UFC Fight Night 281 – Prelims will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026. You can catch all the live MMA action exclusively on Paramount+! The sport’s premier organization delivers a world-class fight card featuring elite competition.
The UFC was founded in 1993 by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie, with Bob Meyrowitz also central to the original launch structure through SEG. In 2001, Zuffa acquired the struggling company and put Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta III, and Dana White at the center of its rebuild, which is the ownership turning point that changed the sport’s business future. The UFC is the dominant global MMA brand, but its deeper historical importance is that it helped turn mixed martial arts from a fringe spectacle into a regulated mainstream sport. It is not just a promotion; it is the central institution in modern MMA history.