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    MMA

    UFC: History, Weight Classes, How to Watch (2026)

    Complete guide to the UFC, the world's largest mixed martial arts promotion: founding history, current weight classes, champions, and how to watch.

    The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest and most commercially successful mixed martial arts promotion in the world. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the organization stages fights inside its trademark eight-sided cage, known as the Octagon, under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Bouts are contested over three five-minute rounds, with championship and main-event contests scheduled for five rounds. The promotion runs roughly forty events per year across pay-per-view, Fight Night, and "UFC on ABC" cards, drawing fighters from more than seventy countries.

    History

    The UFC was conceived by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian jiu-jitsu pioneer Rorion Gracie as a televised, single-night tournament to identify the most effective martial art. The first event, UFC 1, was held on 12 November 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, and was won by Royce Gracie, whose submission victories popularized Brazilian jiu-jitsu worldwide. Early events had few rules: no weight classes, no time limits, and only a handful of fouls. This format drew political opposition, and by the late 1990s the promotion was banned from most pay-per-view providers and many US states.

    In 2001, Las Vegas casino executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, alongside their friend Dana White, purchased the struggling company through their holding firm Zuffa for two million US dollars. Working with state athletic commissions, the new owners helped codify the Unified Rules, introduced weight classes, gloves, rounds, and a clear list of fouls. The launch of the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV in 2005 brought MMA to mainstream American audiences, and the finale fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar is widely credited with saving the sport.

    In 2016, the Fertittas and White sold the UFC to entertainment agency WME-IMG, later rebranded as Endeavor, for a reported four billion US dollars. In 2023, Endeavor merged the UFC with WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, the publicly traded company that now operates the promotion. Across that growth, the UFC absorbed competing organizations including Pride Fighting Championships (2007), the WEC (2010), and Strikeforce (2013), consolidating most of the sport's top talent under one banner.

    Weight classes

    The UFC currently sanctions twelve weight classes across men's and women's divisions, all measured at the contracted limit:

    • Men's Flyweight: 56.7 kg / 125 lb — long-reigning champions include Demetrious Johnson and Deiveson Figueiredo
    • Men's Bantamweight: 61.2 kg / 135 lb — Dominick Cruz, T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling
    • Men's Featherweight: 65.8 kg / 145 lb — Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski
    • Men's Lightweight: 70.3 kg / 155 lb — B.J. Penn, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev
    • Men's Welterweight: 77.1 kg / 170 lb — Georges St-Pierre, Tyron Woodley, Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards
    • Men's Middleweight: 83.9 kg / 185 lb — Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis
    • Men's Light Heavyweight: 93.0 kg / 205 lb — Chuck Liddell, Jon Jones, Jiri Prochazka, Alex Pereira
    • Men's Heavyweight: 120.2 kg / 265 lb — Randy Couture, Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones
    • Women's Strawweight: 52.2 kg / 115 lb — Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Rose Namajunas, Zhang Weili
    • Women's Flyweight: 56.7 kg / 125 lb — Valentina Shevchenko, Alexa Grasso
    • Women's Bantamweight: 61.2 kg / 135 lb — Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes, Julianna Pena

    Non-title bouts may use a one-pound allowance; championship bouts may not.

    How to watch

    In the United States, UFC events were televised by ESPN and ESPN+ through 2025, with pay-per-view cards sold via ESPN+ PPV. Beginning in 2026, the UFC's US media rights moved to Paramount, with cards streamed on Paramount+ and select fights airing on CBS; the long-running pay-per-view model is being phased out in that market. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, TNT Sports broadcasts live cards. In Canada, TSN and the UFC's own Fight Pass platform share coverage. Australia and New Zealand carry the UFC on Main Event and Kayo Sports.

    Globally, UFC Fight Pass is the promotion's direct streaming service, offering live prelims, every event on demand, and a vast archive of historical fights from the UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC.

    Notable champions and influential fighters

    • Royce Gracie — Three-time tournament winner from the 1990s whose jiu-jitsu reshaped the sport
    • Georges St-Pierre — Two-division champion widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time
    • Anderson Silva — Held the middleweight title for a record 2,457 days from 2006 to 2013
    • Jon Jones — Long-reigning light heavyweight king and current heavyweight champion
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov — Retired undefeated at 29-0; dominant Dagestani lightweight champion
    • Amanda Nunes — First woman to hold two UFC titles simultaneously; retired in 2023
    • Conor McGregor — First fighter to hold UFC titles in two weight classes concurrently
    • Israel Adesanya — Former kickboxer who became one of the most-watched middleweight champions of the modern era

    Whether you are tracking pound-for-pound rankings or just learning the difference between a guillotine and a D'Arce choke, the UFC remains the central stage of professional MMA.

    الأسئلة الشائعة

    Who owns the UFC in 2026?

    The UFC is owned by TKO Group Holdings, a publicly traded company formed in 2023 when Endeavor merged the UFC with WWE. Endeavor had purchased the promotion in 2016 from the Fertitta brothers and Dana White's company Zuffa for a reported four billion US dollars. Dana White remains the UFC's chief executive and the public face of the organization. TKO trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TKO, and the UFC continues to operate as a distinct brand within the larger sports and entertainment group alongside WWE professional wrestling.

    What rules does the UFC use?

    The UFC follows the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, developed by US state athletic commissions in the early 2000s and refined since. Standard fights are three five-minute rounds with one-minute rests; title and main events are five rounds. Fighters wear four-ounce open-fingered gloves. Strikes are scored on a ten-point must system. Fouls include eye pokes, groin strikes, strikes to the back of the head, knees or kicks to a grounded opponent's head, and small-joint manipulation. Bouts can end by knockout, technical knockout, submission, decision, disqualification, or doctor stoppage.

    How can I watch the UFC in the United States in 2026?

    Starting in 2026, the UFC's exclusive US media rights moved from ESPN to Paramount. Numbered events and Fight Nights stream on Paramount+, with selected cards also airing free over the air on CBS. The traditional pay-per-view model that defined the ESPN era is being phased out under the new deal, meaning subscribers no longer pay an additional fee per major card. UFC Fight Pass remains available as a separate subscription for early prelims, international events, and the on-demand archive of historical fights from the UFC, Pride, and other absorbed promotions.

    How many weight classes does the UFC have?

    The UFC currently sanctions twelve championship weight classes: nine for men, ranging from flyweight at 56.7 kilograms up to heavyweight at 120.2 kilograms, and three for women at strawweight, flyweight, and bantamweight. The women's featherweight title was discontinued after Amanda Nunes vacated it. Non-title bouts allow a one-pound weight allowance over the divisional limit, while championship bouts must be made on the contracted weight exactly.

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