UFC 8

UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

Local promoter for the historical first and only professional mixed martial arts event was Richy Miranda-Cortese, whose company Sports & Entertainment Ltd had to take local Government officials to Federal Court in order to avoid cancellation of the event by the Government.

Among those government officials was Governor Pedro Rosselló and Sports and Recreation Director Erick Labrador.

The presentation of the event developed into a new boxing commission rules and regulations and Imposition of a banning Law that was later overturned after Miranda-Cortese fought it in court.

These protests would spark the nationwide movement against MMA in 1996, spearheaded by Arizona Senator John McCain, which would later temporarily push the sport in the United States underground in 1997.