Curly Howard
04-23-2003, 04:33 PM
Ultimate Fighting hits Miami
Group cleans up its bouts, image
BY GARY ESTWICK
gestwick@herald.com
Ken Shamrock has seen and been through it all.
Shamrock was a part of Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993 when the mixed martial arts organization debuted in Denver. There were no weight classes, no rounds, no gloves. Just gladiator-style matches promising lots of spilled blood.
Almost 10 years later, as UFC prepares to make its first appearance in Florida on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Shamrock has watched his organization clean up its image. The pay-per-view bloodfest that once drew the wrath of Arizona senator John McCain now is pushing itself as a legitimate sport.
''It wasn't like we were going out there killing anybody,'' Shamrock, 39, said. ``But it was definitely the hook to get people to watch it.''
Regulations have transformed the sport. UFC went from having two rules in its first event -- no head-butting or eye gouging -- to a long list of no-no's, including no strikes to the groin, no soccer kicks to the face and no spitting at an opponent.
Weight classes and gloves were added in 1997. Rounds followed two years later.
Don't worry, though. Kicks to the head of a standing opponent and knees anywhere but the kidneys are still fair game.
Toning down the sport cost UFC some of its hard-core followers. But the organization has gained more mainstream fans with its growing visibility. UFC now is sanctioned in Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Louisiana and at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut. California is next on organizers' wish list.
''I think what we lost were some of the people who were tuning in for a car crash, thinking somebody might seriously get hurt or die,'' said Matt Hughes, who will defend his welterweight championship against Sean Sherk in Friday's main event. ``What we're gaining are sports fans.
``We had to a give a little bit to get all this.''
They have gotten a lot. Last November, UFC drew 13,770 to UFC 40 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada's largest fight crowd of the year. It was also the third-largest fighting event in the nation in 2002.
At the event, UFC president Dana White said his organization sold about $135,000 of merchandise.
The Las Vegas live gate totaled $1.5 million. Two months ago in Atlantic City, UFC 41 earned $1.26 million at the gate.
In Miami, about 6,400 tickets have been sold for Friday's event -- UFC 42: Sudden Impact, which will feature a bout between two local residents -- Fort Lauderdale's Hermes Franca and Rich Crunkilton.
''This sport is going to keep growing and get to where boxing is,'' White said. ``I think this sport does have the potential to overtake boxing. There's so much more than two boxers just punching each other.''
And that's what earned the organization its share of negative publicity in the mid-1990s. Although UFC, the largest mixed martial arts organization in the United States, never has had a death in the octagon, critics called it ``human ****fighting.''
McCain, one of the organization's biggest adversaries, led a successful campaign to get UFC banned by state athletic commissioners and pay-per-view providers.
And pay-per-view sales are key to the organization. Pay-per-view -- $29.95 for the Miami bouts -- can create as much as 50 percent of the revenue of a given event, said UFC spokesman Jack Taylor.
Columnist Josh Gross, who covers UFC for MaxFighting.com, said McCain actually helped the sport grow.
''It created an air that they had to change,'' said Gross, who has covered the sport for three years.
Shamrock and others who once arrived at bouts not knowing if they would be allowed to fight have adjusted to the changes.
''At the time, I liked it the way it was,'' said Shamrock, who also is known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment.
``Now that I'm into it, the fights seem to be more exciting to watch. I think it was a great move.''
Who is going to argue with him?
UFC 42: Sudden Impact
• When: 10 p.m. Friday.
• Where: AmericanAirlines Arena.
• Tickets: $300, $200, $100, $60, $30. Ticketmaster 800-736-1420.
• Pay-per-view: iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, $29.95.
What you need to know
• What is Ultimate Fighting Championship? The largest mixed martial arts organization in the United States, UFC is sanctioned in Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Louisiana and at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut.
• The fighters: Forms of fighting include jiujitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling. The best fighters utilize more than one style.
• The Octagon: A 30- by 30-foot padded and fenced fighting area, designed to keep fighters from falling out of the ring.
Group cleans up its bouts, image
BY GARY ESTWICK
gestwick@herald.com
Ken Shamrock has seen and been through it all.
Shamrock was a part of Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993 when the mixed martial arts organization debuted in Denver. There were no weight classes, no rounds, no gloves. Just gladiator-style matches promising lots of spilled blood.
Almost 10 years later, as UFC prepares to make its first appearance in Florida on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena, Shamrock has watched his organization clean up its image. The pay-per-view bloodfest that once drew the wrath of Arizona senator John McCain now is pushing itself as a legitimate sport.
''It wasn't like we were going out there killing anybody,'' Shamrock, 39, said. ``But it was definitely the hook to get people to watch it.''
Regulations have transformed the sport. UFC went from having two rules in its first event -- no head-butting or eye gouging -- to a long list of no-no's, including no strikes to the groin, no soccer kicks to the face and no spitting at an opponent.
Weight classes and gloves were added in 1997. Rounds followed two years later.
Don't worry, though. Kicks to the head of a standing opponent and knees anywhere but the kidneys are still fair game.
Toning down the sport cost UFC some of its hard-core followers. But the organization has gained more mainstream fans with its growing visibility. UFC now is sanctioned in Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Louisiana and at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut. California is next on organizers' wish list.
''I think what we lost were some of the people who were tuning in for a car crash, thinking somebody might seriously get hurt or die,'' said Matt Hughes, who will defend his welterweight championship against Sean Sherk in Friday's main event. ``What we're gaining are sports fans.
``We had to a give a little bit to get all this.''
They have gotten a lot. Last November, UFC drew 13,770 to UFC 40 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada's largest fight crowd of the year. It was also the third-largest fighting event in the nation in 2002.
At the event, UFC president Dana White said his organization sold about $135,000 of merchandise.
The Las Vegas live gate totaled $1.5 million. Two months ago in Atlantic City, UFC 41 earned $1.26 million at the gate.
In Miami, about 6,400 tickets have been sold for Friday's event -- UFC 42: Sudden Impact, which will feature a bout between two local residents -- Fort Lauderdale's Hermes Franca and Rich Crunkilton.
''This sport is going to keep growing and get to where boxing is,'' White said. ``I think this sport does have the potential to overtake boxing. There's so much more than two boxers just punching each other.''
And that's what earned the organization its share of negative publicity in the mid-1990s. Although UFC, the largest mixed martial arts organization in the United States, never has had a death in the octagon, critics called it ``human ****fighting.''
McCain, one of the organization's biggest adversaries, led a successful campaign to get UFC banned by state athletic commissioners and pay-per-view providers.
And pay-per-view sales are key to the organization. Pay-per-view -- $29.95 for the Miami bouts -- can create as much as 50 percent of the revenue of a given event, said UFC spokesman Jack Taylor.
Columnist Josh Gross, who covers UFC for MaxFighting.com, said McCain actually helped the sport grow.
''It created an air that they had to change,'' said Gross, who has covered the sport for three years.
Shamrock and others who once arrived at bouts not knowing if they would be allowed to fight have adjusted to the changes.
''At the time, I liked it the way it was,'' said Shamrock, who also is known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment.
``Now that I'm into it, the fights seem to be more exciting to watch. I think it was a great move.''
Who is going to argue with him?
UFC 42: Sudden Impact
• When: 10 p.m. Friday.
• Where: AmericanAirlines Arena.
• Tickets: $300, $200, $100, $60, $30. Ticketmaster 800-736-1420.
• Pay-per-view: iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, $29.95.
What you need to know
• What is Ultimate Fighting Championship? The largest mixed martial arts organization in the United States, UFC is sanctioned in Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Louisiana and at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut.
• The fighters: Forms of fighting include jiujitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling. The best fighters utilize more than one style.
• The Octagon: A 30- by 30-foot padded and fenced fighting area, designed to keep fighters from falling out of the ring.