Why would that be?
If your parents got you into martial arts when you were young, your parents had money. Martial arts training is not cheap. And a lot of these guys were college wrestlers, so they all went to college. Like Chuck Liddell. Do you know who Chuck Liddell is?
Sure, tell everyone.
The stereotypical ultimate fighter. He’s got a Mohawk, a big mean looking guy with a Fu Manchu. He looks like an ax murderer, if you saw him. He graduated from Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. [Laughs.] These were the type of guys who fought in the UFC and I thought their stories were very interesting. And the truth is, if you’ve ever attended a UFC fight, it’s the most exciting live sporting event you’ll ever see. There are so many different ways to win and lose, and the energy and buzz inside the building is incredible.
What do you mean there are so many ways to win and lose?
So in boxing, I hit you in the head or body more times than you hit me in the head or body, and I win, or I knock you out. In the UFC, you can do all that too, but you can also kick, knee, and elbow. It can go to the ground where you fight for submissions. So it is an uninterrupted action.
I wrote a book about Muhammad Ali a long time ago. I think we both agree that he might be the greatest athlete who ever lived…
Or human!
Who is the Muhammad Ali of the UFC in your opinion and why?
Well, we have a guy called Conor McGregor, who I would say is like our Muhammad Ali. But, if you’re looking for your Michael Jordan, it would be Jon Jones, who is the greatest.
And why is that?
Jon Jones has never been beaten and has moved up and down weight classes. It’s very, very unique and difficult to be undefeated in the UFC.
How did you buy UFC? Because it seems like, in retrospect, you bought it for a song.
Yes, two million dollars. When we were training in jujitsu and started meeting a lot of wrestlers, I started coaching some of the guys. And I got into a contract dispute with the former owner, Bob Meyrowitz, and Bob said, “You know what? There’s no more money, okay? I don’t even know if I can afford to host the next event.” We hung up and I said, “Wow, that’s interesting.” I called my partners, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, and said, “I just got off the phone with the owner of UFC. I think they’re going bankrupt. They’re in trouble and we should buy them.”
Wasn’t that risky? Senator John McCain (nobody’s idea of a coward, God knows) called MMA “human cockfighting.”
Good.
How do you respond to that?
I think without Senator John McCain I probably wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation with you right now.
Tell me why.
Their stance on the UFC pushed them (and not only them, but us, when we acquired it) towards regulation and being regulated by the athletic commissions of each state. [He holds his hands close together.] Many people want to see a freak show. [He holds his hands far apart.] This Many people want to see a real sport.
It used to be banned in thirty-six states. What were the regulations that were put in place so that it was no longer a freak show?
What tripped them up early was sensationalizing it, like: “Two men enter the octagon, one man leaves: the most brutal, bloody, violent sport in the world. There are no rules!”
That’s just exaggeration. That is also heard in boxing.
When the first one arrived, no one believed it was true. They say, “There’s no way this is real, there’s no way this is going to happen.” And it was real. Happened. And everyone tuned in because of the sensationalism, but that ultimately ended up biting [Meyrowitz] in the end.
How is that?
Because Senator John McCain went after it and said it was disgusting. Think about this time (again, when you and I grew up, right?) the John Wayne movie. John Wayne would hit anyone, right? Guy would fall. John Wayne didn’t jump on top of him and start punching him. I would stand him up and hit him again. You didn’t do that. You don’t jump on a guy when he’s down.