UFC on FOX has historic significance

Velasquez vs. Dos Santos will kickoff a
brand new chapter in the UFC's history.

On Saturday, November 12 the UFC will be making their historic debut on FOX. It will be the promotion's first event held on the FOX Sports brand and their first on primetime television.

Headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between champ Cain Velasquez and contender Junior dos Santos, UFC on FOX 1 is significant for another reason. Looking back on the history of the UFC, it is easy to see how momentous the night will be for the mixed martial arts promotion. It will be 18 years to the day that the UFC held its first-ever event.

At that time it was nothing more than a tournament-style platform for wrestlers, kick boxers, jiu-jitsu technicians and other fighters to showcase their talents and show which fighting style was the best. This first event was an eight-man tournament format. It was also the night that the world was introduced to Royce Gracie and the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

It was a night that would live in MMA infamy. All fights ended in under five minutes, there were no rounds and it was a brutal introduction for the sport into the public forum. 

However, it latched onto a demographic. As the sport grew, so did the fan base. Eighteen years later the fan base and sport, which is pretty much ran by the UFC, are at all-time highs and reaching another historic point this Saturday.

This first card was unable to break the 3,000 attendance mark and nowadays tickets to UFC events sell out within a week’s time, sometimes even less. PPV buys are at an all-time high and millions of dollars are made with each event.

Fighters are more athletic, styles and techniques used have grown immensely, there are more rules and weight divisions have now leveled the playing-field in MMA. Once unable to sell-out a small arena, the UFC is now selling out arenas worldwide.

This first card might not have been pretty, but without it fans would not be preparing themselves for such a historic night.

Eighteen years ago a small part of the world was introduced to the UFC, this Saturday primetime audiences of all ages and from all walks of life will get to tune into the fastest growing sport in the world.

By the numbers:

UFC 1

Date: November 12, 1993

Venue: McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado

Attendance: 2,800

Buyrate: 86,000

UFC 138 (numbers for UFC on FOX unavailable)

Date: November 5, 2011

Venue: LG Arena Birmingham, England

Attendance: 10,823

Total Gate: $1.5 million

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