The most elite fighters in mixed martial arts do battle against each other in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In just over 25 years, MMA has grown into one of the most popular of combat sports, and UFC has grown to become the name to know in mixed martial arts. Some of the greatest fighters in history have been associated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While the brand has continued to grow worldwide, on pay-per-view, and with the hit reality series The Ultimate Fighter, UFC action is best experienced at the dozens of live events produced each year.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship originally started with a tournament at Denver, Colorado's McNichols Sports Arena on November 12, 1993. It was an exhibition to determine which of a multitude of combat styles were the most effective, including kickboxing, kenpo, shootfighting, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Out of this evolved what is now known as mixed martial arts, where fighters combine several styles in order to knock out their opponents or drive them into submission. UFC entered the world of women's mixed martial arts in 2012 with the signing of Ronda Rousey, and has quickly become the premier organization for women's MMA as well.

UFC sanctions titles in nine weight classes, with women competing in the strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight classes. Men compete in the flyweight classes and beyond as well as lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions.

Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts are fought using the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, passed by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission in 2001 and adopted by North America's other governing bodies over the next decade. UFC fights are judged by the "10-point must system," for three to five rounds lasting three minutes each. Fights must end either by submission, knockout, technical knockout, decision, disqualification, forfeit, or in a no contest.