Fry 1
Chase Fry
Jonathan Joy
ENG 102
April 26, 2019
History and Ethics of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Chase M Fry
Ashland Community and Technical College
Reason for choosing the UFC
Since I was little my father and my uncle would wrestle with me. For hours we would wrestle in the
floor, they would teach me certain chokes o positioning to better my ground offense. Being little I thought it
was just mindless fun with no significance; but once I got older, I started to hear them talk about the UFC.
The UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship took me by surprise and instantly filled me with wonder and
curiosity. The UFC at the beginning was in other words like human dog fights. But over the years it
developed into a chess like game where the players with deadly fighting abilities in various forms of martial
arts would compete for world championships across the globe.
What is Ethics? By definition from the online Meriam Webster dictionary it is “a set of moral
principles: a theory or system of moral values”. In the beginning of the UFC it was nothing more than a no
holds bare style vs style fighting organization. It was created to promote the Gracie family ju–jitsu school.
Being well known in brazil for their relentless ju–jitsu and toughness; the Gracie family issued a challenge to
anyone brave enough to challenge them. The goal was to promote the Gracie Ju–Jitsu fighting style and
create a style vs style fighting organization. Having some success in the beginning, things would quickly
change due to the lack of rules and extreme violence. Many changes would need to be made for a
continuation of success.
Fry 2
What started as a no rules, style vs style fighting organization would change over the next few
years. With the lack of rules and regulation the UFC began as a violent fighting organization. With these
faults you would see unfair or even un realistic fights in the sense of size or skill advantage. Early on it was
possible for a 400–pound sumo wrestler to fight a 200-pound boxer, not seeming important this would
quickly change. UFC 1 was the first major event hosted by the organization, with many match ups that we
would not see today. Many of the fights were filled with violence and lack of regulation with little
interference from a referee. The lack of rules and regulation allowed for certain strikes that would be
deemed illegal today; Headbutts, wearing of shoes, and the kicking or kneeing of a downed opponent were
all deemed legal at this time. As the violence started to increase, the public and media interest decreased,
thus bringing about the necessary changes that needed to be made.
