On November 12, 1993, in Denver, Colorado, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was unleashed on an unsuspecting public, with an explosion-an explosion of blood-as 6-foot-5 Dutch savate champion Gerard Gordeau kicked 420 lb-sumo wrestler Teila Tuli flush in the face less than one minute into the night’s opening fight.
The creation of ad man and serial entrepreneur Art Davie, the UFC arrived with virtually no warning or fanfare. Yet it was watched live in nearly 90,000 U.S. households through Pay-Per-View television, and instantly redefined action sports for a new generation.
The brutal kick delivered by Gordeau not only sent Tuli’s tooth flying into the crowd, it knocked the martial arts and combat sports worlds on their asses. With the very first UFC, the new sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) was launched-although it wasn't even called that yet-and fighting would never again be the same.
Now, for the first time, the true story of how the Ultimate Fighting Championship came into existence is told by the man who started it all. In this vivid and fast-moving, first-person account, Davie explains how his idea to crown the World’s Best Fighter painstakingly evolved into the UFC, which now stands as a billion-dollar sports franchise.
Art Davie is the Dr. James Naismith and Abner Doubleday of MMA (with a touch of PT Barnum), yet his name is largely unknown. That is, until now.
Davie’s tale is one of perseverance and against-all-odds determination, as he worked tirelessly for four years to see his dream come to brutal fruition, while meeting resistance at every single turn.
It’s also a mash-up of martial arts, celebrity, sports, and business, involving a highly improbable cast of characters that includes Academy Award nominee John Milius, NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, action film star Chuck Norris, Brazilian jiu-jitsu godfather Rorion Gracie and Pay-Per-View TV pioneer Bob Meyrowitz.
This no-holds-barred account of how Davie started the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and launched mixed martial arts, is one for not just fight fans, but for fans of mavericks in business and life who stop at nothing to fulfill their dreams.
Whether you're a hardcore supporter of MMA, or have never watched a single bout, you'll be enthralled by Davie’s story of triumph, tempered by constantly lurking disaster.
Art Davie created the sport of the 21st century, which arrived a decade early. He started a revolution, and his revolution was televised.
