[1] Since its inception in 1993, the UFC has been the subject of controversies, ranging from moral condemnation of its events by politicians, which resulted in MMA being banned in many US states, to criticism for underpaying its athletes and for criminal behavior committed by its fighters.
[2] David Plotz of Slate reported that critics also found the chain-link fenced octagon that the combatants fought in to be "grotesque" and demanded that ropes be installed instead.
[3][4] In early 1997, McCain became chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which oversees the cable television industry.
TWC, TCI, Request TV, Cablevision Systems, Viewer's Choice, and other major operators stopped airing UFC events, as being too violent for children.
[2] Between 1997 and 1998, the UFC instituted more safety rules, such as imposing weight classes and a "10-point must" scoring system, banning head butts and groin strikes, and requiring fighters to wear martial arts gloves.
[9][10] Northwestern University labor law professor Zev Eigen told the Bleacher Report in 2013, that Eddie Alvarez's UFC contract was the worst he had seen in the sports or entertainment fields; "There's nothing that sets a minimum or basic standard" of pay that the company can not go below.
[11] Eigen called the confidentiality clause prohibiting a fighter from revealing how much they are paid a violation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
[11] In 2016, James Quinn of the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, called Georges St-Pierre's UFC contract "something out of the 1940s" and was "blown away" by how restrictive it was; "They're basically tying him up for life.
"[15] A 2020 poll conducted by The Athletic found that out of 170 mixed martial artists, 79.4% said they were in favor of organizing in a way comparable to the professional unions and associations in other sports.
[13] According to Borris, the UFC is against unionization because "They would have to fund things like medical insurance and pensions, share in the licensing and other revenue streams that they don't want to do.
"[15] The UFC has "vigorously opposed" the efforts of Markwayne Mullin to expand the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which helps protect fighters' interests from promoters, to cover mixed martial artists, including by paying lobbyists.
[17] For years, the company only formally offered medical benefits to fighters on its active roster who suffered immediate injuries as a result of fights.
[19] This specific provision is partly the source of a civil lawsuit brought against the UFC by several of its former fighters that alleges the company exercises monopoly and monopsony power in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Since 2014, the UFC has had deals with specific apparel companies to exclusively provide uniforms that all fighters must wear, limiting the sponsorship opportunities of its athletes.
"[20] Before implementing uniforms, the UFC had a "sponsor tax" requiring businesses to pay them a fee before their logos could be placed on a fighter's apparel.
On August 23, UFC president Dana White announced that Henderson had sustained a partial rupture of his medial collateral ligament and had withdrawn from the fight.
White then announced via press conference that UFC 151 would be the first event in the organization's history to be cancelled, after Jones declined to fight new opponent Chael Sonnen on eight days' notice.
[23] Jackson had advised Jones against accepting the fight with Sonnen on what equated to three days' notice when factoring in weight-cutting and media responsibilities, due to him having a "completely different style" than Henderson.
[29] However, UFC officials who noticed the odd betting warned both fighters about match fixing before the bout, and Bang subsequently decided to fight for real, leading to his win.
[33] On June 4, 2016, MMA Fighting journalists Ariel Helwani, Casey Lyden and Esther Lin were escorted out of UFC 199 before the main event started.
[39][40][41][42][43] Les Carpenter of The Guardian wrote, "By banning journalists in an obsessive desire to control the message, the world's biggest mixed martial arts promotion comes off as petty and small-time.
[47] The UFC 199 incident facilitated the June 2017 formation of the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association, with interim president Dann Stupp stating "Our initial efforts in 2009 never got off the ground, but we're doing this now because it's become increasingly obvious that it's long overdue".
[50] When Nurmagomedov did not leave the bus, McGregor threw various objects, including a long metal crowd control barrier and a trash can, at the vehicle.
[50] When the bus slowly moved to depart, McGregor ran up alongside and threw a metal equipment dolly, smashing one of the windows, before throwing other objects in the vicinity.
[58][59] McGregor later pleaded no contest to a count of disorderly conduct and was ordered to perform five days of community service and attend anger management classes.
[78][80] Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, and Glover Teixeira criticized stripping a champion over half a pound, an amount that is acceptable for non-title fights, as excessive.
However, after Holland and Rodriguez departed, White spoke to members of his public relations staff and security before announcing that the rest of the press conference was cancelled for "everybody's safety".
[89] On December 1, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) banned gambling on any UFC fight due to the alleged incidents.
[93] Mixed martial artist Jeff Molina, who trained with Krause for years, was suspended by the NSAC on December 13, 2022, for being "involved in some substantial way in the gaming scheme".
In stark contrast to other major sports entities, the UFC does not prohibit insiders – such as coaches, managers, handlers and medical professionals – from betting on its fights.