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UFC Doesn't Hide Gambling Ties
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA --
Sports leagues in the United States have long been opponents of organized gambling. But mixed martial arts may be a sport that embraces rather than discards its gambling past.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the best-known of the martial arts sanctioning bodies. The UFC does not have specific rules forbidding even competitors from gambling, and there is a long history of fighters who have bet on themselves, including retired champion Tito Ortiz.
Kimbo Slice and other big-name competitors have risen from a background of illegal street fights, in which wagering is the primary draw. Regulation at even the top levels of the sport is almost non-existent.
The UFC is currently owned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, operators of the Station Casinos, and is based out of Las Vegas. While the Fertittas would be amenable to more regulation, they see gambling on the sport as a major reason for growing audiences.
Following the underground days of the nineties to the sale to the Fertittas for $2 million in 2001 to its present days as a pay-per-view giant, gracing the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine, UFC fights are becoming the fastest growing sports draw in the United States. But, unlike the NFL, mixed martial arts may not hide its gambling connection, but celebrate it.
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