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215-463: The Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas , Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings , a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings . It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023. It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions (eight men's and three women's) and abides by
430-638: A National Hockey League (NHL) game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks from Madison Square Garden , was transmitted that evening over channel 21—its original assigned channel on the Teleservice system—to its initial base of 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre. The first movie presentation shown on the service aired immediately after the hockey game concluded: the 1971 film Sometimes
645-409: A combat -based style which blended wrestling , kickboxing and submission grappling . Another promotion formed around the same time by Akira Maeda called Fighting Network RINGS initially started as a shoot-style professional wrestling promotion but it also promoted early mixed martial arts contests. From 1995 onwards it began identifying itself as a mixed martial arts promotion and moved away from
860-481: A digital cable subscription or at least scrambling), and, because of controversy surrounding daytime showings of R-rated films that began being scheduled on competing premium services as early as 1980, remained in place well after the V-chip became standard in newer television sets. From April 1979 to March 1987, rating bumpers preceding HBO telecasts of R-rated films included a special disclaimer indicating to viewers that
1075-449: A fencer , and his fight against Taiwanese kung fu master Wu Ming Jeet. Wong combined boxing and kickboxing into his kung fu, as Bruce Lee did. Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki took place in Japan in 1976. The classic match-up between professional boxer and professional wrestler turned sour as each fighter refused to engage in the other's style, and after a 15-round stalemate it was declared
1290-656: A gyaku-ude-garami armlock, which later became known as the "Kimura" in Brazilian jiu jitsu. In 1963, a catch wrestler and judoka " Judo " Gene Lebell fought professional boxer Milo Savage in a no-holds-barred match. Lebell won by Harai Goshi to rear naked choke, leaving Savage unconscious. This was the first televised bout of mixed-style fighting in North America. The hometown crowd was so enraged that they began to boo and throw chairs at Lebell. On February 12, 1963, three karatekas from Oyama dojo ( kyokushin later) went to
1505-495: A subscription video-on-demand service (HBO On Demand). Off-the-air maintenance periods of anywhere from a half-hour up to two hours occur at varied overnight/early morning time slots (usually preceding the 6:00 a.m. ET/PT start of the defined broadcast day) once per month on each channel. HBO transmits feeds of its primary and multiplex channels on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. The respective coastal feeds of each channel are usually packaged together, resulting in
1720-633: A 1905 fight between French savateur George Dubois and a judo practitioner Re-nierand which resulted in the latter winning by submission, as well as the highly publicized 1957 fight between French savateur and professional boxer Jacques Cayron and a young Japanese karateka named Mochizuki Hiroo which ended when Cayron knocked Hiroo out with a hook . Catch wrestling appeared in the late 19th century, combining several global styles of wrestling , including Indian pehlwani and English wrestling. In turn, catch wrestling went on to greatly influence modern MMA. No-holds-barred fighting reportedly took place in
1935-403: A Great Notion , starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda . To reduce subscriber churn by offering extra programming choices to subscribers, on May 8, 1991, Home Box Office Inc. announced plans to launch two additional channels of HBO and Cinemax, becoming the first subscription television services to launch " multiplexed " companion channels (a term coined by then-CEO Michael Fuchs to equate
2150-526: A TV-MA rating outside the watershed period. As of 2021 , HBO employs fairly fluid enforcement of the watershed policy, varying based on the content scheduled to air on its main channel during each programming day. The policy began to be weakened in January 2010, when the main HBO channel started allowing original series, movies, and documentaries given a TV-MA rating for strong profanity or non-graphic violence to air during
2365-411: A base in striking arts became more competitive as they cross-trained in styles based around takedowns and submission holds. Likewise, those from the varying grappling styles added striking techniques to their arsenal. This increase of cross-training resulted in fighters becoming increasingly multidimensional and well-rounded in their skill-sets. The new hybridization of fighting styles can be seen in
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#17328456557452580-668: A cable system franchise serving an Upper Manhattan section of New York City (covering an area extending southward from 79th Street on the Upper East Side to 86th Street on the Upper West Side), which began limited service in September 1966. Manhattan Cable was notable for being the first urban underground cable television system to operate in the United States. With external expenses resulting in consistent financial losses, in
2795-563: A combined package by many multichannel television providers; however, customers have the option of subscribing to HBO and Cinemax's corresponding channel packages individually. On August 1, 1980, HBO launched Cinemax, a companion movie-based premium channel created as a direct competitor to two existing movie-focused premium channels: The Movie Channel , then a smaller, standalone pay movie service owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment (then part-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery predecessor Warner Communications), and Home Theater Network (HTN),
3010-506: A contest was held in France between French savateurs and English bare-knuckle boxers in which French fighter Rambaud alias la Resistance fought English fighter Dickinson and won using his kicks. However, the English team still won the four other match-ups during the contest. Contests occurred in the late 19th to mid-20th century between French savateurs and other combat styles. Examples include
3225-474: A continuing series of fighting tournaments—a franchise, rather than a one-night stand." With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney faced Emmanuel Yarbrough at UFC 3 with a 9-inch height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage. During this early phase of the organization, the UFC showcased a bevy of styles and fighters. Aside from
3440-572: A deal to buy UFC's DVD rights from Lionsgate for an additional two million dollars. With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television, with UFC 33 featuring three championship bouts. The UFC slowly rose in popularity after
3655-750: A default HBO OTT service for Amazon Fire and Fire TV customers. As a consequence of an agreement with WarnerMedia announced the day before offering HBO Max on Roku devices starting the following day, the HBO streaming service was discontinued on December 17, 2020. Max (formerly known as HBO Max) is an over-the-top subscription streaming service operated by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment built mainly around HBO's programming and other Warner Bros. Discovery assets. HBO's programming schedule currently consists largely of theatrically released feature films and adult-oriented original series (including, as of November 2023 , dramas such as Euphoria , Industry , The Gilded Age , House of
3870-771: A different set of rules (example: eliminating kicking a grounded opponent), which differed from other leagues which were more in favour of realistic, "street-like" fights. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. Originally promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with relatively few rules. Later, individual fighters incorporated multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, to comply with sport regulations and to broaden mainstream acceptance of
4085-522: A draw. Muhammad Ali sustained a substantial amount of damage to his legs, as Antonio Inoki slide-kicked him continuously for the duration of the bout, causing him to be hospitalized for the next three days. The fight played an important role in the history of mixed martial arts. The basis of modern mixed martial arts in Japan can be found across several shoot-style professional wrestling promotions such as UWF International and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , both founded in 1991, that attempted to create
4300-456: A financial disaster. Zuffa bought select assets from WFA, including select fighter contracts, as well as trademarks and other intellectual property. The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing for the first time in terms of betting revenues. In fact, the UFC had already broken
4515-453: A form of professional wrestling which had more realistic-looking moves and matches while deemphasizing theatrical elements. Promotions like Shooto and Pancrase discarded the scripts and were already putting on hybrid fighting shows with real fights by the time the UFC was founded. This culminated in the creation of Pride Fighting Championships in 1997. At its height, Pride was the world's most popular MMA promotion, and helped to popularize
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#17328456557454730-481: A fourth HBO channel and two additional Cinemax channels, originally projected for a Spring 1997 launch. The HBO multiplex expanded to include a fourth channel on December 1, 1996, with the launch of HBO Family, focusing on family-oriented feature films and television series aimed at younger children. (HBO Family's launch coincided with the launch of Mountain Time Zone feeds of HBO, HBO2, Cinemax, and Cinemax 2, which were
4945-1113: A great thing for HBO or our brand if that had been gobbled up in the first week[..] I think it was very exciting for the viewer to have that mystery held out for an extended period." Pleper cited that he felt that binge-watching does not correlate with the culture of HBO and HBO watchers. Some of its original programs, however, have been aimed at families or children, primarily those produced before 2001 (through its original programming division and third-party producers both American and foreign) and from 2016 to 2020 (under its agreement with Sesame Workshop); children's programs that have aired on HBO have included Sesame Street , Fraggle Rock , Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child , A Little Curious , Crashbox , Babar , HBO Storybook Musicals , Lifestories: Families in Crisis , Dear America and The Little Lulu Show as well as acquisitions including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , The Legend of White Fang , Shakespeare: The Animated Tales , Animated Hero Classics and The Country Mouse and
5160-464: A high-definition simulcast feed on June 12, 1997, with initial plans for a rollout to television providers as early as the Summer of 1998, when electronics manufacturers planned to begin retailing their initial line of HD-capable television sets. HBO began transmitting a high definition simulcast feed on March 6, 1999, becoming the first American cable television network to begin simulcast their programming in
5375-451: A long-running children's television series that had previously aired on the program's longtime broadcaster, PBS (and its morning block), for the vast majority of its run, in a five-year programming and development deal with Sesame Workshop that was announced in August 2015. Although struck with the intent to have the show remain on PBS in some fashion, the nonprofit production company reached
5590-463: A million years did these guys think they were creating a sport." Davie, in his 2014 book Is This Legal? , an account of the creation of the first UFC event, disputes the perception that the UFC was seen by WOW Promotions and SEG as a one-off, since SEG offered a five-year joint development deal to WOW. He says, "Clearly, both Campbell and Meyrowitz shared my unwavering belief that War of the Worlds would be
5805-549: A mixed match, which catch wrestler Steele won in 35 seconds. 27 years later, Ray Steele's protégé Lou Thesz fought boxer Jersey Joe Walcott twice in mixed style bouts. The first match was a real contest which Thesz won while the second match was a work, which Thesz also won. In the 1940s in the Palama Settlement in Hawaii, five martial arts masters, under the leadership of Adriano Emperado, curious to determine which martial art
6020-627: A new peak of popularity in North America in December 2006: a rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz , rivaled the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time, and helped the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history. In 2007, Zuffa LLC , the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand Pride FC , merging
6235-408: A nightly block), would become strongly associated with the channel among its subscribers and in pop culture . The channel began gradually scaling back its adult programming offerings in 2011, in an effort to shift focus towards its mainstream films and original programs, culminating in the removal of "Max After Dark" content from its linear and on-demand platforms in 2018, as part of a broader exit from
6450-650: A now-defunct service owned by Group W Satellite Communications that focused on G- and PG-rated films. Cinemax succeeded in its early years partly because it relied on classic movie releases from the 1950s to the 1970s—with some more recent films mixed into its schedule—that it presented uncut and without commercial interruption, at a time when limited headend channel capacity resulted in cable subscribers only being able to receive as many as three dozen channels (up to half of which were reserved for local and out-of-market broadcast stations, and public access channels). In most cases, cable operators tended to sell Cinemax and HBO as
6665-450: A practice with roots in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships . Long time UFC referee John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America. "When that show (UFC 40) happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this
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6880-439: A premium add-on through Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV , AT&T TV and Hulu . On October 15, 2014, HBO announced plans to launch an OTT subscription streaming service in 2015, which would be distributed as a standalone offering that does not require an existing television subscription to access the content. The service, HBO Now, was unveiled on March 9, 2015, and officially launched one month later on April 7. The service
7095-496: A program up to four hours, depending on the applicable time zone, in advance of their local airtime on their corresponding primary coastal feed. (Most cable, satellite, and IPTV providers, as well as its Amazon Prime Video and Roku OTT channels, only offer the East and West Coast feeds of the main HBO channel; some conventional television providers may include coastal feeds of HBO2 in certain areas, while wider availability of coastal feeds for
7310-480: A reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches. It was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV , with an offer to pay the $ 10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet. In January 2005, Spike TV launched The Ultimate Fighter 1 ( TUF 1 ) in
7525-399: A result of an increased number of competitors, organized training camps, information sharing, and modern kinesiology , the understanding of the effectiveness of various strategies has been greatly improved. UFC commentator Joe Rogan claimed that martial arts evolved more in the ten years following 1993 (the first UFC event ) than in the preceding 700 years combined. "During his reign atop
7740-482: A rooftop fight scene in the 1950s and 1960s, where gangs from rival martial arts schools challenged each other to bare-knuckle fights on Hong Kong's rooftops, in order to avoid crackdowns by colonial British Hong Kong authorities. The most famous fighter to emerge from Hong Kong's rooftop fight scene was Bruce Lee , who combined different techniques from different martial arts schools into his own hybrid martial arts system called Jeet Kune Do . Lee went on to popularize
7955-415: A series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards. After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox , Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, " The Ultimate Fighter season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with
8170-487: A singular premium bundle, usually offered at a discount for customers that decided to subscribe to both channels. Cinemax, unlike HBO, also maintained a 24-hour schedule from its launch, one of the first pay cable services to transmit around the clock. Even early in its existence, Cinemax tried to diversify its programming beyond movies. Beginning in 1984, it incorporated music specials and some limited original programming (among them, SCTV Channel and Max Headroom ) into
8385-676: A sister production unit HBO Films , which traces its origins to the 1983 founding of HBO Premiere Films. Originally developed to produce original television movies and miniseries with higher budgets and production values than other telefilms, the film unit's first original movie project was the 1983 biopic The Terry Fox Story . Differing from other direct-to-cable television films, most of HBO's original movies have been helmed by major film actors (such as James Stewart , Michael Douglas , Drew Barrymore , Stanley Tucci , Halle Berry and Elizabeth Taylor ). The unit—which would be rechristened HBO Pictures in 1985—expanded beyond its telefilm slate, which
8600-417: A subscription to a multichannel television provider (34.939 million of which receive HBO's primary channel at minimum), giving it the largest subscriber total of any American premium channel. (From 2006 to 2018, this distinction was held by Starz Encore —currently owned by Lionsgate subsidiary Starz Inc. —which, according to February 2015 Nielsen estimates, had 40.54 million pay subscribers vs.
8815-525: A television franchise. In 1993, WOW Promotions sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO ( HBO ) and SET ( Showtime ), and Campbell McLaren and David Isaacs at Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG—a pioneer in pay-per-view television that had produced such offbeat events as a tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova —became WOW's partner in May 1993. UFC promoters initially pitched
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9030-681: A test launch of the three channels over those systems, TeleCable customers in Overland Park, Kansas ; Racine, Wisconsin ; and suburban Dallas ( Richardson and Plano, Texas ) that subscribed to either service began receiving two additional HBO channels or a secondary channel of Cinemax. HBO2 (later renamed HBO Plus, then reverted to its original name), HBO3 (now HBO Signature), and Cinemax 2 (now MoreMax) each offered distinct schedules of programs culled from HBO and Cinemax's movie and original programming libraries separate from offerings shown concurrently on their respective parent primary channels. (Cinemax
9245-539: A total of just five minutes. sparking a revolution in martial arts. The first Vale Tudo Japan tournaments were held in 1994 and 1995 and were both won by Rickson Gracie . Around the same time, International Vale Tudo competition started to develop through (World Vale Tudo Championship (WVC), VTJ , IVC , UVF etc.). Interest in mixed martial arts as a sport resulted in the creation of the Pride Fighting Championships (Pride) in 1997. The sport reached
9460-456: A two-day weekend (later extended to three days in 1997, then to a Friday-to-Monday "four-day weekend" format by 2008)—over a local origination channel, though satellite and digital cable providers elected instead to unencrypt the channels corresponding to each HBO feed for the preview period. Until 2002, interstitials hosted by on-air presenters (notably including, among others, Norm Crosby , Greg Kinnear , Sinbad and Ellen DeGeneres ) promoting
9675-522: A valuation of $ 1.7 billion. The organization had 578 fighters contracted as of January 2023. With a TV deal and expansion in Australia, Asia, Europe, and new markets within the United States, the UFC has achieved greater mainstream media coverage. It earned US$ 609 million in 2015, and its next domestic media rights agreement with ESPN was valued at $ 1.5 billion over a five-year term. In April 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings announced that UFC would merge with
9890-424: A voluntary participation basis. (The total of participating providers that elected to offer a free preview event varies depending on the given preview period, and participating multiple-system cable operators may elect to carry the event only in certain regions where they provide service.) HBO also produces short segments promoting newer movies with the cooperation of the film studios that hold distribution rights to
10105-425: A way to visually differentiate their event from professional boxing and professional wrestling . Some ideas included a traditional roped-ring surrounded by netting, a moat with alligators, a raised platform surrounded by razor-wire fence, electrified fencing, men in togas and netting that could be lowered from the ceiling by a pulley. Eventually Cusson designed an arena with eight sides surrounded by chain-link fence,
10320-489: A week of recording instead of a several-month delay, and elimination fights are aired live. With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52 , the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell , avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer, Randy Couture , drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following
10535-676: A wrestler beat a boxer?" As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and little experience against opponents with differing skills. The television broadcast featured kickboxer Kevin Rosier , taekwondo practitioner Patrick Smith , savate fighter Gerard Gordeau , karate expert Zane Frazier , shootfighter Ken Shamrock , sumo wrestler Teila Tuli , boxer Art Jimmerson , and 175 lb (79 kg) Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Royce Gracie —younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion, whom Rorion selected to represent his family. Royce's submission skills proved
10750-554: Is HBO's companion subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service that is available at no additional cost to subscribers of the linear television service, who regularly pay a premium fee to pay television providers to receive access to the channel. VOD content from the network is also available on select virtual MVPD services (including DirecTV Stream , YouTube TV and Hulu ), and through HBO's dedicated Roku video channel. HBO on Demand offers theatrical feature films from HBO's distribution partners and original programming previously seen on
10965-610: Is a high definition simulcast feed of HBO that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format. HBO maintains high definition simulcast feeds of its main channel and all six multiplex channels. HBO HD is available on all major cable television providers including, among others, Charter Communications (including systems once owned by former HBO sister company Time Warner Cable); Comcast Xfinity (which, in 2016, began downconverting HBO, Cinemax and other cable channels transmitting in 1080i to 720p 60); Cox Communications and Optimum ; as well as DirecTV ; AT&T U-verse ; and Verizon FiOS . From
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#173284565574511180-624: Is also responsible for promoting many of the major motion picture releases, via its behind-the-scenes featurette programs. HBO, via the beyond-the-scenes interstitial programs was the first network to promote many of these movies. They included, but were not limited to, The Godfather , The Godfather Part 2 , French Connection 2 , Jaws , Halloween , Star Wars , Star Trek , 9 to 5 , Sixteen Candles , Mac and Me , Home Alone , Home Alone 2: Lost in New York , A Few Good Men , Scream , and I Know What You Did Last Summer . In
11395-696: Is an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. , itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery . The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan . Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy, and concert specials , and periodic interstitial programs (consisting of short films and making-of documentaries). HBO
11610-588: Is developed for and production is primarily, if not exclusively, handled by the channel of its originating broadcast. Since 1973, the network has produced a variety of original programs alongside its slate of theatrical motion pictures. Most of these programs cater to adult viewers (and, with limited exceptions, are typically assigned TV-MA ratings ), often featuring—with such content varying by program—high amounts of profanity, violence, sexual themes or nudity that basic cable or over-the-air broadcast channels would be reticent to air because of objections from sponsors and
11825-595: Is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it's going to make it." –"Big" John McCarthy Despite the success of UFC 40, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $ 34 million in losses since they purchased
12040-408: Is the centerpiece of Max (previously HBO Max from 2020 to 2023), an expanded streaming platform operated separately from but sharing management with Home Box Office, Inc., which also includes original programming produced exclusively for the service and content from other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Livestreams of the network's linear East and West Coast feeds are not presently accessible on
12255-432: Is the oldest subscription television service in the United States still in operation, as well as the country's first cable-originated television network (both as a regional microwave - and national satellite -transmitted service). HBO pioneered modern pay television upon its launch on November 8, 1972: it was the first television service to be directly transmitted and distributed to individual cable television systems, and
12470-616: The COVID-19 pandemic to contractually transfer their credentials to HBO Max), though only through the HBO Go desktop website. The "HBO Go" moniker remains in use as the brand for HBO's streaming platforms in select Asian markets until it would be also rebranded directly into Max in fall-2024. HBO Now (formally named HBO from August to December 2020) was an over-the-top (OTT) subscription streaming service that provided on-demand access to HBO's library of original programming and theatrical films, and
12685-676: The HBO First Look series of 15-to-20-minute-long documentary-style interstitial specials, which debuted in 1992 and has no set airing schedule. (Since 2010, the "making of" specials, for which HBO officially no longer uses the First Look name, are only identified under the banner for program listing identification.) The network previously produced three-to-five-minute-long feature segments that aired during longer-duration between-program promotional breaks, HBO News (1988–2011; formerly titled HBO Entertainment News from 1988 to 2007) and HBO Behind
12900-524: The MGM Grand Garden Arena , the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net . The Best Damn Sports Show Period aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5 . Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC. UFC 40 proved to be the most critical event to date in
13115-734: The Pride Fighting Championships in 1997. In the 1990s, the Gracie family brought their Brazilian jiu-jitsu style , first developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States—which culminated in the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion company in 1993. The company held an event with almost no rules, mostly due to the influence of Art Davie and Rorion Gracie attempting to replicate mixed contests that existed in Brazil and Japan. They would later implement
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#173284565574513330-483: The UFC came to prominence in mainstream media in 2006, and with their 2007 merger with Pride FC and purchases of WEC and Strikeforce , it has been the most significant MMA promotion in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent , and level of competition. According to Fight Matrix , these are the promotions with the top ranked talent as of November 2024: There are hundreds of MMA training facilities throughout
13545-542: The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts . As of 2024, it had held over 700 events . Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise. The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian martial artist Rorion Gracie , and the first event was held in 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver , Colorado. The purpose of
13760-705: The difference in local airtimes for a particular movie or program between two geographic locations being three hours at most; the opposite-region feed (i.e., the Pacific Time feeds in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the Eastern Time feeds in the Pacific, Mountain and Alaska Time Zones ) serves as a timeshift channel , allowing viewers who may have missed a particular program at its original local airtime to watch it three hours after its initial airing or allowing them to watch
13975-431: The free preview concept—now a standard promotional tool in the pay television industry—in 1973, as a marketing strategy allowing participating television providers to offer a sampling of HBO's programming for potential subscribers of the service. Cable providers were permitted to offer the unscrambled HBO content—aired for a single evening or, beginning in 1981 at the network level (as early as 1978 on some providers), over
14190-555: The karateka was allowed to use his fists, feet and knees, while the boxer could only use his fists. Hadley won the fight via knockout on the first round. In 1988 Rick Roufus challenged Changpuek Kiatsongrit to a non-title Muay Thai vs. kickboxing super fight. Roufus was at the time an undefeated Kickboxer and held both the KICK Super Middleweight World title and the PKC Middleweight U.S. title. Kiatsongrit
14405-431: The major Hollywood film studios and live sporting events, all presented without interruptions by advertising and sold for a flat monthly fee to prospective subscribers. On November 2, 1971, Time Inc.'s board of directors approved the "Green Channel" proposal, agreeing to give Dolan a $ 150,000 development grant for the project. Time-Life and Sterling Communications soon proposed for the " Sterling Cable Network " to be
14620-615: The "HBO2" moniker in September 2002. The "HBO Plus" brand—modified in 2019 to "HBO+"—remains in use on a multiplex channel of HBO Latin America featuring mainly theatrical movies previously carried on its parent feed; HBO Latin America also operates a separate channel sharing the "HBO2" name with the shared U.S. namesake of both services.) On May 6, 1999, the HBO multiplex expanded to include two new thematic channels: HBO Comedy—featuring comedic feature films, comedy series from HBO's original programming library, and recent and archived HBO comedy specials—and HBO Zone—aimed at young adults between
14835-508: The "Saturday Night Guarantee" to denote a promise of "a new movie [premiering] every Saturday night" all 52 weeks of the year. (HBO had highlighted said "guarantee" in promotions for the Saturday premiere night dating to January 1994.) Before settling on having Saturday serve as its anchor premiere night, the scheduling of HBO's prime-time film premieres varied between Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, depending on competition from broadcast fare during
15050-626: The "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts". The motion passed unanimously. In November 2005, the United States Army began to sanction mixed martial arts with the first annual Army Combatives Championships held by the US Army Combatives School . Canada formally decriminalized mixed martial arts with a vote on Bill S-209 on June 5, 2013. The bill allows for provinces to have the power to create athletic commissions to regulate and sanction professional mixed martial arts bouts. Since
15265-671: The "father of mixed martial arts" stating: "If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away". A contemporary of Bruce Lee, Wing Chun practitioner Wong Shun Leung , gained prominence fighting in 60–100 illegal beimo fights against other Chinese martial artists of various styles. Wong also fought and won against Western fighters of other combat styles, such as his match against Russian boxer Giko, his televised fight against
15480-598: The 1920s and became renowned through its association with the " Gracie challenge ", which was issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later by descendants of the Gracie family . The "Gracie Challenges" were held in the garages and gyms of the Gracie family members. When the popularity grew, these types of mixed bouts were a staple attraction at the carnivals in Brazil. In the mid-20th century, mixed martial arts contests emerged in Hong Kong's street fighting culture in
15695-807: The 1990s. (Outside of HBO Family, which regularly airs archived family-oriented series and specials, airings of older original programs may vary based on the channel's daily schedule.) Beginning with its programming expansion to afternoons in 1974, the primary HBO channel had imposed a longstanding watershed policy prohibiting films assigned an "R" rating from being broadcast before 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. (At various points, HBO also prohibited showings of X-/NC-17-rated and foreign art films .) The policy—which extended to films shown between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, when HBO began offering 24-hour programming on weekends in September 1981—may have once stemmed from HBO's pre-mid-2000s availability on analog cable tiers (whereas its multiplex channels generally require
15910-536: The 2008 rollout of HD simulcasts for the HBO multiplex feeds until the mid-2010s, the majority of pay television providers that carried HBO HD generally offered only the main channel in high definition, with HD carriage of the multiplex channels varying by market. As of 2020 , most providers transmit all seven HBO multiplex channels in HD, either on a dedicated HD channel tier separate from their SD assignments or as hybrid SD/HD feeds. Home Box Office, Inc. announced plans to launch
16125-448: The 35.8 million subscribers that HBO had at the time.) In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO distributes its programming content in at least 151 countries worldwide too, as of 2018 , an estimated 140 million cumulative subscribers. Cable television executive Charles Dolan —through his company, Sterling Information Services—founded Manhattan Cable TV Services (renamed Sterling Manhattan Cable Television in January 1971),
16340-503: The Brawlers contests", and ended the sport. Japan had its own form of mixed martial arts discipline, Shooto , which evolved from shoot wrestling in 1985, as well as the shoot wrestling derivative Pancrase , which was founded as a promotion in 1993. Pancrase 1 was held in Japan in September 1993, two months before UFC 1 was held in the United States in November 1993. In 1993, the sport
16555-543: The City Mouse Adventures . Beginning in 2001, most of the family- or kid-oriented programs had migrated to HBO Family, with only a limited amount of newer family-oriented series being produced for either the primary channel or HBO Family since. (HBO Family continued to maintain a limited slate of original children's programming until 2003.) HBO ventured back into children's programming with its acquisition of first-run broadcast and streaming rights to Sesame Street ,
16770-900: The Dragon , The Last of Us , and True Detective ; comedies such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Righteous Gemstones ; and topical satires Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Real Time with Bill Maher ). In addition, HBO also carries documentary films (mainly produced through its in-house production unit HBO Documentary Films), sports-focused documentary and magazine series (produced through its HBO Sports production unit), occasional original made-for-TV movies, occasional original concert and stand-up comedy specials, and short-form behind-the-scenes specials centered mainly on theatrical films (either running in their initial theatrical or HBO/Cinemax broadcast window). Newer episodes of most HBO original programs usually air over its main channel after 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time; depending partly on
16985-755: The International Fighting Championships (IFC) secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed martial arts event, which occurred in New Jersey on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, UFC 28 , under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board 's "Unified Rules". After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy, when Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their business partner Dana White approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase
17200-502: The Iowa Athletic Commission officially sanctioned Battlecade Extreme Fighting under a modified form of its existing rules for Shootfighting . These rules created the three 'five-minute round/one-minute break' format, and mandated shootfighting gloves, as well as weight classes for the first time. Illegal blows were listed as groin strikes, head butting, biting, eye gouging, hair pulling, striking an opponent with an elbow while
17415-618: The Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand and fought against three Muay Thai fighters. The three kyokushin karate fighters were Tadashi Nakamura, Kenji Kurosaki and AkiFujihira (also known as Noboru Osawa), while the Muay Thai team of three authentic Thai fighter. Japan won 2–1: Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira both knocked out their opponents with punches while Kenji Kurosaki, who fought the Thai,
17630-569: The Magnolia Network occurred on January 5, 2022. In April 2022, Discovery Inc. merged with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery . On April 7, 2022, it was reported that after the completion of the merger, Magnolia Network leadership would report to HBO and HBO Max 's chief content officer Casey Bloys rather than directly to Zaslav, nor Kathleen Finch (who previously oversaw Discovery's lifestyle brands, and now oversees most of Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. cable networks); Deadline suggested
17845-460: The Max streaming app, but are available via its a la carte add-ons sold through Prime Video Channels , YouTube Primetime Channels and virtual pay television providers Hulu and YouTube TV (both of which sell their HBO/Max add-ons independently of their respective live TV tiers). As of September 2018 , HBO's programming was available to approximately 35.656 million U.S. households that had
18060-502: The Saturday 8:00 slot has been occupied by premieres of original specials and documentaries (scheduled at least once per month) and, since late December 2020, airings of older hit movies (mainly films released between 1979 and 2015) distributed under library content deals during gap weeks in the monthly premiere schedule. As of 2024, HBO and sister channel Cinemax (as well as their associated streaming platforms) maintain exclusive licensing agreements to first-run and library film content from
18275-622: The Scenes (1982–1992). The interstitials—particularly those aired as episodes of First Look —have also frequently been included as bonus features on DVD and Blu-ray releases of the profiled films. Since 2011, HBO no longer airs "behind-the-scenes" interstitials during promotional breaks, and has reduced airings of First Look to a few episodes per year as the network has honed its focus on higher-profile original programs and studios have increasingly limited their self-produced "making of" featurettes for exclusive physical and digital media release. During
18490-414: The UFC brand. On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE). On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly
18705-503: The UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions. Blatnick, McCarthy, and matchmaker Joe Silva created a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and rules to help in getting the UFC sanctioned by the athletic commissions, many of which exist to this day. Blatnick and McCarthy traveled around the country, educating regulators and changing perceptions about a sport that was thought to be bloodthirsty and inhumane. By April 2000, their movement had clearly made an impact. California
18920-509: The UFC had its first event outside continental United States with UFC 8 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico , and in 1997, UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan was its first foreign event. The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of U.S. authorities. In 1996, U.S. Senator John McCain saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. He led a campaign to ban the UFC, calling it "human cockfighting", and sent letters to
19135-522: The UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future." With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, The Ultimate Fighter , which entered its 14th season in that September, moved to the FX network to air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. Along with the network change, episodes are now edited and broadcast within
19350-421: The UFC increased cooperation with state athletic commissions and modified its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking and grappling . UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking . For UFC 14 , gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15 saw limitations on hair pulling, and
19565-432: The UFC's early competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a contest with minimal rules and no weight classes between competitors of different fighting disciplines. In subsequent events, more rigorous rules were created and fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create a separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts. The UFC
19780-509: The UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that had yet to sanction the sport. In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL) from making a deal with Versus (now NBC Sports Network ). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so
19995-451: The UFC. Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality television series, American Casino , and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of UFC creating its own reality series. Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter ( TUF ), was
20210-460: The UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $ 2 million and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC. "I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $ 2 million and they were saying 'What are you getting? ' " Lorenzo Fertitta revealed to Fighters Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in
20425-476: The UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico, and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects. Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts ( MMA ) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling , incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around
20640-506: The United States by CV Productions, Inc. Its first competition, called Tough Guy Contest was held on March 20, 1980, New Kensington, Pennsylvania , Holiday Inn . During that year the company renamed the brand to Super Fighters and sanctioned ten regulated tournaments in Pennsylvania . In 1983, Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill known as the " Tough Guy Law " that specifically called for: "Prohibiting Tough Guy contests or Battle of
20855-584: The Zuffa era. The event was a near sellout of 13,022 at the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay-per-view buys, a rate roughly double that of the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card headlined by a championship match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock, who had previously left to professionally wrestle in WWE before returning to MMA. It
21070-471: The Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view, and subsequent home video and DVD releases. White later said that "Nobody took us seriously, except Donald Trump . Donald was the first to recognize the potential that we saw in the UFC, and encouraged us to build our business". With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and
21285-460: The aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Patrick Smith , they also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn , Marco Ruas , Gary Goodridge , Don Frye , Kimo Leopoldo , Oleg Taktarov , and Tank Abbott . In April 1995, following UFC 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina , Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Although UFC used
21500-412: The ages of 18 and 34, offering theatrical movies; comedy and alternative series, and documentaries from HBO's original programming library; and music videos. Rounding out the HBO multiplex expansion was HBO Latino, a Spanish language network launched on November 1, 2000, featuring a mix of dubbed simulcasts of programming from the primary HBO channel as well as exclusive Spanish-originated programs. HBO
21715-502: The banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21 , the UFC gradually rebranded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle. The implementation of rules changed the game of many fighters, for example Mark Coleman made potent use of headbutts for his ground-and-pound tactics, could not use them effectively anymore. Led by UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick and referee John McCarthy ,
21930-667: The champions and top contenders from both organizations, making comparisons to the AFL–NFL merger and the creation of a " Super Bowl " of MMA. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable and that the brand became "toxic" in Japan, being difficult to find a new television deal. The organization instead folded, with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira , Maurício "Shogun" Rua , Dan Henderson , Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović , Wanderlei Silva , and others already being realigned under
22145-418: The channel's schedule. Around this time, Cinemax also began airing adult-oriented softcore pornographic films and series —containing strong sexual content and nudity—in varying late-night timeslots (usually no earlier than 11:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific); this programming block, originally airing under the "Friday After Dark" banner (renamed "Max After Dark" in 2008 to better reflect its prior expansion to
22360-407: The channel, which also gained exclusive streaming rights to the company's programming library for HBO Go and HBO Now (assuming those rights from Amazon Video , Netflix and Sesame Workshop's in-house subscription streaming service, Sesame Go, the latter of which will cease to operate as a standalone offering). With the debut of HBO Max in May 2020, under contract renewal terms agreed upon between
22575-616: The coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3 . The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66 , pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys. The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner , former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission , as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against no holds barred fighting, lobbied numerous athletic commissions to help raise
22790-460: The concept of mixed martial arts internationally. Early mixed-match martial arts professional wrestling bouts in Japan (known as Ishu Kakutōgi Sen (異種格闘技戦), literally "heterogeneous combat sports bouts") became popular with Antonio Inoki only in the 1970s. Inoki was a disciple of Rikidōzan , but also of Karl Gotch , who trained numerous Japanese wrestlers in catch wrestling . Regulated mixed martial arts competitions were first introduced in
23005-513: The conclusion of the meeting, all parties in attendance were able to agree upon a uniform set of rules to govern the sport of mixed martial arts. The rules adopted by the NJSACB have become the de facto standard set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across North America. On July 30, 2009, a motion was made at the annual meeting of the Association of Boxing Commissions to adopt these rules as
23220-459: The content featured in original programs shown on HBO and other premium services, with relatively limited advertiser issues.) Mainly because it is not beholden to the preferences of advertisers, HBO has long been regarded in the entertainment industry for letting program creators maintain full creative autonomy over their projects, allowing them to depict gritty subject matter that—before basic cable channels and streaming services deciding to follow
23435-628: The contract for the second season was made outside of the venue on a napkin immediately after the finale. On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continued to create and air new seasons until the show moved to FX in 2012. Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter , Spike also picked up UFC Unleashed , an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live UFC Fight Night,
23650-522: The contracted fighters under one promotion. Comparisons were drawn to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football . The first documented use of the name mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic, Howard Rosenberg , in 1993. The term gained popularity when the website, newfullcontact.com (one of the biggest websites covering
23865-452: The contractual period). Feature films from the aforementioned studios that maintain joint licensing contracts encompassing both services will typically make their premium television debut on HBO approximately two to three months before their premiere on Cinemax and vice versa. HBO's relationship with Warner Bros. began with a five-year distribution agreement signed in June 1986, encompassing films released between January 1987 and December 1992;
24080-431: The day's programming schedule, repeats of original series, made-for-cable movies, and documentaries (typically excluding programs with graphic violent or sexual content) are shown during the daytime hours on the main channel, and at various times on HBO's themed channels. Four of the themed multiplex channels—HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Comedy, and HBO Zone—also each carry archived HBO original series and specials dating to
24295-625: The daytime on Saturdays and Sundays; in January 2012, HBO began offering occasional Sunday daytime airings of R-rated films within its weekly encore showing of the Saturday movie premiere (airing as early as 4:00 p.m. ET/PT, depending on the previous night's scheduled premiere film, that film's length, and the Sunday night block of HBO original series that usually follows the rebroadcast); by 2017, afternoon R-rated movie airings (which occasionally have been shown as early as 2:00 p.m. ET/PT since then) were permitted in random afternoon timeslots any day of
24510-501: The deal due to cutbacks resulting from declines in public and private donations, distribution fees paid by PBS member stations, and licensing for merchandise sales. Through the agreement, HBO obtained first-run television rights to Sesame Street , beginning with the January 2016 debut of its 46th season (with episodes being distributed to PBS, following a nine-month exclusivity window at no charge to its member stations); Sesame Workshop also produced original children's programming content for
24725-528: The early 1920s, merged various forms of combat styles such as wrestling, judo and striking into one unique martial art. The popularity of professional wrestling, which was contested under various catch wrestling rules at the time, waned after World War I , when the sport split into two genres: " shoot ", in which the fighters actually competed, and " show ", which evolved into modern professional wrestling . In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in
24940-417: The early 2000s, as the respective multiplex channels were being packaged in each tier mandatorily. In February 1996, in anticipation of the adoption of MPEG-2 digital compression codecs that would allow cable providers to offer digital cable service, Home Box Office, Inc. announced plans to expand its multiplex services across HBO and Cinemax to twelve channels (counting time zone -based feeds), encompassing
25155-475: The estimated cost of the initial pay-cable rights was between $ 300 million and $ 600 million, depending on the overall performance of Warner's films and HBO/Cinemax's respective subscriber counts. Although the Warner deal was initially non-exclusive, a preemptive strategy if its co-owned rivals Showtime and The Movie Channel (which elected not to pick up any spare Warner titles) sought full exclusivity over movie rights,
25370-480: The event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat . SEG contacted video and film art director Jason Cusson to design a fighting arena for the event. Rorion and Davie didn't want a traditional roped ring , citing fears—by showing old Vale Tudo footage—that the fighters could escape through the ropes during grappling and use it as an advantage, or fall off and hurt themselves. SEG's executives agreed, and also wanted
25585-410: The excitement of the matches Davie saw on the videos. Gracie accepted, as he was interested in showcasing and promoting his family's own jiu-jitsu for a wide audience. Milius, a film director/screenwriter and Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director . Davie drafted the business plan , and 28 investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions to develop the tournament into
25800-557: The female-targeted WMax in May 2001); Cinemáx (a Spanish language simulcast feed, which originally launched as the young adult-focused @Max in 2001), 5StarMax (launched in May 2001) and OuterMax (launched in May 2001). Magnolia Network is an American multinational basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines , formerly known as DIY Network. In April 2019, Discovery officially announced its new venture, and that its linear television component would launch sometime in 2020, replacing DIY Network, though it
26015-411: The first SVOD service to be offered by an American premium service, launched on July 1, 2001, over then sister company Time Warner Cable's Columbia, South Carolina , system. The service was developed to allow HBO subscribers access to the channel's programming at their choosing, thereby reducing the frequency in which viewers were unable to find a program they prefer to watch and limiting cancellations to
26230-533: The first sub-feeds ever offered by a subscription television service to specifically serve that time zone.) Home Box Office, Inc. began marketing the HBO channel suite and related coastal feeds under the umbrella brand "MultiChannel HBO" in September 1994; the package was rebranded as "HBO The Works", now exclusively classified to the four HBO multiplex channels (and later applied to the three thematic channels that were launched afterward), in April 1998. (The Cinemax tier
26445-468: The first televised use of the term. Since the late 1990s, both strikers and grapplers have been successful at MMA, although it is rare to see any fighter who is not schooled in both striking and grappling arts reach the highest levels of competition. MMA fighters are ranked according to their performance and outcome of their fights and level of competition they faced. The most popular and used, ranking portals are: HBO Home Box Office ( HBO )
26660-1563: The following studios and their related subsidiaries: HBO also maintains sub-run agreements—covering television and streaming licensing of films that have previously received broadcast or syndicated television airings—for theatrical films distributed by Paramount Pictures (including content from subsidiaries or acquired library partners Miramax , Carolco Pictures , MTV Films , Nickelodeon Movies and Republic Pictures , all for films released prior to 2013), Universal Pictures (including content from subsidiaries Universal Animation Studios , DreamWorks Animation , Working Title Films , Illumination , and Focus Features , all for films released prior to 2022), Summit Entertainment (for films released prior to 2023), Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (including content from Walt Disney Pictures , 20th Century Studios , and Searchlight Pictures (except films co-produced by Pixar ), and former subsidiaries Touchstone Pictures , and Hollywood Pictures , all for films released prior to 2023), Sony Pictures Entertainment (including content from subsidiaries/library partners Columbia Pictures , Sony Pictures Classics , ELP Communications , Morgan Creek Entertainment , Screen Gems , Revolution Studios , and former HBO sister company TriStar Pictures ), and Amazon MGM Studios (including content from subsidiaries Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Orion Pictures , United Artists , and former subsidiaries The Cannon Group , and The Samuel Goldwyn Company ). HBO also produces made-for-cable television movies through
26875-563: The form of rooftop fights. During the early 20th century, there was an influx of migrants from mainland China, including Chinese martial arts teachers who opened up martial arts schools in Hong Kong. In the mid-20th century, soaring crime in Hong Kong , combined with limited Hong Kong Police manpower, led to many young Hongkongers learning martial arts for self-defence . Around the 1960s, there were about 400 martial arts schools in Hong Kong, teaching their own distinctive styles of martial arts. In Hong Kong's street fighting culture, there emerged
27090-543: The format. For the first 23 months of its existence, the HD feed only transmitted theatrical films from the network's programming suppliers (initially accounting for about 45% of its available feature film output, expanding to around 60% by early 2001) and HBO's in-house original movies in the format, as existing widescreen prints of those films were already scalable in the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio and could readily be upconverted to HD resolution. Original programming began to be made available in HD on January 14, 2001, when
27305-492: The genre across Home Box Office, Inc.'s platforms. In terms of mainstream programming, Cinemax began premiering original action series in the early 2010s, beginning with the August 2011 debut of Strike Back (which has since become the channel's longest-running original program). As a consequence of WarnerMedia reallocating its programming resources toward the HBO Max streaming service, Cinemax eliminated scripted programming after
27520-405: The governors of all 50 US states asking them to ban it. 36 states enacted laws that banned "no-holds-barred" fighting, including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12 , forcing it to relocate to Dothan, Alabama . The UFC continued to air on DirecTV PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the era's larger cable pay-per-view platforms. In response to the criticism,
27735-405: The historian E. Norman Gardiner, "No branch of athletics was more popular than the pankration." There is also evidence of similar mixed combat sports in ancient Egypt , India and Japan . The mid-19th century saw the prominence of the new sport savate in the combat sports circle. French savate fighters wanted to test their techniques against the traditional combat styles of its time. In 1852,
27950-409: The inaugural UFC featuring three-time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight". "The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face; it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches. On
28165-615: The initial airdate and usually uploaded at the normal airtime, of their original broadcast on the main linear HBO channel. By February 2019, subscribership of HBO Now subscribers had reached over 8 million customers. On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that HBO Now would be rebranded solely as HBO on August 1. Following HBO Max's launch, the HBO streaming service had served as the network's default OTT platform for Roku customers, as WarnerMedia has not yet signed deals to distribute HBO Max on that platform; until its replacement by HBO Max on those platforms in November 2020, it also served as
28380-540: The jurisdiction of the CSAC, rendering the vote meaningless. On September 30, 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) began allowing mixed martial arts promoters to conduct events in New Jersey. The first event was an IFC event titled Battleground 2000 held in Atlantic City. The intent was to allow the NJSACB to observe actual events and gather information to establish a comprehensive set of rules to regulate
28595-411: The kickboxing rules already accepted by most state athletic commissions. These modified kickboxing rules allowed for take downs and ground fighting and did away with rounds, although they did allow for fighters to be stood up by the referee and restarted if there was no action on the ground. These rules were the first in modern MMA to define fouls, fighting surfaces and the use of the cage. In March 1997,
28810-474: The last of its remaining slate of action series ended in early 2021, shifting the channel back to its original structure as a movie-exclusive premium service. The linear Cinemax multiplex service, as of 2021 , consists of the primary feed and seven thematic channels: MoreMax (launched in April 1991 as Cinemax 2, in conjunction with HBO2's rollout); ActionMax (originally launched as Cinemax 3 in 1995); ThrillerMax (launched in 1998); MovieMax (originally launched as
29025-448: The late 1880s when wrestlers representing the style of catch wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. In the US, the first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan , then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, wrestling champion William Muldoon , and
29240-464: The late 1960s to early 1970s, the concept of hybrid martial arts was popularized in the West by Bruce Lee via his system of Jeet Kune Do . Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a boxer, karate or judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style, to be formless, to adopt an individual's own style and not following the system of styles." In 2004, UFC President Dana White would call Lee
29455-526: The mob drama, " Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood ", on March 4 was the first first-run episode of an HBO series to be transmitted in high-definition from its initial telecast, with all subsequent episodes being delivered to HBO exclusively on HD videotape (and downconverted for the main standard-definition feed). Bob Zitter, then the network's Senior Vice President of Technology Operations, disclosed to Multichannel News in January 2001 that HBO elected to delay offering its original series in high definition until there
29670-543: The model set by HBO and other pay cable services—had not usually been shown on other television platforms. During the "Executive Actions" symposium held by The Washington Post and George Washington University in April 2015 (shortly after the launch of the HBO Now streaming service), then-HBO CEO Richard Plepler said that he does not want the network to be akin to Netflix in which users " binge watch " its television shows and film content, saying "I don't think it would have been
29885-667: The modern day, HBO has been the first promoter of movies like the Saving Private Ryan , Fight Club , Antz , American Beauty , the Spider-Man franchise (2002 - 2007) by Sam Raimi , Bruce Almighty , Minority Report , Dreamcatcher , Madagascar , War of the Worlds , Monuments Men , among others. Depending on the service provider, HBO provides up to seven 24-hour multiplex channels—all of which are simulcast in both standard definition and high definition , and available as time zone-based regional feeds—as well as
30100-517: The most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship after submitting Jimmerson, Shamrock, and Gordeau in succession. The show was extremely successful, with 86,592 pay-per-view television subscribers. It's disputed whether the promoters intended the event to be a precursor to future events. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off", eventual UFC president Dana White said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in
30315-468: The movie would air exclusively during the designated watershed period (“Home Box Office/HBO will show this feature only at night"). The watershed policy was extended to cover TV-MA-rated programs when the TV Parental Guidelines were implemented industry-wide on January 1, 1997, although HBO had already been withholding airing original programs incorporating mature content that would now qualify for
30530-466: The movie—such as boxing coverage or concerts—have caused rare variances in the preceding film's start time; if a live event was scheduled, before the December 2018 discontinuation of HBO's boxing telecasts, the premiered film would air after the event—in reverse order from the Eastern feed scheduling—on the Pacific Time Zone feed.) From June 1996 until September 2006, the presentations were marketed as
30745-579: The name "MMA" at the UFC 17 rules meeting in response to increased public criticism. The question as to who actually coined the name is still in debate. The first state-regulated MMA event was held in Biloxi, Mississippi on August 23, 1996, with the sanctioning of IFC's Mayhem in Mississippi show by the Mississippi Athletic Commission under William Lyons. The rules used were an adaptation of
30960-726: The name of the new service. Discussions to change the service's name took place during a later meeting of Dolan and the executive staff he hired to assist in developing the project, who ultimately settled on calling it " H ome B ox O ffice ", which was meant to convey to potential customers that the service would be their " ticket " to movies and events that they could see in their own home. Home Box Office launched at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on November 8, 1972, initially available to subscribers of Teleservice Cable (now Service Electric Cable TV and Communications ) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . HBO's inaugural program and event telecast,
31175-422: The network (including weekly series, documentaries, sports magazine and documentary programs, and concert and stand-up comedy specials). The service's rotating program selection incorporates newer film titles and episodes that are added to the platform following their debut on the linear feed, as well as library content (including complete seasons of the network's past and present original programs). HBO on Demand,
31390-401: The network commenced a 13-week Sunday "encore" presentation of the second season of The Sopranos in remastered 1080i HD. (HBO had been requiring the producers of its original series to film their episodes in widescreen—subsequently downconverted for the standard definition feed—to fit 4:3 television screens since 1996, to future-proof them for remastering in HD.) The third-season premiere of
31605-519: The network's early years, HBO aired other interstitials in-between programs. Originally billed as Something Short and Special , around 1980, InterMissions (as the interstitials were begun to be called in September 1978) was bannered into two groupings: Video Jukebox , a showcase of music videos from various artists (eventually separated from the other intermission shorts and given various long-form spinoffs, also titled as Video Jukebox or variants thereof), and Special , showcasing short films. By 1984,
31820-440: The network's pay television contractual windows for recent studio releases and from library content agreements with film distributors) and HBO original programming (including scripted series, made-for-cable movies, comedy specials, documentaries, and sports documentary and magazine programs). HBO Go, along with companion service HBO Now and HBO Max, did not provide live simulcasts of the seven linear HBO channels. (HBO and Cinemax are
32035-430: The northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England , into a national television network—in September 1975, and, alongside sister channel Cinemax , was among the first two American pay television services to offer complimentary multiplexed channels in August 1991. The network operates seven 24-hour, linear multiplex channels as well as a traditional subscription video on demand platform (HBO On Demand) and its content
32250-412: The on-demand streaming service was conceived as a TV Everywhere platform marketed exclusively to existing subscribers of the linear HBO television service. (The HBO Go website and mobile apps, including its apps for streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV, and some video game consoles , required a password accompanying a linear HBO subscription by a participating television provider to access content on
32465-551: The only American premium television services not to include live network feeds in their proprietary streaming VOD platforms.) Based on the prototype HBO on Broadband service that was originally launched in January 2008 to linear HBO subscribers of Time Warner Cable's Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin , systems, HBO Go launched nationwide on February 18, 2010, initially available to existing HBO subscribers signed with Verizon FiOS . Initially carrying 1,000 hours of program content available for streaming in standard or high definition,
32680-481: The opponent is on the mat, kidney strikes, and striking the back of the head with closed fist. Holding onto the ring or cage for any reason was defined as a foul. While there are minor differences between these and the final Unified Rules, notably regarding elbow strikes, the Iowa rules allowed mixed martial arts promoters to conduct essentially modern events legally, anywhere in the state. On March 28, 1997, Extreme Fighting 4
32895-542: The original shoot style. Professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki founded Pancrase in 1993 which promoted legitimate contests initially under professional wrestling rules. These promotions inspired Pride Fighting Championships which started in 1997. Pride was acquired by its rival Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2007. A fight between Golden Gloves boxing champion Joey Hadley and Arkansas Karate Champion David Valovich happened on June 22, 1976, at Memphis Blues Baseball Park. The bout had mixed rules:
33110-569: The other five multiplex channels is limited to subscribers of DirecTV , YouTube TV and the Hulu live TV service.) HBO maintains a separate feed for the Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone —the only American cable-originated television network to offer a timeshift feed for Hawaii viewers—operating a three-hour-delayed version of the primary channel's Pacific Time feed for subscribers of Oceanic Spectrum , which otherwise transmits Pacific Time feeds for
33325-422: The other hand, the first "Superfight" at UFC 5 was also considered a failure. In the first minute of the fight Shamrock knocked Royce to the ground and landed inside his guard. For the next 30 minutes Shamrock was inside Royce's guard, with the two throwing punches and headbutts at each other but without any change or action, with the crowd booing the fighters. After 30 minutes the fight was stopped as it had exceeded
33540-416: The overnight/early morning hours on its primary and select multiplex channels, in addition to being available on demand via HBO's various streaming and television VOD platforms (including its dedicated portal on HBO Max). HBO innovated original entertainment programming for cable television networks, in which a television series (both dramatic and comedic), made-for-television movie, or entertainment special
33755-455: The pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $ 222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE and boxing. The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007. In Japan, Mixed Martial Arts took a separate, yet convergent evolution, with origins in " shoot wrestling ",
33970-493: The possibility that Magnolia Network could contribute content (such as library programs or original series) to HBO Max—noting that some of the service's scripted series have appealed to a similar adult female demographic to Magnolia Network, HBO Max's own forays into unscripted content , and reports that the Gaines had shown interest in working on scripted projects. HBO HD (originally called HBO HDTV from March 1999 until April 2006)
34185-605: The precursors of modern MMA are mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan, and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s. In Japan, these contests were known as merikan , from the Japanese slang for "American [fighting]". Merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules, including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission. Sambo , a martial art and combat sport developed in Russia in
34400-399: The preview event—usually following the headlining prime time film—that previewed upcoming HBO programming for prospective and existing subscribers. HBO offers between three and five preview events each year—normally scheduled to coincide with the premiere of a new or returning original series, and in the past, a high-profile special or feature film—to pay television providers for distribution on
34615-421: The previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event, and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC, and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts could become big. Beyond the rivalry itself, the success of UFC 40 was due in part to the marketing and outreach power of crossover athletes – from Pro Wrestling to MMA and MMA to Pro Wrestling –
34830-470: The programming choices that would be provided to subscribers of the channel tier to that offered by multi-screen movie theaters ), each available at no extra charge to subscribers of one or both networks. (The three prior premium services that HBO launched between 1979 and 1987, Cinemax and the now-defunct Take 2 and Festival, were developed as standalone services that could be purchased separately from and optionally packaged with HBO.) On August 1, 1991, through
35045-402: The projects (almost universally by studios maintaining exclusive pay television contracts with HBO and Cinemax, and which have been rebroadcast on the former during a film's pay-cable distribution window), and have usually consisted of either interstitial "behind-the-scenes" and interview segments on an upcoming/recent theatrical release or red carpet coverage. Currently, these segments air under
35260-591: The provider's YouView set-top boxes via a standalone VOD subscription. HBO Go is an international TV Everywhere streaming service for broadband subscribers of the linear HBO television service. It was accessible through play.hbogo.com, and through apps for Apple iOS and Apple TV devices; Android devices and Android TV ; Amazon Fire TV ; Chromecast ; PlayStation consoles ( PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 ); Xbox One consoles; Roku devices; and most Samsung Smart TV models. Content available on HBO Go included theatrically released films (sourced from
35475-586: The purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract. The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes. In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA). The WFA had signed major fighters at the time, most notably Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida , but their events turned out to be
35690-417: The purchase. "And I said 'What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it. ' " Along with the trademark, they acquired a wooden octagon and around a dozen fighter's contracts. Later on, they negotiated
35905-418: The risk of them pulling or refusing to sell their advertising depending on the objectionable material that a sponsor is comfortable placing their advertising. (Incidentally, since the early 2000s, some ad-supported basic cable channels—like FX and Comedy Central —have incorporated stronger profanity, somewhat more pervasive violence and sexual themes, and occasional nudity in their original programs, similar to
36120-428: The second season of The Ultimate Fighter , the UFC's match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57 . For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie —featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61 featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz,
36335-445: The service and its upcoming programs to prospective subscribers aired alongside on-air promotions between programs during the preview weekend, although interstitials produced in-house or by third-party producers were inserted by some providers over the HBO feed during promo breaks for their local or regional audience; from September 1988 to September 1994, the network also aired a 15-minute-long promotional "free preview show" each night of
36550-542: The service because of that issue. On January 3, 2011, HBO became the first pay television network to offer VOD content in 3D ; initially available to linear HBO subscribers signed with Time Warner Cable, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS, 3D content consisted of theatrical feature films available in the format. In the United Kingdom, a domestic version of HBO on Demand was launched in 2015 to subscribers of IPTV provider TalkTalk TV , which provides HBO's program offerings through
36765-496: The service.) On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that HBO Go's mobile and digital media player apps would be discontinued in the U.S. on July 31, as most traditional and virtual MVPDs have secured distribution deals for HBO Max. Those providers that have not yet made an HBO Max deal continue to allow customer access to HBO Go (mainly Altice USA 's brands, Mediacom , smaller cable providers, and closed-circuit university television systems which had not had personnel available during
36980-533: The short segments had mainly been limited to comedic film shorts (originally branded as HBO Comedy Shorts and then as HBO Short Takes , which used a set of differing animated intros) and youth-targeted live action and animated short films seen largely before and during family-oriented programming (branded as HBO Shorts for Kids ). Intermission shorts had largely vanished from the channel by 1988. Since 2014, HBO has occasionally aired short films ranging between 15 and 25 minutes in length at varying times each week during
37195-694: The six other HBO multiplex channels. (The state's other major cable provider, Hawaiian Telcom , offers the Pacific Time Zone feed of all seven channels.) Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Originally developed as a companion service to HBO, the channel's programming consists of recent and some older theatrically released feature films, original action drama series, documentaries, and special behind-the-scenes featurettes. While Cinemax and HBO operate as separate premium services, their respective channel tiers are very frequently sold as
37410-535: The sport at the time), hosted and reprinted the article. The first use of the term by a promotion was in September 1995 by Rick Blume, president and CEO of Battlecade Extreme Fighting, just after UFC 7. UFC official, Jeff Blatnick , was responsible for the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially adopting the name mixed martial arts. It was previously marketed as "Ultimate Fighting" and "No Holds Barred (NHB)", until Blatnick and John McCarthy proposed
37625-469: The sport effectively. On April 3, 2001, the NJSACB held a meeting to discuss the regulation of mixed martial arts events. This meeting attempted to unify the myriad rules and regulations which had been utilized by the different mixed martial arts organizations. At this meeting, the proposed uniform rules were agreed upon by the NJSACB, several other regulatory bodies, numerous promoters of mixed martial arts events and other interested parties in attendance. At
37840-455: The sport in Japan and in the world. Having high attendances on large sports arenas and watched by millions of spectators through free-to-air and pay-per-view television. Meanwhile, the UFC was struggling with political persecution, low pay-per-view sales, and doing events in backwater casinos. Most of UFC's best fighters would leave to fight in Japan instead due better pay and prestige. However, on 2006, Pride started to have financial issues due
38055-438: The sport in the late 1990s he was the prototype – he could strike with the best strikers; he could grapple with the best grapplers; his endurance was second to none. " — Mike Sloan describing UFC champion Frank Shamrock 's early dominance The high profile of modern MMA promotions such as UFC and Pride has fostered an accelerated development of the sport. The early 1990s saw a wide variety of traditional styles competing in
38270-482: The sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling . In ancient China , combat sport appeared in the form of Leitai , a no-holds-barred mixed combat sport that combined Chinese martial arts , boxing and wrestling. In ancient Greece , there was a sport called pankration , which featured grappling and striking skills similar to those found in modern MMA. Pankration
38485-483: The sport. However, early competition saw varying levels of success among disparate styles. In the early 1990s, practitioners of grappling based styles such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu dominated competition in the United States. Practitioners of striking based arts such as boxing , kickboxing , and karate , who were unfamiliar with submission grappling, proved to be unprepared to deal with its submission techniques . As competitions became more and more common, those with
38700-776: The studio and WarnerMedia in October 2019, Sesame Street and other Sesame Workshop content will shift from the linear television service to the streaming-based HBO Max later in the year. On average, movies occupy between 14 and 18 hours of the daily schedule on HBO and HBO2 (or as little as 12 hours on the latter, depending upon if HBO2 is scheduled to carry an extended "catch-up" marathon of an HBO original series), and up to 20 hours per day—depending on channel format—on its five thematic multiplex channels. Since June 6, 1992, HBO has offered weekly pay television premieres of recent theatrical and original made-for-cable movies on Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. (Event presentations that have followed
38915-524: The summer of 1971, while on a family vacation to France aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 , a desperate Dolan—wanting to help Sterling Manhattan turn profitable and to prevent Time-Life, Inc. (then the book publishing unit of Time Inc. ) from pulling its investment in the system—developed a proposal for a cable-originated television channel. Codenamed " The Green Channel ", the conceptual subscription service would offer unedited theatrical movies licensed from
39130-401: The tagline "There are no rules" in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules. In a UFC 4 qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event. UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from
39345-401: The technique of "ground and pound" developed by wrestling-based UFC pioneers such as Dan Severn , Don Frye and Mark Coleman . These wrestlers realized the need for the incorporation of strikes on the ground as well as on the feet, and incorporated ground striking into their grappling-based styles. Mark Coleman stated at UFC 14 that his strategy was to "Ground him and pound him", which may be
39560-419: The termination of lucrative contracts with Japanese TV due a scandal revealing the strong ties between Pride and the yakuza . On March 27, 2007, the UFC and Pride announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the Pride brand. Initial intentions were for the organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring
39775-413: The time limit allocated for the pay-per-view and was given another 5 minutes of extra time due to protests from the spectators. The fight was over after 36 minutes and a draw was declared. Because of this controversial fight, the UFC would later start to introduce time limits, judges to decide draws, and authorized referees to stand up fighters and restart the bout if they have too much inactivity. In 1996,
39990-405: The timeslot following WWE Raw . The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring light heavyweight finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract. The live broadcast of the season finale drew a very impressive 1.9 overall rating. Dana White credits TUF 1 for saving the UFC, and claims that
40205-472: The trademarked Octagon, which became the event's signature setting. Cusson remained the group's production designer through UFC 27. SEG devised the show's name as " The Ultimate Fighting Championship ". WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later retroactively called UFC 1 , at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver , Colorado on November 12, 1993. Art Davie was its booker and matchmaker. It proposed to find answers for sports fans' questions such as, "Can
40420-440: The traditional network television season. First-run theatrical films debut on average from ten months to one year after a film's initial theatrical run has concluded, and no more than six months after their DVD or digital VOD download release. COVID-19 -related postponements of newer theatrical releases by its distribution partners caused HBO to reduce the frequency of scheduled theatrical premieres in September 2020; since then,
40635-496: The unit and, since HBO became co-owned with the film division through the 1989 Time-Warner merger, distributed through Warner Bros. Entertainment. Films to which HBO maintains traditional telecast and streaming rights will usually also be shown on the Cinemax television and streaming platforms during their licensing agreement period (either after a film title completes its HBO window or transfers between services over certain months during
40850-459: The week on the main channel at the network's discretion. Most of the six HBO thematic multiplex channels—except for HBO Family, which prohibits programming containing either equivalent rating by the effect of the channel's target audience and format —air TV-MA and R-rated programming during morning and afternoon periods. HBO also does not typically allow most NC-17-rated films to be aired on the primary channel or its multiplex channels. HBO pioneered
41065-655: The world. MMA gyms serve as specialized training centers where fighters develop their skills across various martial arts disciplines, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, and boxing. These gyms provide structured environments for athletes to prepare for competition, offering coaching, sparring, and conditioning programs. Certain gyms, such as the UFC Performance Institute offer facilities like cryotherapy chambers , underwater treadmills , and DEXA machines. The following are popular MMA gyms along with notable fighters that have trained out of them. As
41280-457: The world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place throughout Japan and the countries of East Asia . At the same time, in Brazil there was a phenomenon called vale tudo , which became known for unrestricted fights between various styles such as judo , Brazilian jiu-jitsu , catch wrestling , luta livre , Muay Thai and capoeira . An early high-profile mixed bout
41495-402: The wrestling promotion WWE to form TKO Group Holdings , a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with Vince McMahon serving as an executive chairman of the new entity and White remaining as UFC president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023. Art Davie proposed to John Milius and Rorion Gracie an eight-man single-elimination tournament called "War of the Worlds". It
41710-524: Was Bartitsu , which Edward William Barton-Wright founded in London in 1899. Combining catch wrestling , judo , boxing , savate , jujutsu and canne de combat (French stick fighting), Bartitsu was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles, and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European catch wrestlers and Japanese judoka champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles. Among
41925-446: Was Kimura vs. Gracie in 1951. In mid-20th century Hong Kong , rooftop street fighting contests between different martial arts styles gave rise to Bruce Lee 's hybrid martial arts style Jeet Kune Do . Another precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Ali vs. Inoki exhibition bout, fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan, where it later inspired the foundation of Shooto in 1985, Pancrase in 1993, and
42140-498: Was accordingly marketed as "MultiChannel Cinemax" and then "MultiMax" at the respective times.) Concurrent with the adoption of "The Works" package brand, two of the channels changed their names and formats: HBO2 was rebranded as HBO Plus, and HBO3 was relaunched as HBO Signature—incorporating content catering toward a female audience, alongside theatrical films aimed at broader audiences and content from HBO's original made-for-cable movie and documentary libraries. (HBO Plus would revert to
42355-427: Was best, began testing each other in their respective arts of kenpo, jujitsu, Chinese and American boxing and tang soo do . From this they developed kajukenbo , the first American mixed martial arts. In 1951, a high-profile grappling match was Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie , which was wrestled between judoka Masahiko Kimura and Brazilian jiu jitsu founder Hélio Gracie in Brazil. Kimura defeated Gracie using
42570-633: Was both sustainable consumer penetration of high-definition television sets and wide accessibility of HDTV equipment on the retail market. Sports telecasts were upgraded to HD on September 25, 2004, with an HBO World Championship Boxing fight card headlined by Roy Jones Jr. and Glen Johnson . HD programming can also be broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 . The network began transmitting its six multiplex channels in high definition on September 1, 2008, when DirecTV began offering HD simulcast feeds of HBO2, HBO Family, HBO Signature, and HBO Latino. HBO on Demand
42785-526: Was delayed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the ability to produce the network's launch programming and ending up launching several months before the closing of the Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc. merger. Due to the delay in production, some Magnolia Network programming debuted as part of the January 4, 2021, launch of the Discovery+ streaming service. The transition of the linear DIY Network to
43000-412: Was finding it increasingly difficult to get fights in Thailand as his weight (70 kg) was not typical for Thailand, where competitive bouts tended to be at the lower weights. Roufus knocked Changpuek down twice with punches in the first round, breaking Changpuek's jaw, but lost by technical knockout in the fourth round due to the culmination of low kicks to the legs that he was unprepared for. This match
43215-463: Was formed by combining the already established wrestling and boxing traditions and, in Olympic terms, first featured in the 33rd Olympiad in 648 BC. All strikes and holds were allowed with the exception of biting and gouging, which were banned. The fighters, called pankratiasts, fought until someone could not continue or signaled submission by raising their index finger; there were no rounds. According to
43430-603: Was held under these rules, making it the first show conducted under a version of the modern rules. In April 2000, the California State Athletic Commission voted unanimously in favor of regulations that later became the foundation for the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts . However, when the legislation was sent to the California capital in Sacramento for review, it was determined that the sport fell outside
43645-409: Was initially available via Apple Inc. to Apple TV and iOS devices for a three-month exclusivity period following its formal launch, before becoming available for subscription through other participating Internet service providers . Available for $ 15 per month, HBO Now was identical to the former HBO Go in terms of content and features. New episodes of the HBO series were made available for streaming on
43860-619: Was initially owned by the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) until it had financial issues and it was sold to the brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in 2001, who formed the company Zuffa to operate the UFC, and placed Dana White as the president of the company. In 2016, UFC's parent company, Zuffa, was sold to a group led by Endeavor, then known as William Morris Endeavor (WME–IMG), including Silver Lake Partners , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital for US$ 4.025 billion. In 2021, Endeavor bought out Zuffa's other owners at
44075-488: Was inspired by the "Gracies in Action" video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie jiu-jitsu students defeating martial artists of various disciplines such as karate , kung fu , and kickboxing on Vale Tudo matches. The tournament would also feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art, and would aim to replicate
44290-477: Was knocked out by elbows. The Japanese fighter who lost, Kenji Kurosaki, was a kyokushin instructor, rather than a contender, and that he had stood in as a substitute for the absent chosen fighter. In June of the same year, karateka and future kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura faced top Thai fighter Samarn Sor Adisorn: Sawamura was knocked down sixteen times on his way to defeat. Sawamura went on to incorporate what he learned in that fight in kickboxing tournaments. During
44505-423: Was marketed independent of a pay television subscription to the linear HBO service as a standalone platform targeting cord cutters . HBO Now was available online and as apps for Apple iOS and Apple TV devices; Android tablets, phones and Android TV devices; Amazon Fire TV; Roku devices; Xbox consoles ( Xbox 360 and Xbox One ); PlayStation consoles ( PlayStation 3 and later); and select TiVo devices; and as
44720-443: Was originally scheduled to launch a tertiary channel, Cinemax 3, on November 1, 1991, but these plans were shelved until 1996.) While most cable providers collectively offered the HBO and Cinemax multiplex channels in individual tiers, some providers had sold their secondary or tertiary channels as optional add-ons to expanded basic subscribers; this practice was discontinued when HBO and Cinemax began migrating to digital cable in
44935-423: Was reintroduced to the United States by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). UFC promoters initially pitched the event as a real-life fighting video game tournament similar to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat . The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity when jiu-jitsu fighter Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in
45150-490: Was scaled back to focus on independent film production in 1984. The current HBO Films unit was formed in October 1999 through the consolidation of HBO Pictures and HBO NYC Productions (created as HBO Showcase in 1986, and following its June 1996 restructuring, had also occasionally produced drama series for the network). Since 1984, HBO Films has also maintained an exclusive licensing agreement with HBO (later expanded to include Cinemax) for theatrical productions produced by
45365-688: Was set to become the first state in the U.S. to sign off on a set of codified rules that governed MMA. Soon after, New Jersey adopted the language. As the UFC continued to work with the athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, and venues, such as the Lake Charles Civic Center . The markets included states that are largely rural and less known for holding professional sporting events, such as Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Alabama. SEG could not secure home-video releases for UFC 23 through UFC 29 . With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning,
45580-673: Was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European wrestling champion Ernest Roeber . In September 1901, Frank "Paddy" Slavin , who had been a contender for Sullivan's boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City , Canada. The judo-practitioner Ren-nierand, who gained fame after defeating George Dubois, would fight again in another similar contest, which he lost to Ukrainian Catch wrestler Ivan Poddubny. Another early example of mixed martial arts
45795-475: Was the conceptual blueprint for the "premium channel", pay television services sold to subscribers for an extra monthly fee that do not accept traditional advertising and present their programming without editing for objectionable material . It eventually became the first television channel in the world to begin transmitting via satellite—expanding the growing regional pay service, originally available to cable and multipoint distribution service (MDS) providers in
46010-421: Was the first popular fight which showcased the power of such low kicks to a predominantly Western audience. The movement that led to the creation of present-day mixed martial arts scenes emerged from a confluence of several earlier martial arts scenes: the vale tudo events in Brazil, rooftop fights in Hong Kong's street fighting culture, and professional wrestlers , especially in Japan . Vale tudo began in
46225-400: Was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997. UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today , something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of
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