UFC FINDS ULTIMATE SUCCESS.

Byline: JAMES MELROY Staff Writer

Evolution isn't just a theory in mixed martial arts.

It's a reality.

Just pop in a tape or DVD of ``UFC 1: The Beginning,'' the first ultimate fighting championship, which was held Nov. 13, 1993, at the old McNichols Arena in Denver.

UFC 1 featured a tournament-style event pitting fighters of a wide variety of weights and disciplines against each other. It was not uncommon to see a 200-pound fighter facing a 400-pound opponent.

When ``UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz'' takes place Saturday at The MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, the transformation in the sport will be obvious.

Today, it is a runaway industry that features packed arenas and fully sponsored events on cable television. There are countless Web sites and millions of bloggers who just can't seem to get enough.

``People flip around, and they'll see UFC on Spike TV or pay-per-view and they'll get a little of the experience,'' said Dana White, a fan from LasVegas. ``But, if you have never seen UFC live, it's the most exciting sport in the world.''

There are no tournaments like there were in the early days. Instead, there are title defenses from the various weight classes that UFC has implemented.

There are also rounds -- three for non-title fights, five for championship bouts -- and a list of rules to help ensure the safety and long-term health of the fighters.

You're likely to receive very few arguments that any sport has evolved as quickly as mixed martial arts (MMA).

First, let's make one thing clear: UFC is not a sport, it's an organization. The sport is MMA. UFC is the premier organization in MMA, but it is not the only one. There's PRIDE Fighting Championship, the International Fight League, K-1 Kickboxing, King of the Cage and Strike Force.

But UFC is far and away the frontrunner in the sport in the United States. PRIDE FC, from a business standpoint, is a distant second.

UFC went through several rough periods in the 1990s, and getting sanctioned proved to be a difficult task.

``I had stated that we would never have MMA in Nevada if there were no rules,'' said Marc Ratner, who was the chief inspector for the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) when UFC made its debut. ``I watched quite a few events and, my impressions then were: With no rules and no weight classes, it could never be.

``As I started watching more, however, I began to see the genuine athleticism of the combatants. I knew that if we could get it regulated, we could have something.''

Although the term ``no-holds barred'' appealed to bloodthirsty fight fans, it garnered UFC some unwanted national attention. Events were banned in several states, and Arizona Senator John McCain led a letter-writing campaign to have the sport banned because of its brutality.

SEG Sports, which bought the company in 1995 from its founders, Art Davie and Rorion Gracie, slowly began working toward regulation, and in November of 2000, held its first sanctioned event in New Jersey under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules. But with the company running well into the red, SEG began to field offers from potentials buyers.

White, a boxing promoter and fan of MMA, heard about the opportunity and made a few phone calls, including one to his childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta.

``A month later we owned it,'' White said.

With White taking over as president and brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta helping out behind the scenes, UFC slowly began to dig itself out of the hole in which it had been buried for so long.

Fighters were becoming more well-rounded and showing up for fights in shape. The various weight divisions began to fill up with a wide variety of fighters, making matchmaking an easier proposition.

With the number of fighters increasing, strong personalities began to emerge.

Very quickly, Tito Ortiz, and later Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, became the face of UFC.

``It helped to have guys like Tito and Chuck, giving the sport a unique look and style,'' White said. ``I mean, how many other sports back then had a guy with a Mohawk. ... I'll tell you what, you'll never see that in tennis. It's the perfect combination of athletics and entertainment.''

While detractors of MMA still point out safety issues, Ratner points out that MMA has become safer than boxing.

``When a combatant is knocked down, the referee is ready to jump between the fighters,'' said Ratner, who left the NSAC to become the UFC vice president of regulatory and governmental affairs. ``The fight is stopped very quickly when the guy is hurt. You don't see as many head blows in the fights and the sparring.

``The people who don't like it, well, they just won't like it. The people who love it, it's unbelievable how much they love it.''

UFC has garnered huge buy-rates for its pay-per-views, has one of cable television's highest-rated reality TV shows on Spike TV, ``The Ultimate Fighter,'' and is attracting sellout crowds for events in Las Vegas and Southern California.

Saturday's pay-per-view featuring a rematch between Liddell and Ortiz is expected to draw 1.2million pay-per-view buys, which would put it in the company of boxing's ``Golden Boy,'' Oscar De La Hoya. But even those numbers don't seem to satisfy White.

``We haven't even scratched the surface yet,'' White said. ``We're far from mainstream. There's a ton of people who still don't even know who we are and what we're about. We're looking to expand, not only nationally, but internationally.''

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Saturday's rematch of the bout between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell in Las Vegas is expected to draw 1.2 million pay-per-view purchases.

Courtesy of UFC.com