CY Interview with Art Davie…
UFC Cofounder, the always insightful Art Davie, talks Shamrock vs. Gracie III, Ronda Rousey’s Loss & More…
Check out the interview here:
It is possible you would never have heard the names Randy Couture, Chuck Lidell, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Dan Severn or Royce Gracie, along with so many others, if it were not for Art Davie. It can also be said that Mixed Martial Arts might not have reached the mainstream in America without him. For years, the entrepreneur imagined putting on a tournament of the best fighters in the world, bringing together men of all backgrounds from a variety of martial arts traditions including boxing and even sumo wrestling.
By becoming a student at the school of the legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu family, the Gracies, and befriending them, Art was able to convince them that his notion of a best of the best fighters tournament would put their fighting style on the map.
Everything came together on November 12th, 1993, in Denver, Colorado, when the first UFC was held. 21 years after it all began, Mr. Davie was inducted into the Legends of MMA Hall of Fame in Reno, Nevada.
Art’s journey and reflections on his dream to see the best fighters in the world battle each other is chronicled in his book Is This Legal? The Inside Story of The First UFC From The Man Who Created It.