Quick Stats

  • The annual percentage growth of PPV buys has increased from 47% in 2004 (over 2003) to 189% in 2005 to 352% in 2006.
  • Gross revenues of PPV events has had annual increases of 47% in 2004, 232% in 2005, and 424% in 2006.
  • Over 55 hours per month of television programming on US channels including Fox, FSN, Spike TV, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, and in syndication.
  • An average growth rate over the past four years of almost 390% in terms of hours of monthly television programming featuring MMA.

ABOUT MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

About Mixed Martial Arts, its reach and growth

source: mmafacts.com - download a PDF

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is breaking all stereotypes when it comes to its fan base. Long-regarded as a fringe sport with a fan base of young men, MMA is quickly being embraced by a much larger and more diverse fan base.

More women

In 2007, at UFC® 67 in Las Vegas and UFC® 69 in Houston, a third of the attendees were women, according to research leader Harris Interactive. In Houston, roughly half of all groups in attendance included a mix of men and women.

More middle-class

Attendees reported mean incomes above $70,000 in Houston and above $85,000 in Las Vegas. A majority of attendees (60% in Las Vegas and 84% in Houston) reported that they were attending their first event, signaling the rapid influx of new fans.

Setting attendance records

At arena after arena, MMA events are setting attendance and gate records.

UFC® 75: CHAMPION vs. CHAMPION, which took place Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 at 02 Arena in London, England was attended by 16,000 people (sellout crowd) and grossed a gate of over £1,356,859.50 (Approx. $2.6 million). The fight was the most watched UFC® event ever, garnering 4.7 million viewers on Spike TV. The fight card drew more Men 18-49 than anything else on television, broadcast or cable, including heavy sports competition from college football on ABC and ESPN, NASCAR on ABC, and the U.S. Open Women’s Final on CBS.

UFC® 68: THE UPRISING, which took place March 3, 2007 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, was attended by over 19,000 people and grossed a gate of more than $3 million. It was the largest gate in Nationwide Arena history and it also set the record for the highest North American attendance figure for a mixed martial arts event ever.

UFC® 83, which took place in Canada, was the fastest sell out and largest live audience for a North American mixed martial arts event.

Celebrity Fans

Mixed martial arts has become a must-see event for Hollywood stars. The following are some of the famous faces who have appeared at recent MMA events.

MMA Movies

And now comes the first feature-length film about mixed martial arts. Acclaimed writer/director David Mamet’s Red Belt is due in theaters this spring. Mamet (best known for indy hits like Glengarry Glen Ross and The Spanish Prisoner) has been a fan of MMA for years. “I've become fascinated by the art and science of jiu jitsu,” says Mamet.

Also in 2008, Imperia Entertainment will release Don Dunn's Never Submit, a heartful drama set in the world of Mixed Marial Arts competition. Imperia Entertainment President James Hergott comments,"MMA is a very intellectual sport. A physical chess match. I want to portray the sport and its fighters as intelligent rather than dumb brawlers, as is often done in other movies."

Some History

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was originally launched in the United States by the “first family of Jiu-Jitsu.” They brought together the very best martial artists from the various disciplines to compete against each other on a level playing field. The goal was to determine which of the disciplines was best. Could a boxer beat a wrestler? Could a kung fu champion beat a karate master?

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship® event was held at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado in 1993. The undersized Royce Gracie beat bigger, stronger, and faster opponents with his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to win the tournament. The fledgling sport became an overnight sensation.

The shows became must see TV for fans, but in the early years, the lack of state regulation and significant set of rules led to the show being taken off cable television. After a series of relatively dark years, the Las Vegas based Zuffa LLC took over the company in 2001. They implemented a set of unified mixed martial arts rules, and suddenly MMA was no longer a spectacle, but a legitimate sport.

The Athletes

As the sport has evolved, so have the athletes, and they well know that one particular style will not work in competition on a consistent basis. This means Mixed Martial Artists must learn a variety of martial arts including boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu to effectively spar with their opponents.

Under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, athletes compete for three five-minute rounds, with championship matches waged over five five-minute rounds. Scoring, like boxing, is done on a ten-point system, with the winner of the round receiving ten points and the loser nine points or less. Unlike boxing, MMA matches are scored not only for effective striking attacks, but for ground fighting effectiveness, submission and takedown attempts and defense, as well as ring generalship.

Bouts end via knockout, referee, corner or doctor stoppage, or submission. When a bout ends by submission, the fighter either verbally or physically “taps out,” signaling that he has had enough.

Mixed martial arts athletes are experts in virtually every discipline – from Tae Kwon Do, Judo and Kung Fu to Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and Sambo – employed in the sport. For an athlete to truly be successful he needs to have a base in the following:

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has exploded in popularity in recent years. From TV viewership to press coverage to record crowds at events, the numbers tell it all.

The following are some of the more interesting statistics about the sport:

Television Coverage

Television Ratings

The number one rated fighting event among men 18-34 (including boxing) of 2006 on television was a Spike TV featuring UFC® fighters Ortiz and Shamrock. Three of the top ten fights were MMA fights, with the rest featuring boxing.

The Ortiz vs. Shamrock fight was the fourth highest rated among all cable network sporting events in 2006 (the first two were football, the third was college football and the rest of the top ten included the NBA playoffs, the NFL draft, and World Cup Soccer).

Television Shows featuring MMA include:

Magazine Features about the sport and its athletes have appeared in:

NEWS ARTICLES have appeared in the following:

Gate Revenues

In terms of gate revenues, the UFC® is the premier organization, and their events have grown from five live events in 2001, with an average ticket price of $81.45 to 10 events in 2006, with an average ticket price of $273.68. Particularly noteworthy was the ticket price jump of almost $100 between 2005 and 2006 (going from $178.01 in 2005 to the aforementioned $273.68 in 2006).