Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts promotion company. It is the largest in the world and features most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport. Based in the United States, the UFC produces events worldwide that showcase ten weight divisions and abide by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The UFC has held over 300 events to date. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship event was held on November 12, 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions were to identify the most effective martial art in a fight, with minimal rules, between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo, wrestling, Muay Thai, karate, judo, and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, professional American football player, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE. Lesnar is a four-time WWE (World Heavyweight) Champion, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and an NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, making him the only person to have won a WWE championship, UFC championship, and NCAA championship in a career. He is also a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, making him a five-time world champion in professional wrestling.

After his successful amateur wrestling career at Bismarck State College and the University of Minnesota (106 victories and 5 losses), Lesnar signed with WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation) in 2000. He was assigned to its developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he was a three-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champion with Shelton Benjamin. After debuting on WWE's main roster in 2002, he won the WWE Championship on three separate occasions with victories over The Rock and Kurt Angle (twice). Lesnar won his first (Undisputed) WWE Championship five months after his main roster debut at the age of 25, becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history. He was also the 2002 King of the Ring and the 2003 Royal Rumble winner, making him the youngest King of the Ring and Royal Rumble winner as well. Following his match with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar left the WWE and pursued a career in the National Football League (NFL). He was named a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings but was cut prior to the start of the 2004–05 season. In 2005, Lesnar returned to professional wrestling and signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match. After a contractual dispute with NJPW, he also wrestled as IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).

Frankie Edgar

Frank James "Frankie" Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. He holds notable victories over former world champions Sean Sherk, B.J. Penn (x3), Urijah Faber and top featherweight contender Chad Mendes. As of December 21, 2015, Edgar is ranked as the #2 featherweight in official UFC rankings.

Early life

Born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey by Frank and Mary Annese, Frankie Edgar wrestled at Toms River High School East, making it to the New Jersey state championship tournament on three occasions, placing second as a junior and fifth as a senior. Edgar is the oldest of 3 children, Edgar went on to compete in the NHSCA Senior Nationals and placed second before he finished high school. He continued wrestling at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he qualified for the nationals all four years there. Edgar is also an assistant coach for the Rutgers University wrestling team. Frankie is mostly of Italian descent with his mother being Italian, and he also has some German ancestry from his biological father's side, which is reflected in his non-Italian surname.

Dana White

Dana Frederick White, Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the President of the mixed martial arts organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Early life

Dana Frederick White, Jr. was born to Dana White, Sr. and June White on July 28, 1969 in Manchester, Connecticut. White and his sister Kelly were raised by his mother and her family the majority of his childhood. Dana is Irish-American. He began boxing at age 17 and graduated from Hermon High School in Maine in 1987.

Career

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2001–present)

While working as a manager for Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, in January of 2001, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC with White installed as its president. White owns 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.