The Best MMA Promotions Besides the UFC

Okay, so when most people think of MMA, UFC comes to mind? In fact, many new fans assume that MMA and UFC are the same thing. But what happens when you assume? You make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” So, we thought that we’d help clear up a few misconceptions between UFC and MMA. What’s mores UFC, as a corporation it dominates as the leading global MMA organisation to the point that many people, especially newer fans don’t know that there are many great MMA Promotions besides the UFC. So, we wanted to give some well-deserved recognition to some of the best MMA promotions outside of the UFC, which are definitely worth checking out. 

Still, we do owe credit to UFC for boosting and exposing how amazing professional MMA fighters are in terms of their dedication to their craft. However, in more recent year it does seems like the corporate side of UFC seems to have forgotten the illegal roots of MMA. What we mean is that mixed martial art requires dedication, strength and a ridiculously high pain threshold. When we look at how brutal and extreme MMA was before it broke into a legitimate public entertainment brand. So, when the UFC first broadcasted the first PPV in 1993 it was legal. Anderson Silva debuted as headline fighter on the 12th of November 1993 for UFC 1. 

We’ve mentioned the “Renegade Era” quite a lot, and it started in 1997 when MMA Pay Per Views were banned. In 1997 a law was passed which made live MMA events illegal in America, the United Kingdom and many other countries, as it was deemed “too violent.”   Although it was illegal to live stream MMA fights, organisations like the UFC and Bellator continued to host amazing fights. The Renegade era ended on the 14th of April 2016, when MMA Pay Per Views were legalised. Still, most MMA fans, especially die-hard renegade era fans have started to express that UFC has taken some of the life out of the sport. For instance, a lot of MMA forums and groups feel that UFC has allowed sponsors, promotions and corporate deals to take priority over the fight. 

So, we always like to know our readers opinions. What do you think? Do you feel that UFC priorities corporate sponsorships and adverts, rather than the fight itself. UFC used to be an annual main event, which allowed the fans to really get involved and excited for the fight. Really, you could say that the fight started once it was announced. For us the build-up, the feuds, the drama makes the actual fight night even more entertaining, which is why professional MMA fighters should congratulate themselves on their dedication to this intense sport. We think that some of the best fights were so entertaining due to the run up like UFC 107. We knew that BJ Penn would win his fight against Diego Sanchez before the fight. He was intimidating from the offset. 

Yet, it seems that fighters are now restricted in a sense and it’s more about who has the best sponsors. Still, there are still fighters like McGregor who continue to use their fighter persona as a leverage to intimidate his opponents. So, when we say the fight begins once its officially is announced is one of the reasons that MMA is an authentically unique sport, as it requires mental and physical strength. Some fighters even pull out before the fight begins, as their opponent successfully manages to spook their opponent. Hopefully, UFC starts to take notice as to why it might be losing some of its fans to social media platforms like TikTok, which allowed fighters to promote themselves. 

What is the Difference between MMA and UFC? 

Okay, so mentioned at the start that there are a few misconceptions about MMA and UFC. So, we need to start by highlighting that UFC and MMA are not the same thing. So, what is the difference between MMA and UFC? It’s simple really, MMA stands for the fighting art itself, it’s an acronym of the ancient practice of Mixed Martial Arts. UFC, stands for “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” and was the first MMA fighting organisation to debut a professional MMA cage fight legally.

Really, when you look at this misconception that UFC is MMA, it shows how much UFC dominates as the leading MMA promotional organisation. Still, UFC is the reason that we can watch professional cage fighters legally. Some of you may have started following this brutal yet highly entertaining sport during it’s “rough” — or shall we say illegal roots. The early days of professional cage fighting is also known as the renegade era. Fighters like Anderson Silva fought tooth and nail to give MMA the recognition that it deserved. 

Is the UFC Still the “Best” MMA Organisation… Or Is it Just the Largest? 

We can understand why some MMA fans feel that UFC allows promotions and sponsors take providence over the fight itself, you can kind of see their point. Not only that, it seems that social media has sparked a second renegade era. More people are streaming illegal MMA pay per views on platforms like TikTok and YouTube because they are purely watching two genuine fighters, put their all into winning. Yes, we don’t agree with how they’re going about it because it is a brutal sport. But there’s no adverts, no corporations, it’s simply about the sport itself. 

Still, UFC has noticed that MMA fans are migrating to TikTok for Friday Night Fight Night Live instead. We saw a massive migration to the platform in general, especially during Covid. TikTok has allowed fighters like Andre Ewell to create their own brand and identity, rather than be restricted by corporate rules and regulations. UFC seem to be acting quickly, which is why they are trying to strike a marketing deal with TikTok. If the deal goes ahead, the UFC will allow TikTok to stream UFC fights live through the platform. 

We’re curious though, do you think people will be watching the more brutal fights, which are pretty similar to what we experienced during the renegade era? Or, do you think it will boost the viewings for the UFC fights? We’d love to know what you think? Do you feel UFC is turning MMA into a marketing tool? Let us know in the comments section at the end of this article. 

Fight Quality’s Top Five Global MMA Organizations Besides the UFC

Right, so it’s time to stop talking about UFC and focus on the lesser known, but equally as entertaining MMA fighting organisations and promotions. You could say that Covid-19 and Lockdown changed the way that we access and watch professional cage fighters. We’ve mentioned how social media is now following suit, but UFC is keen to dominate this side of the professional MMA industry. Still, the MMA brands that we have picked for this article have helped to boost UFC even more, in the sense that a lot of main card fighters come up through fighting organisations like Bellator MMA and One Championship. 

Bellator MMA

So, you might have heard of Bellator MMA, (originally called Bellator Fighting Championships) since most of UFC headline fighters seem to begin their career here. Bellator is classified as the second largest professional MMA organisation after the UFC. This organisation was founded and is still based in Hollywood, California back in 2008. This highly entertaining MMA organisation has promoted and boosted some of the most well-known players in MMA history like Gegard Mousasi, Michael Chandler and Patrício “Pitbull” Freire, just to name a few examples. 

ONE Championship 

Next on our list, is ONE Championship, which is by far one of the largest Asian MMA organisations/promotions. ONE Championship was founded in 2011. This international organisation promotes, MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai organisation and is based in Downtown Singapore. It’s a fare assertion to say that professional cage fighting has been popular in Asian countries well before live events were broadcasted. We’ve actually written an article that explain the Asian and ancient origins of this sport. 

Yet again, we can say that UFC boosted the MMA style fighting that we see today at the ONE Championship events. However, ONE seems to be one of the remaining MMA organisations that doesn’t bombard the viewers with promotions and sponsors. Instead, many ONE fans believe that the fighters and fights are more entertaining. A lot of the fighters use a range of Muay Thai, kickboxing and ancient MMA fighting styles. We have seen some amazing fighters come through ONE Championship, like Eddie Alvarez, Shinya Aoki and Vitor Belfort.  

Invicta Fighting Championships

So, we really have to give a shoutout to Invicta who has worked tirelessly to give these dedicated, talented and equally as brutal fighters an opportunity to demonstrate their fighting prowess. Now, Invicta is a slightly different professional MMA organisation compared to others on our list, because it is an all-women’s MMA promotion. In fact, it is currently largest female Mixed Martial Arts organisation and we have seen some amazing female fighters over the years. This all-female MMA organisation has secured the number one spot for professional female fighters. 

Shannon Knapp has successfully created a dominant female fighting brand. Not to mention, how Invicta has cleverly secured an incredibly strategic partnership with Jewels and Brazilian Combate, which means their events are also broadcasted in South America. We did mention at the start that MMA was made illegal in many countries back in 1997, and there are still some countries where it is illegal to broadcast certain fighting organisations. 

However, Invicta has seemed to use their mental prowess on this one and securing more global exposure for these talented female cage fighters. Plus, it is worth noting that they did have an exclusive UFC Fight Pass, but this came to an end in 2021. Still, we’re really excited to see where Invicta takes this brand next, and we hope to see ore fighters like Christian Justino (who had the longest Featherweight title reign) and Barb Honchak.   

M-1 Global 

Now, M-1 Global is one of the oldest independent MMA organizations (promotions) and is based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Still, it is worth noting that UFC quickly decided to create a partnership with this successful MMA organization. It seems that UFC monitors its competition closely and seems to generate these lucrative deals. Really, it’s understandable that so many people are unaware of the independent status of these organisations, as they might stream the M-1 fights via the UFC platform. 

Well, that’s enough about UFC… So, back to M-1 Global (Mixfight-1 Global), they started out in 1997, first with small professional MMA tournaments. Nowadays they host around twenty events each year. As we’ve said, this organisation is growing to be one of the leading global MMA promotions, so yes, it makes sense for UFC to partner rather than have any competition. Finally, M1 also scouts for the UFC to promote and train some of the best Russian fighters.  

RIZIN Fighting Federation 

So, RIZIN is slightly different to the other MMA promotions on our list; because it was born with the foundations, equality and unity of it’s predecessor, PRIDE. Now, PRIDE was an international MMA promotional organisation, which ran 1997-2007. It’s worth mentioning that PRIDE was actually UFC’s largest competition and rival back in the earlier days of MMA promotions. In a way, it was one of the best professional fighting organisations we have seen, so it’s great that they recreated a new brand. Thus, RIZIN Fighting Federation or RFF was created. The future does look bright for RIZIN, we think that it will be interesting to see if the UFC offers another “lucrative partnership deal” streaming rights. Or, will RIZIN continue to rise independently and become the largest competition for the UFC?  

Final Word 

Well, we have now reached the end of this article, and believe us when we say there are many more professional MMA organisation and promotions that you should check out. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this article and we’ve cleared up a few misconceptions about UFC and MMA. When we were writing this article, it seems apparent that the UFC are very reluctant to give up their total dominance when it comes to being the largest and most well-known international MMA promotion. What do you think? Please let us know in the comments.