Zuffa

Infobox Company
company_name = Zuffa, LLC
company_
vector_
company_type = Private
genre =
foundation = 2001
founder = Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta
location_city = Las Vegas, Nevada
location_country = United States
location =
origins =
key_people = Dana White, President
area_served =
industry = Sports promotion
products =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid = Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Extreme Cagefighting
owner = Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White
company_slogan =
homepage =
dissolved =
footnotes =

Zuffa, LLC is an American sports promotion company specializing in the promotion of mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada to be the new parent entity behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, after they purchased the UFC from Semaphore Entertainment Group. The word "Zuffa" is an Italian word, meaning "brawl" or "fight with no rules". [ [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zuffa] ] Zuffa is the entity credited with taking the UFC and mixed martial arts in the United States from a marginalized sport to being the fastest growing sport in the country, with fast-rising popularity within the highly-desired 18-30 male demographic.fact|date=January 2008

Zuffa is headed by the Fertittas and President Dana White. [ [http://www.entrepreneur.com/ufc] ] [ [http://www.mensfitness.com/sports_and_recreation/athletes/73] ] [ [http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-dana_white.htm] ] [ [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8236] ]

History

On December 11 2006, Zuffa acquired the assets of the World Fighting Alliance, and formed WFA Enterprises, LLC. as a subsidiary to handle these assets, including select fighter contracts. [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=3959] On the same day, it was reported that Zuffa was formalizing plans to buy World Extreme Cagefighting, to be run as a separate promotion from the UFC.

On March 27 2007, it was announced that Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta were acquiring the assets of PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC's largest rival, from Dream Stage Entertainment. To handle the take over, the Fertitta brothers created a new corporate entity to handle the assets, Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. With common ownership in place, Zuffa and Pride Worldwide would be working closely together. [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3053&zoneid=13] [http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/6614284] Although goals of reviving PRIDE were not realized, many of PRIDE's assets, including contracts with fighters and intellectual property, are now regularly utilized by the UFC.

It has also been widely reported that the UFC will purchase select assets from the IFL, this likely including its fight video library and remaining fighter contracts.

Zuffa's role in regulation

Zuffa is often credited with "cleaning up" mixed martial arts in the United States, also known as "no holds barred" fighting, but its contributions to the regulation of the sport have often been exaggerated by the media.fact|date=January 2008 The current rules used in the UFC were first established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board in 2000, in consultation with the UFC and other MMA promotions in the United States. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/lps/sacb/docs/martial.html] ] The first UFC event under the new rules was UFC 28, held before Zuffa's takeover. New Jersey's "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" has since been established throughout the country by other state athletic commissions, including Nevada and California. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/lps/sacb/docs/martial.html] ] The UFC has however kept close ties with state commissions, especially the Nevada State Athletic Commission, of which Lorenzo Fertitta was a former board member. [ [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=LearnUFC.FactSheet] ]