MMA reporter Susan Cingari interviews Art Davie

Art DavieMMA reporter Susan Cingari interviews Art Davie

Art discusses the first UFC in his book Is This Legal? The Inside Story of the First UFC from the Man Who Created it. Art talks about the Gracies, SEG, Chuck Norris and the ten fighters who competed in UFC 1. Art always identifies his favorite fighters over the years.

Goes down as one of Art Davie’s most interesting interviews.

Here’s the link:
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IS THIS LEGAL?
IS THIS LEGAL?
On November 12, 1993, in Denver, Colorado, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) unleashed an explosion of blood – both figuratively and literally – as 6’5” Dutch kickboxer Gerard Gordeau smashed 420 lb. sumo wrestler Teila Tuli flush in the face, less than 30 seconds into the night’s opening fight. The kick sent one of Tuli’s teeth flying into the crowd, instantly establishing that, as one of the commentators said that night, “fighting is not what we thought it was.”

The UFC’s launch came with virtually no warning or fanfare. Yet nearly 90,000 households ordered and watched the event on pay-per-view television. This style-versus-style martial arts tournament was the creation of Art Davie, an ad man and serial entrepreneur who first conjured the idea four years prior.

Now, for the first time, the true story about the creation of mixed martial arts and the inaugural UFC is told by the man who started it all. Equal parts Abner Doubleday, PT Barnum, and Dr. James Naismith, Davie explains how he turned his vision, of a single-night tournament involving the greatest martial arts fighters, into the first UFC, which now stands as an international billion-dollar sports franchise.

This vivid and fast-moving first-person account explores Davie’s adventures navigating through a world of financial risks, political power-plays, egotistical fighters, family feuds, and numerous powder-keg situations – all to answer the age-old question of who is the world’s best fighter?

Written with noted MMA television play-by-play commentator Sean Wheelock (with the foreword by legendary MMA referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy), Is This Legal? is not just for fight fans, but also for anybody who appreciates the tale of a maverick who’ll stop at nothing to fulfill his vision and achieve his dreams.

Is This Legal? also features a highly improbable cast of characters, including Academy Award nominee John Milius, NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, action film star Chuck Norris, kickboxing champ Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rorion Gracie and pay-per-view TV pioneer Bob Meyrowitz.

With the creation of the UFC, Art Davie started a revolution in the world of martial arts. And this revolution was televised.