Art Davie, Creator of the UFC, joins the program RADIO MMA and talks about creating the UFC, plus Dana White, Fixed Fights, the Gracie Challenge, and more!
Since it’s release in July, 2014, Is This Legal? has ranked among Amazon’s top-five selling sports and martial arts biographies numerous times in both the paper and digital categories. Multiple sports and MMA writers and websites have published glowing book reviews, including Mike Straka, WrestlingObserver.com, TheMMACorner.com, CagePotato.com, and TheFightNerd.com.
Is This Legal? is Art Davie’s tell-all memoir about creating the inaugural UFC more than 20 years ago. Taking place on November 12, 1993 in Denver, CO, UFC 1 stands as a revolutionary moment in marital arts and combat sports, when ten men competed in a one-night, style-versus-style martial arts tournament that captured the imagination of 4,000 attending fans and almost 90,000 households across America via pay-per-view TV.
Described as equal parts Abner Doubleday, PT Barnum, and Dr. James Naismith, Davie, as creator of the UFC, tells a vivid and fast-moving first-person account of 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?
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.
Art Davie is a name many MMA fans will know. Perhaps not as many in the newer generations but he is certainly someone who should be!
If a teenager in a gym anywhere in the world is training “MMA” and doesn’t know his name… They might want to take some time out and learn little, either read his book. Or simply watch this interview and gain some insight into the man who helped build the foundations to what is now the worlds fastest growing sport on the planet.
Art Davie is a business executive and entrepreneur and formerly active California’s advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In addition, Davie served as vice-president to K-1 USA, and brought the successful K-1 kickboxing franchise from Japan to Las Vegas and North American pay-per-view television. He was an Executive Producer with Mandalay Sports Entertainment, became vice-president of television at Paradigm Entertainment Group, and helped develop from the ground up rules and strategy for the “XARM” competition….
He is also in the MMA Legends hall of fame, and author! And yes he even has his very own action figure! As if the picture of him sitting in a chair seems to reflect anything but the man’s life!
FIRST UFC
Dan Cox, got the opportunity to catch up with Art and go in-depth one on one with him, across a broad range of topics, from the creation of the initial UFC event to where it is today and stars like Ronda Rousey. Even covering topics such as Ken Shamrock’s upcoming bare knuckle bout to Jens Pulvers return to ONEFC and W2W (action)
As an added bonus we also find out details about a potential movie in the works & the planned roles for some of the cast. This is a MUST for any UFC fan looking for MMA’s origins. Grab some popcorn for this one!
Since it’s release in July, Is This Legal? has ranked among Amazon’s top-five selling sports and martial arts biographies numerous times in both the paper and digital categories. Multiple sports and MMA writers and websites have published glowing book reviews, including Mike Straka, WrestlingObserver.com, TheMMACorner.com, CagePotato.com, and TheFightNerd.com.
Is This Legal? is Mr. Davie’s tell-all memoir about creating the inaugural UFC over 20 years ago. Taking place on November 12, 1993 in Denver, CO, UFC 1 stands as a revolutionary moment in marital arts and combat sports, when ten men competed in a one-night, style-versus-style martial arts tournament that captured the imagination of 4,000 attending fans and almost 90,000 households across America via pay-per-view TV.
Described as equal parts Abner Doubleday, PT Barnum, and Dr. James Naismith, Mr. Davie tells a vivid and fast-moving first-person account of 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?
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.
TSC’s Fred Richani interviews UFC founder Art Davie and Bellator MMA commentator Sean Wheelock about their new book “Is This Legal?” @ArtDavie & @BellatorMMA’s @SeanWheelock! A must-listen for all MMA fans! ow.ly/B3hue @SpikeSports
This podcast took place right before Art’s appearance on UFC Tonight on FOX TV on Wednesday 8-27-14.
IS THIS LEGAL? THE BOOK ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE FIRST UFC.
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. IS THIS LEGAL? has continued to attract media attention all through the summer of 2014.
PRESS COVERAGE BY THE MMA COMMUNITY FOR IS THIS LEGAL? AND ART DAVIE CONTINUES…
MMA journalists continue to cover the book IS THIS LEGAL? … The inside story of the creation of the UFC by Art Davie and Sean Wheelock. The book has resulted in more interviews of Davie by the MMA press.
IS THIS LEGAL? THE BOOK ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE FIRST UFC
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.
Art Davie’s Dream List of fighters for First UFC makes it to NineMSN
Davie’s dream list, which included Mike Tyson and Aleksandr Karelin, the Russian “Experiment” has been profiled on NineMSN in Australia. Justin Faux wrote the article about Art Davie and his book, the inside story of the first UFC, Is This Legal? for NineMSN which appears on the homepage on Thursday July 3rd in Australia.
As SEG and W.O.W. got closer to November 12, 1993 to stage the first UFC, Art Davie’s job was to find the 10 fighters needed for the tournament. There were fighters he considered and didn’t approach given their availability or cost. Mark Gastineau, the Hall of Fame NFL lineman, (he had begun a boxing career in 1991) was on the list, but he was priced out of the budget.
A boxer Davie considered for the first UFC was Mitch “Blood” Green. He lost a decision to Mike Tyson; then lost a street fight to Mike in front of a Harlem clothing store and got a $45,000 settlement for that “dispute.” Almost every boxer approached wanted a five-figure “appearance fee.”
The great Peter Aerts, then kicking butt in Europe and Japan, and a thoroughly devastating Muay Thai style kickboxer, was also on Davie’s wish list for the first UFC. But he would have required a five figure “appearance fee” to come to the states. No go!
The star of Jan Plas’ gym in Amsterdam was Ernesto Hoost, then just becoming a dominant force in K-1. He was due to fight in Asia and Davie couldn’t make a deal for him in time for the first UFC. But Plas proposed Gerard Gordeau as an alternative. Gordeau, who had fought in Japan, was a world champion in Savate; and Gordeau became the European kickboxer Davie signed for the first UFC.
Aleksandr Karelin was a Hero of the Russian Federation and was the dominant Greco-Roman wrestler on the planet in 1993. He was known as the “Experiment” (at 6’3″ and 285lbs.) and rumored to be the product of Russian science. He would have cost as much as Mike Tyson. That is if the Russians would have even let him come to the USA for the first UFC.
Emin Boztepe was a very visible Kung Fu stylist in the martial arts magazines, like Black Belt. He and Rorion Gracie had almost come to legal blows over the “Gracie Challenge.” When Davie asked Rorion if he should approach him for the first UFC tournament, Rorion advised that it would only attract a lawsuit, so Davie never reached out to Boztepe. Emin Boztepe cultivated a reputation for invincibility in articles and advertisements.
Randall “Tex” Cobb was a kickboxer, boxer (he fought Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title) and movie actor. He was on Davie’s wish list, but had a reputation for being a wild man; and his price would have made him unaffordable. Read about him terrorizing everyone on movie sets in IS THIS LEGAL? where John Milius was the director.
Of course the “Ultimate” dream list fighter for the first UFC was Mike Tyson. He was serving time in an Indiana prison in 1993 and, no matter what, the cost to secure his services was wildly out of range for the UFC.
These were some of the top combat sports athletes Art Davie had on first UFC “wish list.” You can read all about them (and the fighters who turned Davie down) in IS THIS LEGAL? – the inside story of the first UFC.
Is This Legal? is now available in bookstores, AMAZON, and Barnes & Noble as well as Ascend books (www.ascendbooks.com ).
Fox Sports published an excerpt today from Chapter 10 of IS THIS LEGAL?, Art Davie’s behind-the-scenes, tell-all book about how the event almost got drailed 24 hours before the show. Check out the link:
Fox shared how the idea Art Davie had been carrying around for years was about to come true. With the help of partners Rorion Gracie and Semaphore Entertainment Group (Campbell McLaren as the point man), Davie was about to change martial arts and combat sports forever.
No one was sure what would happen at UFC 1 on Nov. 12, 1993. And then, 24 hours before the event was scheduled to occur, there was a serious roadblock: the whole thing almost didn’t happen.
In an excerpt from Chapter 10 (There Are No Rules) from his new book with Sean Wheelock, “Is this Legal?,” Davie tells the tale of the fighter meeting the night prior to the first UFC and how if not for massive sumo wrestler, Teila Tuli, MMA might not even be a thing today.
The UFC was a joint development between W.O.W. Promotions, a Colorado LLC owned by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie and Semaphore Entertainment Group, a New York corporation founded by Bob Meyrowitz. The first UFC took place on November 12, 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena and was broadcast on PPV-TV.
IS THIS LEGAL? is available today (July 1, 2014) in bookstores, as well as AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE and the publisher, ASCEND BOOKS (www.ascendbooks.com)
What Campbell posted was an early version of the rules. Notice it says John Milius designed the Octagon and it’s 20′ in diameter. Both statements were later amended. Set designers Harrison and Cusson were the ones responsible for designing the Octagon and it ended up the 30′ that I had originally suggested in communications with Producer Michael Pillot.
In the post, there was the implication that the rules were just suggestions and that all Rorion said at the first UFC rules meeting, was, “There is no biting. We are men not animals.” Then he sat down. What really happened was that as Rorion read the rules, the meeting exploded. Zane Frazier challenged the rule about taping fists and Rorion and I soon lost control of the meeting as everyone began to argue.
The First Fighters Meeting
I had typed up the rules for the fighters meeting at the hotel the night before. Below is the Meeting Agenda, which included the rules, that Sumo wrestler Teila Tuli (nee Taylor Wiley) signed. When Tuli signed his, slammed it down on the table and said, “I just signed my paper. I don’t know about you guys, but I came here to party. If anyone else came here to party, I’ll see you tomorrow night at the arena,” that gesture and his declaration ended the squabbles over the rules. You can read all about that meeting in my book, IS THIS LEGAL?
Campbell McLaren was an SEG employee whose focus for the first UFC was the commentators and marketing. He wasn’t an expert about the martial arts or fighting. As I said in my book, IS THIS LEGAL?, quoting the late wrestler Gorilla Monsoon, “Campbell and Bob (Meyrowitz) didn’t know a wrist lock from a wristwatch.” But he was a super pro when it came to the business of television, to be sure.
The 3 founders of the UFC: Art Davie, Rorion Gracie and SEG’s founder/CEO, Bob Meyrowitz. And, interestingly enough, Kathy Kidd, Sherry Santos and me were the only people working full-time on the UFC in ’93. Everyone else had other gigs, projects or businesses to run.
