Top 5 MMA Promotions Around The World
Whilst the UFC is universally recognized as the top MMA promotion both nationally and globally, below Dana White’s behemoth of a company there is a lot more debate about rankings, prestige and preferences depending on what you are looking for in an MMA promotion. In this article, we explore the perceived top 5 companies in the world of MMA and establish why they have been so successful in reaching the pinnacle of the ever-growing sport. While each company can boast stars, household names and reliable fighters that dictate consistent MMA betting odds through performances, there are striking (pardon the pun) differences between each organization;
1. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
UFC holds the position one in the world ranking for the top and the best organization which is founded in 1993. Having the headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The organization has been successful in holding a total of 516 matches to date.
UFC has been hosting the events worldwide, in a total of 12 weight divisions where there are eight men and four women. Dana White holds the in charge of the UFC since 2011 and where they host events over the globe. The UFC, as part of the owned sports properties segment of Endeavor’s portfolio, increased revenue 70 percent from $106.6 million in the second quarter of 2020 to $258.9 million in 2021.
The most notable fighters to have competed in the Ultimate Fighting championship organisation are as follows:
- Conor McGregor
- Ronda Rousey
- B.J. Penn
- Matt Hughes
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Stipe Miocic
- Daniel Cormier
- Chuck Liddell
- Frank Shamrock
- Royce Gracie
- Tito Ortiz
- Jon Jones
- Randy Couture
- Anderson Silva
- Vitor Belfort
- Georges St-Pierre
2. Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA stands on position two on the world ranking where the organization founded in 2008. The headquarters of the organization is in Hollywood, California, United States. There are in total of 2540 events held by Bellator MMA.
The organizations consist of the best western mixed martial arts players from North America. Bellator MMA is founded by Bjorn Rebney and doing well on the grounds of being the world’s second-largest. Bellator MMA’s estimated annual revenue is currently $31.4M per year.
The most notable fighters to have competed in the Bellator MMA organisation are as follows:
- Michael “Venom” Page
- Douglas Lima
- Cris Cyborg
- Paul Daley
- Lyoto Machida
- Michael Chandler
- Patrício “Pitbull” Freire
- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
- Ryan Bader
- Gegard Mousasi
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
3. Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)
The Mixed Martial Arts organization founded in 2014 having its headquarters in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. There are a total of 113 events ACA hosted to date and despite its size, only provides an estisted $3.54million revenue stream annually at present.
It is the third-largest organization in Europe where they have nine weight classes, two are the female division of 145lbs, 125 lbs. ACB and the World fighting Championship (WFA) are joining hands and forming one single organization since 2018.
The most notable fighters to have competed in the Absolute Championship Akhmat organisation are as follows:
- Thiago Silva
- Artem Levin
- Brett Cooper
- Zabit Magaomedsharipov
- Albert Tumenov.
4. Fight Nights Global (FNG)
Fight Nights Global establish in 2010 having its headquarters in Moscow, Russia. The Russian organization stands on position four in the world record. It is one of the best MMA organization. The organisation has won several world championship. Annual revenue of the Russian based federation is currently around $73 million.
The most notable fighters to have competed in the Fight Nights Global organisation are as follows:
- Fedor Emelianenko
- Batu Khasikov
- Gasan Umalatov
- Antônio Silva
- ladimir Mineev
- Andrei Arlovski
- Alexander Shlemenko
- Viktor Pešta
- Vitaly Minakov
- Rasul Mirzaev
- Ali Bagautinov
- Shamil Zavurov
- Murad Machaev
- Fábio Maldonado,
5. One Championship
One Championship was founded in 2011. The organization holds on the top five positions in the world with its headquarters in Downtown Singapore. One Championship held a total of 131 events. One Championship’s estimated annual revenue is currently $20.9M per year.
One FC is a Singapore-based organization where they are in the many different forms of Mixed Martial Arts, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and many more. They have the format of ten weight classes where there are four female divisions and five male divisions. The weight cut method of the organization is much healthy than before. After the death of the 21-year-old Chinese fighter in 2015. The organization came up with banning the weight cut by dehydration.
The most notable fighters to have competed in the One Championship organisation are as follows:
- Singya Aoki
- Nong-O Gaiyanghadao
- Aung La Nsang
- Martin Nguyen
- Vitor Belfort
- Bibiano Fernandes
- Ben Askren
- Demetrious Johnson
- Eddie Alvarez
- Sage Northcutt
