain, UFC’s events were withdrawn from the program by the USA’s largest pay-per-view supplier, Viewer’s Choice, and some smaller suppliers such as TCI Cable. McCain also asked the governors of all 50 states to ban UFC. 36 states responded to this call and had the UFC banned. However, the UFC continued to broadcast on the pay-TV satellite provider DirecTV, even though its audience numbers were comparatively small. Many fans refer to this time as the “dark days” (original: dark days).

The UFC cooperated with state sports commissions in order to be able to continue the company successfully. The rules have been extended to include a lower risk of injury for the fighter. However, the core elements of hitting and grabbing were retained. With UFC 12 weight classes were added. UFC 14 made gloves with ankle pads (to reduce cuts) and open fingers (to enable gripping) compulsory. From UFC 15 onwards, the regulations banned numerous dangerous techniques. These included head bumps, low blows, direct blows to the back of the head or neck, kicks to the head of an opponent lying on the ground, grips of small joints (e.g. fingers), direct blows to certain pressure points (e.g. the solar plexus) and hair pulling. Finally, with the introduction of 5-minute rounds at UFC 21, the reputation of a sport was slowly regained.

The UFC worked increasingly with the local sports regulatory authorities, and on 30 September 2000 the first officially government-regulated UFC event took place in New Jersey. Two months later, the so-called Unified Rules were used in New Jersey for the first time, and the UFC has been guided by them ever since. McCain’s opinion had also changed, as he said in an interview: “The sport has grown up. The rules have been adopted to give its athletes better protections and to ensure fairer competition.” (German translation: The sport has grown up. Rules have been introduced to better protect athletes and ensure fairer competition.

Purchase by Zuffa

After UFC nearly went bankrupt, the two casino operators Frank and Lorenzo Fertita as well as boxing promoter Dana White approached the UFC with a purchase offer. In January 2001, the Fertitta brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million and founded Zuffa LLC, which was considered the controlling parent company of the UFC. In addition, Mixed Martial Arts, which became the generic term for the various fighting techniques used by UFC athletes, could also be regulated in Nevada, paving the way for reappearance on Pay Per View (PPV) television.

The UFC was slowly but steadily gaining popularity, both through effective advertising campaigns and through various sponsors. From now on events took place in bigger arenas like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pay Per View orders also returned to pre 1997 levels, and a TV contract was signed with Fox Sports Net, which broadcast the best weekly matches. At the UFC 40 event, where Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock fought, 150,000 PPVs were purchased for the first time. Shamrock was one of the few athletes who had been with the UFC since its inception. Despite the success, Zuffa had lost 34 million US dollars by 2004.

Mainstream promotion

The rising numbers of spectators, fans and fighters can be explained by the power of the mass media. After seeing the success of the reality TV show American Casinos, the Fertitta brothers decided to give the UFC their own reality show. This should be a show in which talented fighters waiting for their breakthrough have a chance to win a UFC contract. Some US broadcasters rejected the idea until they approached Spike TV and offered to pay the $10 million production cost themselves. Eleven seasons of this show have taken place since January 2005. The first national success was achieved with the final of the first season. The show achieved a rating of 1.9, which corresponds to an average audience of 2.6 million.

After the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV decided to broadcast more UFC formats. These include the weekly UFC Unleashed Show, which features the best fights in UFC history, and All-Access broadcasts, which provide a glimpse of the fighters and their training prior to major events. With the success of the TV shows, the pay-per-view business also saw strong improvements. The first major event after the Ultimate Fighter show had 280,000 orders, almost twice as many as the previous record of 150,000, and attracted many new fans in 2005 and 2006 until the UFC 66 event reached its record sales of 1,050,000. In 2006, the UFC also recorded a higher overall Pay Per View profit than the WWE and Boxes at $222,766,000.

The UFC has made it onto the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine with its fighters, among others, and is broadcast in 36 countries. In March 2007, Zuffa acquired Pride FC, its only international competitor to date. Many former Pride fighters have since been active in the UFC. The UFC also signed advertising contracts with Harley-Davidson and Anheuser-Busch in 2008.

With the UFC 100 event and the main match between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir in the title unification battle for the heavyweight title, the UFC took the next step in its development. The event generated 1.6 million pay-per-view purchases and received broad coverage in the mainstream media. U.S. broadcaster ESPN massively expanded its coverage of the event With the UFC 114 and the fight between Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson, the UFC launched the first event in which two African Americans faced each other in the main fight.The UFC sold 55,000 tickets for the UFC 129 event, which took place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, where Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields met in the main event and generated revenues of $11 million. This meant record ticket sales and ticket revenue for MMA events in North America.

Acquisition of WEC

As of January 2011, the previously independent WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), also Zuffa LLC, will be officially integrated into the UFC in order to present the weight classes Federgewicht and Bantamgewicht to a broader public, because the UFC has higher spectator numbers. This decision was welcomed by both managers and fighters. The current WEC title holders have now become official UFC title holders in the respective newly introduced weight classes.

Purchase of Strikeforce

On March 12, 2011, UFC President Dana White announced in an interview that Zuffa LLC has acquired the MMA organization Strikeforce. However, Dana White made it clear that Strikeforce would continue to operate independently of the UFC. However, a short time later, well-known fighters and title holders from Strikeforce switched to the UFC. The Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson and the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem signed contracts with the UFC.

In December 2011, Zuffa LLC announced that Strikeforce would continue in 2012, but that Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Division would be closed At the end of 2012, it was announced that Strikeforce would be closed in 2013. In January 2013, Strikeforce was integrated into the UFC and most of the fighters moved to the UFC  Among them were well-known fighters such as Daniel Cormier, Nate Marquardt and Gilbert Melendez.

Partnership with FOX

On August 18, 2011, the UFC and the U.S. television network FOX announced that both companies have signed a seven-year agreement covering coverage of UFC events. The UFC will continue to retain control over the production of the events and will use the two commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg as usual. The new contract with FOX terminates UFC’s existing partnerships with Spike and Versus.

The first event, UFC on Fox, in which only the main match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos was broadcast had a peak of 8.8 million spectators. On average, 5.7 million viewers watched the event, making it the most watched MMA broadcast of all time.

Women in the UFC

It became known in November 2012 that Ronda Rousey was the first woman to be signed to the UFC. The first fight between two women took place at UFC 157 on 23 February 2013, at which time Rousey was already the official UFC title holder. Since then, several women have signed contracts with the UFC, including regular fighting.

Expansion to Germany

Since 2007 there have been regular shows in Great Britain. Der Spiegel reported in issue 48/2008 that the UFC will probably hold an event in Germany in mid-June 2009. Thus UFC 99 took place on 13 June 2009 in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

In addition, the UFC was in negotiations with the television broadcasters ProSieben and DMAX, and at the beginning of December it was reported that ProSieben had no interest in the UFC. Finally, DSF secured the UFC broadcasting rights in Germany.

On 18 March 2010, however, the television committee of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM) banned the broadcast. The BLM criticised “breaches of taboos, such as hitting an opponent lying on the ground”. The UFC then announced on 25 March 2010, after an unsuccessful discussion with the BLM, that it would bring an action against the TV ban.

Despite the TV ban, the UFC announced a return to Germany. UFC 122 took place on 13 November 2010 in the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen. At the press conference, Dana White, President of the UFC, announced that the UFC would continue its efforts to expand into Germany.

The last UFC event in Germany took place on 3 September 2016 at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg.

Rules

Mixed martial arts is regulated in many US states. Licences are issued and events must be registered. Independent drug tests are also carried out. There is even a dress code.

The rules have been changed and adapted in the course of the development of the sport. The current rules have been established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board as “Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts”, and are accepted by many other US states and organizers.

Rounds

A round lasts five minutes, the break between rounds is one minute. Basically, a fight lasts three rounds, a title fight five rounds. UFC boss Dana White announced that all major battles to be newly signed will be over five rounds.

Weight classes

The UFC currently uses nine different weight classes:

• Strawweight: (straw or straw weight) up to 115 lb (52.15 kg)
• Flyweight: 125 lb and less (57 kg and less)
• Bantamweight (Bantamweight): 126 to 135 lb (57 to 61 kg)
• Featherweight: 136 to 145 lb (61 to 66 kg)
• Lightweight: 145 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg)
• Welterweight: 155 to 170 lb (70 to 77 kg)
• Middleweight: 170 to 185 lb (77 to 84 kg)
• Light Heavyweight: 185 to 205 lb (84 to 93 kg)
• Heavyweight: 205 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)

Currently unused weight classes:

• Super Heavyweight: over 265 lb (over 120 kg)

UFC octagon

The ring according to UFC regulations has the shape of an octagon with a diameter of 9.75 m. Instead of ring ropes, the fighting area is bounded by a wire mesh fence. The fence should protect the fighters from falling from the fighting area. In addition, it opens up further tactical possibilities, as you can lean on it (in clinch and ground combat) – but the fighters are not allowed to hold on to it. Originally the shape should have been chosen, so that one cannot hide in a corner. The cage should also emphasize the inevitability of the fight.

The ring mat is a hard underground and is not meant to cushion the impact in comparison to a wrestling ring.

Originally, the UFC had the sole right to use a cage of this shape. Since 2001, however, the rights have been released and many other organizations have used this form of ring since.

Clothing

It is fought with thin gloves open on the fingers. They serve to protect the hands and to avoid cuts, but they offer little cushioning. This should come as close as possible to the naked hand. In contrast to boxing gloves, they allow you to grab and strike all kinds of shots. With the big, clumsy boxing gloves the covering work and the penetration of the same changes, also in ground fighting and clinching a fixation of the opponent’s hands would be much more difficult.

The only other allowed garment are trousers up to the knee. These must be approved by the Commision.

Shoes, T-shirts, long trousers or a gi are not allowed. This serves to protect the fighters (for example, one could try to choke the opponent by pulling the T-shirt). Before the Unified Rules were introduced, fighters were allowed to choose their outfits themselves and multiple tournament winner Royce Gracie has fought all (except UFC 60 – Gracie vs. Hughes) of his UFC fights in a Gi.

End of fight

A battle can be won in several ways:

• Knockout:
  A fighter faints by a (regular) blow or kick. A Knockout is considered thereby only as occurred, if this is officially determined by the referee. Also an opponent lying on the ground – possibly unconscious and at any rate no longer able to resist – may continue to be attacked according to the rules as long as the referee has not declared the fight finished.
• Technical knockout:
  A fighter is so heavily hurt by a (rule-compliant) attack that he cannot continue the fight any longer. Only the referee may abort a fight prematurely. He can consider thereby according to own discretion recommendations of the ring physician or the referee committee. A task by a competitor’s trainer or supervisor (“throwing the towel”) is not intended.
• Referee’s decision:
  If there is no winner after 3 or 5 rounds, the decision lies with the three judges. Each referee will award 10 points to the winner of a round and 9 or less to the loser, based on impact scores and precipitation and the superiority in ground combat, similar to classic boxing. Unlike boxing, however, the referees do not have to decide on a winner in each round – if a referee considers that there was no winner in a round, he can give both fighters 10 points.
• Disqualification of the opponent:
  If a fighter is so badly injured by an intentional attack of his opponent that he cannot continue the fight, the referee may disqualify the opponent and declare the injured fighter the winner.

Forfeit (non-opposition of the opponent)

A match may end in a draw if an unintentional foul results in an injury so serious that the match cannot continue, or if both fighters commit a serious foul at the same time.