The first UFC event was held in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the event was to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Sambo, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Karate, Judo, and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (later renamed UFC 1: The Beginning) was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.
UFC 1 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000. The tournament had no weight classes and consisted of single-round fights to the finish. The match only ended by submission, knockout, throwing in the towel, or referee stoppage due to a severe cut or injury. Gloves were allowed as shown by Art Jimmerson in his Quarterfinal bout against Royce Gracie, Jimmerson had only one boxing glove on.
Despite being billed as having "no rules" there were limitations on what the fighters could do, including no biting and no eye gouging. Royce Gracie won the tournament by defeating Gerard Gordeau via tap out due to a rear naked choke. The referees for UFC 1 were João Alberto Barreto and Hélio Vigio, two veteran vale tudo referees from Brazil.
The commentary team for the pay-per-view was Bill Wallace, Jim Brown and Kathy Long, with additional analysis from Rod Machado and post-fight interviews by Brian Kilmeade. Jason DeLucia was an alternate for the event, having defeated Trent Jenkins in the alternate bout. However, as no fighter pulled out during the tournament, he was not called upon.
Under the current five-minute round rules, every fight on this card would have ended within the first round.
Fast forward 20 years & The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world, which hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport and produces events worldwide. Based in the United States, the UFC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.
UFC 167: St-Pierre Vs. Hendricks is 20th anniversary event for the UFC to be held on November 16, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2013 has been called the best year in the UFC's history, having several record-breaking events in terms of PPV "buys" and dollars brought in. It has also set attendance records for some of the venues where the events are held.
With UFC 167 some people are saying that the "Next Chapter" of Mixed Martial Arts is beginning. The sport is growing fast and you can find local/regional promotions all over the Country offering quality MMA fights and producing the MMA stars of tomorrow that you will see in the larger promotions like the UFC.
On November 16th there is another promotion looking to begin the next chapter of its history. Complete Devastation MMA, an MMA promotion based out of Altoona, Pennsylvania will put on CDMMA 9, the first full event under the new ownership. The promotion has had 8 successful events and is looking to improve upon the previous success in every way possible.
New Owner Drew D'Auria and Nova6 Studios are looking for ways to improve upon the production quality as well as bring the best possible match-ups to the Central Pennsylvania area. CDMMA was the first to bring women's MMA to the Central Pennsylvania region, and you can expect more women's MMA as well as exciting men's match-ups coming from this new version of an already successful promotion in the future!
The last Complete Devastation event was back in March, and the new owner decided to take some time to determine what was working, what wasn't, and what else could be done to make Complete Devastation MMA events the best possible for fans, fighters, and everyone else involved. (coaches/instructors/cornerman, vendors, sponsors/advertisers, spectators, family/friends of fighters, etc) Nova6 Studios brings superior audio/video production to the table, and with a new venue (the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona) having at least twice the capacity as the previous location at the Blair County Convention Center this event has the potential to be exponentially better & much more successful than previous CDMMA events.
I'm not sure if the new owner chose the date for the event knowing that it is also the "20th Anniversary event date" for the UFC, who are putting on UFC 167 almost 20 years to the day of the first UFC Mixed Martial Arts event here in the US - but either way, this date marks a new chapter for both the UFC as well as Complete Devastation MMA.
Tickets for CDMMA 9 can still be purchased online until November 15th... and start at ONLY $15!
2 - 4pm FREE open house - FSI MMA Heroes
Doors open at 6, fights starts at 7
Ticket prices:
Cageside - $100
2nd row - $65
3rd row - $65
4th row - $45
5th row - $35
1st tier - $25
2nd tier - $15
http://www.cdmmaonline.com
Fight Card (Subject To Change):
Main Event
Brett Shoenfelt Vs. Ted Worthington
Co-Main Event
Charlie Gathers Vs. Gregory Saumenig
PJ Palmer Vs. William Ward
Amateur Fights
Ethan Goss Vs. Walter Hess
Rick Shawley Vs. Paul Riggleman
Justin Johnson Vs. Brandon Laney
Jacob Kozorosky Vs. Juan Hernandez
Osahon Omo-Osagie Vs. Josh Lear
John Rearick Vs. Daniel O'Neill
Dylan Hughes Vs. Luke Ickes
The Next Chapter For MMA Begins for the UFC and Complete Devastation MMA on November 16th 2013. But since you probably can't afford $1,000 per ticket (not counting airfare, hotel, car rental, food, etc) to go see the 20th anniversary event for the UFC in Las Vegas, I suggest you support local MMA and get a ticket to see the next generation of MMA stars in action at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona, Pa. By supporting these local/regional shows it allows promotions to put on more events, which allows fighters to develop and be signed by the larger promotions like the UFC. Supporting local MMA is supporting MMA at the National/International level. So... November 16th - Complete Devastation 9 - BE THERE!!!
