The UFC was initially founded to answer the question of which is the most effective form of martial arts.Entrepreneur Art Davie was intrigued by a Playboy article by BJJ legend Rorion Gracie where he offered to fight anyone for a winner-takes-all prize of $100,000. Davie met up with Gracie and screenwriter-director John Milius and gathered funding from 28 investors to form WOW promotions.Art Davie, Rorion Gracie, John Milius, Bob Meyrowitz, and David Isaacs were all key founders of the company that would become the UFC that we know today.UFC@ufcWelcome to the #UFCHoF, Art Davie.15731Welcome to the #UFCHoF, Art Davie. https://t.co/N9wMmw24NcWOW promotions, in partnership with SEG, aired their first event on November 12, 1993, which later went on to be known as UFC 1: The Beginning.While Davie had put advertisements in various magazines, the event was eventually an eight-man tournament format, with a total of $50,000 on the line for the eventual winner. Rorion Gracie's brother Royce went on to win the tournament, establishing jiu-jitsu as the most dominant skillset in the early days of MMA.Darren Rovell@darrenrovell25 Years Ago Today: A sparce crowd shows up at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver for UFC 1. Royce Gracie wins the 8-man tournament and the $50,000 first prize. It was rejected by HBO, Showtime & ESPN, but 88,000 surprisingly paid $14.95 for pay-per-view, doubling projections.41811625 Years Ago Today: A sparce crowd shows up at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver for UFC 1. Royce Gracie wins the 8-man tournament and the $50,000 first prize. It was rejected by HBO, Showtime & ESPN, but 88,000 surprisingly paid $14.95 for pay-per-view, doubling projections. https://t.co/CM63AP0zWgWhile the first event had limited rules and no weight classes, the rules started to rapidly tighten up in later events. Davie and Gracie sold their shares in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions in 1995.Dana White and Fertittas' takeover of the UFCIn 1996, Senator John McCain saw a clip from an early UFC event and instantly labeled it "human cockfighting." A campaign led by him resulted in no holds barred fighting being banned in 36 states in America.The company then started working with state athletic commissioner Jeff Blatnick and referee John McCarthy while hosting events in lesser-known states. By the time the promotion hosted its first sanctioned event in the year 2000, SEG was nearing bankruptcy.MMA History Today@MMAHistoryTodayJan8.1999UFC 18 took place 23 years ago today.Starting with this event, the promotion no longer referred to themselves as the "Ultimate Fighting Championship".The company changed their logo and announcers only said "UFC" instead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.14214Jan8.1999UFC 18 took place 23 years ago today.Starting with this event, the promotion no longer referred to themselves as the "Ultimate Fighting Championship".The company changed their logo and announcers only said "UFC" instead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. https://t.co/PbjfldNMglDana White, along with Station Casinos executives Frank and Loronzo Fertitta, offered to buy the company and secured the deal for $2 million in January 2001 and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent company.MMA History Today@MMAHistoryTodayFeb23.200120 years ago today,Dana White and the Fertitta brothers began their mission to change martial arts forever.UFC 30 took place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was the first UFC event that took place under the Zuffa regime.14829Feb23.200120 years ago today,Dana White and the Fertitta brothers began their mission to change martial arts forever.UFC 30 took place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was the first UFC event that took place under the Zuffa regime. https://t.co/clS6nfi1U6Damon Martin@DamonMartinFormer UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta on Senator John McCain, who famously called MMA 'human cockfighting' but those words ultimately helped the sport find regulation. #RIP478Former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta on Senator John McCain, who famously called MMA 'human cockfighting' but those words ultimately helped the sport find regulation. #RIP https://t.co/tVQI8cvTtlWhite became president as he was the one who had approached the Fertittas' with the idea of acquiring the promotion. While the company initially survived due to a rivalry between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, it eventually went on to become the world's No.1 MMA promotion by a long way.In 2016, the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, was sold to a group led by Endeavor for USD 4.025 billion.