“This just wouldn’t be sports, it would be spectacle.”
That quote above is not from the mouth of WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel. Or UFC president Dana White or one of the promotion’s current matchmakers. It was taken directly from the book “Is This Legal?” written by UFC co-creator Art Davie (and co-authored by Sean Wheelock) about his vision for the UFC.
If we’re going to have a discussion about where the UFC — and the sport that would later be dubbed mixed martial arts — is right now and whether it is different, it’s worth noting its history.