What is UFC?

Are you curious about MMA, or perhaps you’ve heard the name ‘UFC’ and want to find out what the UFC is? We’ll explain what UFC is and also provide you with more detailed information about MMA & UFC further down the page, in case you’re curious to learn more!

So, if you’re looking for an answer to the question “What is UFC”, then we’ve got you covered!

What Is UFC?

UFC is a global MMA (mixed martial arts) promotion, which is headquartered in the United States. UFC put on fight nights which display sanctioned MMA fights between fighters who are skilled in a variety of mixed martial arts disciplines.

UFC stands for “Ultimate Fighting Championship” and the aim of UFC is to find the best fighter in the world, hence the name of the organisation.

There are many different martial arts, and UFC allows a number of the most popular types of martial arts in their fights.

MMA v UFC

Due to their major dominance in the world of MMA, UFC has become synonymous with MMA, the same way “Google it” has become the common way to say “look something up online”. However, ‘UFC’ and ‘MMA’ are 2 separate things.

MMA is the acronym for Mixed Martial Arts, it specifically refers to the official sport of MMA. Whereas, UFC is a promotion which puts on MMA events around the world.

So, to put it simply; UFC is one of a few organisations which puts on sanctioned fights in the sport of MMA. There’s no direct comparison in other sports to illustrate the difference between MMA & UFC. However, it’s sort of like football (soccer), where there are different leagues in each country. Each league has it’s own name, but they all host games in the same sport; football (soccer).

If you’re still confused, or if you simply want to learn more about the difference between MMA and UFC then we’ve got a guide for that!

Who Owns UFC?

Now that you know what UFC is and the company’s relationship to MMA, you may be interested in finding out who owns UFC.

UFC is owned 100% by an American company for media and talent agencies, called Endeavor. Endeavor bought UFC in a deal worth $4 billion in 2016. At the time, it was the largest acquisition in sporting history.

If you’re reading this and thinking “hang on, I remember a company with a different name buying UFC” then technically, you’re correct. Back when UFC was bought for $4 billion, the company Endeavor was called WME-IMG. However, since then it has rebranded.

If you’d like to learn more about the UFC purchase and more details on the history of who owns UFC, then have a read of our guide; who owns the UFC.

Who Are The UFC Champions?

UFC has a total of 12 weight divisions; 8 men’s & 4 women’s. Each division has 1 Champion, who is the best fighter in their weight class. Due to UFC’s popularity, and its huge fanbase dominance over rival MMA promotions, it’s usually assumed that being the Champions of a UFC weight class makes you the best fighter in the world at that weight.

All UFC Champions In Every Weight Class

• Current UFC Champions
• All UFC Champions Ever!
• UFC Heavyweight Champions
• UFC Light Heavyweight Champions
• UFC Middleweight Champions
• UFC Lightweight Champions
• UFC Featherweight Champions
• UFC Bantamweight Champions
• UFC Flyweight Champions

What Are UFC Rankings?

UFC rankings are lists of the top 15 fighters in any weight division. The ranking order is not actually decided by UFC, Dana White or anyone at the company, they are decided by a panel of highly respected MMA media members.

Rankings are a way to determine who the best fighters are at each of UFC’s various divisions. Theoretically, the higher up the rankings you are, the closer you are to getting a title shot and having a chance of becoming a UFC Champion.

The ranking order is meant to be determined by fighting skill, relative to the competition in your division. If you beat someone higher than you in the rankings, then you will usually climb above them in the ranking order. The more wins you get over ranked opponents, the higher up the rankings you get.

If you are ranked position 1-5, you usually stand a good chance of receiving a title shot, so long as you stay in those positions!

Fighters will not only go down the rankings if they lose. If a fighter sits out for too long, and doesn’t compete often enough, then the division will move on without them, and they will fall down the rankings ladder.

On top of the UFC rankings for each division, there is also a ‘pound for pound’ ranking list. This ranking list compares every fighter across every division and ranks the top 15 fighters, based on fighting skill alone (weight advantages are stripped out).

UFC rankings In All Weight Classes

• All UFC Rankings
• UFC Pound For Pound Rankings
• UFC Heavyweight Rankings
• UFC Light Heavyweight Rankings
• UFC Middleweight Rankings
• UFC Welterweight Rankings
• UFC Lightweight Rankings
• UFC Featherweight Rankings
• UFC Bantamweight Rankings
• UFC Flyweight Rankings

What Are The Different UFC Weight Classes?

MMA as a sport has officially decided to split fighters into different divisions, based on weight. The reason for this, is that mass (weight) is an advantage in fighting. Therefore, it’s unfair to pit a fighter against someone who has considerably more mass than they do as they would likely lose due to a strength disadvantage, rather than due to a lack of skill.

Some people often ask why there are weight classes, but not height classes instead. While height can give you advantages such as being able to strike from a further distance (due to having a longer reach), it is not as much of an advantage as weight is in a fight.

We explain the different weight classes in UFC in much more detail on our UFC weight classes post.

What Are the UFC Rules?

Although UFC, and MMA in general, is about putting on fights between 2 athletes, there are strict rules on what is and what isn’t allowed to happen in an officially sanctioned MMA fight.

MMA is an 8 point contact sport. This means that there are 8 points of contact on the body that you can use in a fight; your hands, feet, elbows & knees (this makes 8).

UFC fights abide by The Unified Rules Of MMA. Illegal moves involve; scratching, eye poking, eye gouging, groin strikes, headbutts, “soccer kicks” to a downed opponent’s head, knees to a downed opponents head, 12 to 6 elbows, pinching, biting, and more.

Typically, moves which are allowed are; punches, elbows, knees, kicks, submission attempts, grappling & wrestling moves.

Most fights have a maximum of 3 rounds, each lasting 5 minutes. Title fights, and other particularly big fights, have a maximum of 5 rounds, each lasting 5 minutes.

A referee joins fighters in the ring to make sure each fighter plays by the rules.

For a detailed breakdown of the Rules of an MMA / UFC fight, check out our guide!

Who are the UFC commentators?

UFC commentators provide in-fight commentary as a fight progresses. They are there to provide expert analysis & opinion on a fight. Because of this requirement, UFC / MMA commentators need to have a strong grasp of fundamental MMA techniques.

This is why commentators are usually retired MMA fighters themselves. Daniel Cormier, Paul Felder, Dominick Cruz and a few others are all ex UFC fighters.

However, you can be a commentator without having been a professional fighter in the UFC. For example, Joe Rogan has been one of the longest standing UFC commentators. Joe Rogan is skilled in martial arts himself but he has never had a professional fight in his life.

For more detail, have a read of our in-depth post on the best UFC commentators of all time

Is UFC fake?

A lot of people compare UFC to WWE, which leads them to ask the question “Is the UFC fake?”.

To put it plainly, the answer is no. The fights in UFC are completely real, just like they are in boxing. 2 fighters enter the Octagon and they both use all of their skill to overcome their opponent and emerge victorious.

MMA is a sport, and as such it is about fair competition and rules which allow a legitimate winner to emerge, based on their talent.

Unlike WWE, fights in UFC are therefore not scripted at all.

UFC Vs Bellator

If you’ve explored MMA or UFC in some detail, then you may have also heard of the MMA promotion called “Bellator”.

Bellator is a direct competitor to UFC. They are a rival promotion who put on global fight nights in the sport of MMA. Although UFC maintain a dominant market share in the sport’s fanbase, Bellator are likely considered the number 2 promotion in the world.

For a full explanation of the difference, we’ve compiled a guide on UFC v Bellator