How to get to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship): rules, weight classes

From time immemorial there was an opinion that for the crowd two basic things are needed - bread and spectacles. It goes without saying that such a statement in modern interpretation implies that people have sufficient means for a normal life. Since at the moment an impressive part of the population of the planet has all the material benefits, it was quite logical to create new entertainments for the public, which are at times quite cruel, but at the same time spectacular.

One of such tournaments, which arose at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and attracts millions of viewers to this day, is the UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is this media product that has grown from a small tournament into a global organization, under the auspices of which there is a great many famous athletes from all corners of our land. Thanks to this primacy, martial arts won tremendous recognition and love, and the owners of the promotion - a billion profits.

A short excursion into the history

So, before you figure out how to get into the UFC, first of all let's get acquainted with the main milestones of the emergence of the organization itself.

Its appearance is due to the businessman from California Arthur Davie. It was his studies of martial arts in 1991 that enabled him to get to know one of the adherents of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rorion Gracie. This tandem subsequently stimulated the world's first tournament among fighters of different directions. It happened on November 12, 1993, when representatives of boxing, karate, savat, shotsibsinga, sumo and jujutsu came together in an octagonal cage. It was the Brazilian named Royce Grace who ultimately won the first UFC championship. At that time there were no weight categories.

Features of the first competition

Despite the fact that the motto "No rules!" Was originally cultivated, in fact it was not so. It was forbidden to squeeze out your eyes, bite, beat in the groin, tear your mouth. Basically, the soldiers adhered to a certain ethic and did not allow themselves liberties. Although there is a case where in the duel between Hackney and Sanaa the latter was dealt several deliberate strikes to the causal place. In addition, the newly created martial arts were characterized by the fact that the anthropometric difference between rivals could be simply gigantic. So, in the fight between Keith Hackney and Emmanuel Yarborough, the difference in weight was 180 kilograms.

Confrontation with Senator

Today, many fighters ask the question: "How to get to the UFC?" But after the first competitions, US Senator John McCain made every effort to ban the now insanely popular promotion. According to the politician, such fights were the embodiment of cruelty and had no right to exist. Therefore, he sent letters to all the states of the country with a request to prohibit the display of such tournaments. For this reason, the UFC went to contact with the athletic commissions and made changes to the rules and regulations, so that protective gloves appeared, the number of bans increased, and rounds were established with a certain duration (five minutes).

The rescue

Long troubles and bureaucratic red tape put the UFC on the brink of extinction. But the situation changed radically when, in 2001, former boxing promoter Dana Uyat and heads of several casinos Frank and Lorenzo Faritta bought the organization for $ 2 million. To do this, they created a company called Zuffa.

rules

Almost every fighter, before getting into the UFC, is already quite familiar with the rules of mixed martial arts. Leading American organization MMA in its rules for fights adheres to the following requirements:

1. Competitive fighters must fit into the limit of one weight division.
2. On each athlete must certainly wear gloves, inguinal sink, and a mouth is inserted in the mouth.
3. The round lasts five minutes. In this case, the title duel consists of five rounds, and not the title one - of three.
4. Each fighter passes a medical examination before the fight and receives admission. He will also be checked for the presence / absence of doping in the blood (narcotic and anabolic substances are prohibited).
5. The fight is assessed by three side judges who count points on a ten-point system. The winner of the round gets 10 points, the loser - 9 or less. Also, the referee in the cage can withdraw the score for breaking the rules.
6. The use of shock and wrestling techniques is permitted.

Taboo

With regard to prohibited activities, in the octagon are not allowed:

• Head blows;
• Exposure to the eyes;
• Hold on the hair or cheeks;
• Bites;
• Attacking actions in the groin;
• The impact of the fingers in the holes of the nose, ears, orbits;
• Creases of small joints (brushes, fingers);
• Blows to the nape, spine, throat, tracheal occlusion;
• Seizure of the clavicle;
• The kicks on the opponent, who is on the floor;
• Knocking in the head in the stalls (in the case are allowed);
• Trampling on the opponent's body;
• Spitting;
• Stitching in canvas head, neck;
• Throwing an opponent by the cage;
• Hold for the cage;
• Obscene language;
• To attack an opponent during a break between rounds or at the moment when the fighter is in charge of the referee;
• To neglect the instructions and instructions of the referee;
• Throw a towel during a fight.

Weight frames

The weight categories in the current form appeared on UFC 31. The division according to the mass of the fighters goes as follows (from small to large):

• Lightest weight (from 53 to 57 kg);
• Lightest weight (from 57 to 61 kg);
• Featherweight (61 to 66 kg);
• Light weight (from 66 to 70 kg);
• Welterweight (from 70 to 77 kg);
• Average weight (from 77 to 84 kg);
• Light heavy weight (from 84 to 93 kg);
• Heavy weight (from 93 to 120 kg).

Women still have a minimum weight (from 48 kg to 52 kg).

Ways to sign a contract with UFC

If you analyze what you need to get into the UFC, you can find out: the fighter of this tournament is the one who adheres to several points. We will dwell on them in more detail.

It is necessary to have a certain talent and train regularly with full dedication.

As practice shows, such a statement is true for 100%. There are many cases where a talented fighter has not been able to fully realize because of elementary laziness. Therefore, as folk wisdom says: "Work and work will all peretrut."

Excellent to recommend in other promotions MMA

There are a lot of examples when a fighter began his career in a less well known promotion than the UFC. Take the same Eddie Alvarez. This guy started his performances at Bellator, became the champion there and ended up in the UFC. Or the Belarusian Andrei Arlovski, who, as many believed, had already disappeared from the rails of great sport, once again returned to the main octagon of the planet due to his diligence and ability to work.

Fall in love with the audience and TV

This is how Chel Chelonen fought three times for the title, which, in principle, does not have bright fighting skills. Strictly speaking, this paragraph helps to understand how Conor McGregor got to the UFC, as he is also an acknowledged master of the triste. Due to his bright and sparkling statements, he was able to attract the attention of the public, and then reinforce his words with active actions in the cage, literally shocking the world with an instant victory over former champion Jose Aldo.

To get through TUF

The Ultimate Fighter - a show through which hundreds of fighters passed and which saved the organization from bankruptcy. In this "meat grinder" visited: Nate Diaz, Roy Nelson, Kenny Florian, Forrest Griffin, Mat Serra, Josh Koschek, Rashad Evans and many other stars that many fans of MMA know today. It was thanks to the battles in this mini-tournament that many of the guys were at the top.

Being "scarce"

In this case, we mean only weight. If you look at how many battles are required to reach the middleweight, and how many - to the fighter of the flyweight division, it becomes clear: the small one-man will be in a better position.

To be the star of any other single combat

Here everything is clear. To unleash an athlete who created himself a name already earlier is much easier than raising him from the bottom. The poster in the style of "the best boxer in the world in the past, and now - the fighter of the MMA" will always attract the public and, accordingly, money for which everything, in principle, is being done. And finally, another way to get into the UFC.

Fill in the form

More recently, the UFC has provided an opportunity for athletes to fill out an online questionnaire on their website and post a video with their fights. Based on the results of the views, management can make a proposal to the soldier to sign a contract. As you can see, modern technologies also do their job and save time for athletes.

These briefly described actions allow to understand how to get to the UFC, the fights in which - the issue of prestige for many hand-to-hand fighting masters.