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3
Today’s MMA; Top 10 Reasons for the Success of Modern MMA Part IV
August 3, 2008 |
4. Dana White
While the Fertittas are the financial backing and visionaries of the most powerful and popular MMA organization in the world, Dana White is the gas in the tank. He is where the rubber meets the road, if you will. Without him, the UFC would have become just another bad investment that we wouldn’t even remember seven years later, let alone be talking about. The Fertittas own the company, White runs it, and runs it well. One day we will look back on the name, Dana White, and put him into the same sentence with people like Paul Tagliabue, David Stern, Bud Selig, and Don King.
3. The Gracie family It is almost offensive that so many younger MMA fans don’t know the history behind the Gracie name. In the 
early 1900’s a Japanese immigrant to Brazil, and Jiu-Jitsu and Judo master, named Mitsuo Maeda taught his arts to a young Carlos Gracie, who later taught his new skills to his brothers. The brothers took these fighting styles to the streets of Brazil where they refined, reshaped, and honed the techniques in to what we now know to be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Fast forward to 1993 when the Gracie family helped establish a fighting contest designed to determine what fighting style was the best against other fighting styles. This contest was to be named the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and a young Royce Gracie was hand selected by his family to represent them and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the contest. Royce Gracie went on to win the inaugural contest as well as three of the first four such UFC tournaments. The Gracie name is connected with more MMA gold than the name Ft. Knox is connected to gold, period. I can only imagine how many titles the Gracie family as held, let alone how many fighters they have trained who have held gold. The Gracies own MMA, and we’re just fortunate to be witness to it.
