Sometimes we like it a little rough. We imagine two finely tuned bodies straining against each other, testosterone filling the air, both participants going at it until they are exhausted, finally collapsing in a sweaty heap. Before you know what hit you, it's time for the next match. Did we say "match"? Yes we did!?
We're talking about the Ultimate Fighting Championship, of course, the most exciting combat sport on the planet today. And the biggest night in UFC history is coming up Friday, June 6 in Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UFC 43: Meltdown will be eight bouts featuring Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell squaring off against Randy “The Natural” Couture in an interim light heavyweight title clash. Other bouts will include Octagon Legends Ken Shamrock, Tank, Vitor Belfort and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Matt Lindland. If you can’t make it here for the evening, then you have to see it on pay-per-view.
Guys and gals alike dig UFC because it’s real, it’s intense, and the action is fast and furious. Ultimate Fighting™ is a UFC term for its Mixed Martial Arts competition – a unique blend of jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and other skilled fighting techniques. No showboating, made-for-TV fake wrestling here. UFC is real men, highly-skilled professional fighters who are among the best-trained and conditioned athletes in the world, in a full-impact contest.
UFC has everything Vegas…beefcake men, beautiful women, a spectacle of lights and music, primal competition between gladiators, and the Octagon. Not quite a cage, not quite a ring. The Octagon is a unique fighting arena that keeps the action moving and visible to the entire audience. It is also designed as a neutral arena to showcase skills from many disciplines without favoring any single one.
It’s “don’t-look-away-for-a-second” action is also mixed with a fair amount of entertainment. Recent events have included appearances and commentary from Joe Rogan of NBC’s hit reality show “Fear Factor,” and Leeann Tweeden from Fox Sports and Bluetorch TV. Other UFC celebrity guests have included Carmen Elektra, Donald Trump and Mike Tyson.
The UFC was created in 1993 as a made for pay-per-view spectacle. There never was a plan to proceed beyond one or two shows. The idea was to bring together champions of various martial arts and Olympic sports disciplines to determine which style would be most successful in a tournament.
What began as a mere spectacle was transformed into one of the world’s most entertaining sporting events. Over the course of its ten-year existence and 42 events, the UFC has become the premier mixed martial arts event in the world, featuring competitors of multiple disciplines in a quest to become an ultimate fighting champion.
Fighter safety always has been a major concern of UFC officials. While original promoters wanted to include such sensationalistic side shows as alligator moats and electric fences surrounding the ring, UFC doctors warned against them due to the dangers fighters could face.
Unique to UFC is the ability to “tap out.” Unlike boxing and other combative sports that do not allow fighters to stop a fight, the UFC allows fighters to tap out by tapping the floor or their opponent, motioning to the referee that they do not wish to continue and risk further harm.
Zuffa, LLC, a Nevada corporation owned by Lorenzo Fertitta and his brother, Frank Fertitta, III, acquired the assets of the UFC in January 2001. Lorenzo Fertitta serves as the president of Station Casinos and is a former vice chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Frank Fertitta, III is chairman of the board and CEO of Station Casinos, Inc.
Tickets are $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, and are available at the Thomas & Mack box office, all Station Casinos and Fiesta hotel/casinos, Click here to buy online, and by telephone at 1-866-388-3267 toll free, or in Las Vegas at (702) 739-3267. UFC 43: Meltdown will be available live on pay-per-view on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. For more information, visit www.ufc.tv.
For those who can’t get enough UFC, the Official UFC 43 Competitor Weigh-in and Hard Rock Ring Girl Competition will be held Thursday, June 5 at 4 p.m. in The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel (admission is free), and the Official UFC 43 After Party will be held Friday, June 6 beginning at 11 p.m. at The Joint. Tickets are $15 and available at the Hard Rock box office and through Ticketmaster.
