UFC Fight Night 139 Preview
On November 12, 1993, McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado was the home to an event that would change the face of the sports landscape.
It wouldn’t happen right away and that event was only really the spark that set things on the path.
That event was UFC 1 the first event of a newly crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship built to host a unique sport.
The sport was the brainchild of Carlos Gracie who issued a challenge to fighters from every style of fighting to see who was the best.
Known as the Gracie Challenge and later Vale Tudo it was a mesh of fighters that were from every background from boxing to wrestling to Brazilian Jiu Jits to Judo and everything else.
It was an idea to prove what style of fighting actually produced the best fighters in the world.
That idea sparked an entirely new sport that brought fighters from every corner of the world together to test their abilities.
Eventually, organizations would get involved as promoters saw this as a tough man competition that could bring a lot of interest.
One of the promotions that looked to become a staple among combat sports was the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a company named WOW promotions.
They were going to hold a tournament of the best fighters from all backgrounds to truly determine who and what style was the best.
The first tournament featured some strange fights with massive sumo wrestlers taking on American wrestlers half of their size.
It was a bit of a freak show but that is what they were going for at a time when freak shows were what got people talking.
There were no rules and no weight classes just different styles trying to determine who was the best.
In the 25 years since that fight, the UFC has grown to be something entirely different, even making a push into the fringe of the mainstream.
Major deals with networks and pushing for MMA to be legalized in every state the UFC has grown to be the leading brand in Mixed Martial Arts.
There has been a lot of growth and there may be some left as the UFC is about to begin a deal with ESPN entering a network that has always been a leader in sports.
They continue to search for new stars to lead them and continue to evolve as a promotion that is now the face of the sport.
At UFC Fight Night 139 they will take a look back though as the UFC returns to Denver, this time at the Pepsi Centre, to celebrate their 25th anniversary.
The promotion will look back at the last 25 years and see from where they came as they look ahead to what they are going to do.
Celebrating the anniversary has been difficult as the Denver card has seen a lot of changes but surprisingly those changes have provided a very interesting fight that represents just how far the UFC has come from UFC 1.
On one side of the octagon will be a man known as the Korean Zombie, for his ability to keep walking forward.
Chan Sung Jung is a Korean star in the fight world but as with every Korean, he had to take four years off to serve in the military.
His return fight showed that his military service might not have hampered him as he knocked out Dennis Bermudez in the first round.
He was set to return against Ricardo Lamas before Jung hurt his knee and after recovering was set to take on Frankie Edgar in this celebration of history.
Edgar was forced to withdraw after tearing his bicep for the fight leaving the UFC with few options to face the Korean legend.
They called one of their brightest young stars in Yair Rodriguez to fill in as the Mexican fighter accepted the fight looking to get back on track.
After losing to Edgar, Rodriguez got into a very public dispute regarding his contract with the UFC and stayed out with little options for his return.
After injuries cancelled his initial comeback this will be his first fight back as he is hoping to prove he still has that potential that made him an exciting prospect.
Two fighters with exciting styles from two very different cultures with very different personalities will face-off to celebrate 25 years.
The UFC has come a long way since UFC 1 and two international stars with a background in MMA rather than any specific discipline show how far they have come.
The Sport Addiction 