Top 10 Things You Should Know About Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

What's with the recent popularity in UFC, or the Ultimate Fighting Championship? Here are some facts you should know about UFC so you can better understand why your significant other is screaming "tap out! Tap out!" at the television.

1) It's violent. Fights have often ended with someone taking a barrage of elbows to the head, usually a dozen unprotected, before the ref steps in. Arms have been broken; legs have been broken, huge cuts producing Rocky-like swelling has been seen. These fighters are aiming to win and they don't care if it's pretty.

2) It's not as violent as it was. Back in the day, it was almost a "no rules" competition. You could kick to the groin, give head butts, didn't have to wear gloves or even fight near your weight. Although some of those techniques were frowned upon, they were allowed. As the league developed, they put rules in place to keep it competitive and to better protect the fighters. No deaths have ever been related to UFC.

3) It is, in theory, safer than traditional boxing. In boxing, you could take over 100 shots to your head and body for a good 30 minutes before a fight gets called. You could get hit so hard that you can't see for 8 seconds, get up, and keep fighting. In UFC, if you are virtually knocked out with one punch, the ref stops the fight. If you're fighting well, not take a punch, but managed to get you arm barred to where it hurts a lot, you can tap out. Tapping out is you literally tapping the mat with you free hand to let the ref know you've had enough. You got one sore arm for a few days, but no concussions. Refs even stop matches if they know you are at the point where you can't defend yourself.

4) Technique and conditioning win matches. Big, 400 pound muscle men don't get an easy win. The wiry warrior that gives it his all for 2 minutes but not much after that can't win. You have to be able to defend on the ground, standing up, and are able to win both ways as well. Knowing just tae kwon do or ju jit su or anything Chuck Norris can do is not enough.

5) It makes a lot of money. Even though in the 90s Senator McCain basically got UFC removed from television, it slowly made a comeback thanks to rules changes and investments by the Fertita brothers. How's it doing now? One recent pay per view made $30 million. One fight in August took in $3.1 million at the gate. The brothers were $34 million in the hole by 2004.The company is now worth $700 million.

6) There is a reality show. The fighters are human beings, too. Spike TV hosts The Ultimate Fighter, a show where amateur fighters can train under established professionals and compete in elimination matches in order to reach the live televised contract matches at the end of the season. Some fighters do so well that, even if they lose the live match, they get offered contracts to continue to fight. The show has featured people from many different backgrounds to include single fathers and a deaf fighter.

7) There's a free TV show. Ultimate Fight Night is also on Spike TV. It sometimes hosts live matches, but most of the time shows highlights of past pay-per-view events or matches dedicated to specific fighters like Matt Hughes or Chuck Liddell.

8) UFC pays well. Some popular under card fighters, like Diego Sanchez, make $7,000 to fight and an additional $7,000 with a win. Not bad for no more than 15 minutes in a ring. Top rated fighters and champions can earn up to $200,000 per fight. And this isn't even including sponsorships from nutritional supplement companies like Xyience and Stacker. The winner of the reality show matches get 3-year guaranteed contracts that go from $36,000 to $300,000 in incentives.

9) It is not to be confused with Pride Fighting and other MMA. MMA, or mixed martial arts, are also associated with other organized tournaments and events. PRIDE fighting takes place in Japan and has different rules, ring design, and fighter types. Some towns and cities have more localized fighting with fewer rules, smaller purses, and not a lot of protection for the fighters. UFC has weathered the storms and made itself into a legitimate sanctioned fighting sport.

10) It isn't fake, scripted, or staged, like professional wrestling. There is plenty of personal drama to go around. The Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock rivalry was very genuine and lasted several years. Ortiz and Liddell, who are about to fight again, were former friends that parted ways. However, there are no scripted talks or pre-determined endings to sell the excitement.