What are the best MMA promotions in the world?
Mixed Martial Art (MMA) is one of the oldest sports known to man, and its prominence has been preserved from generation to generation to date.
In recent years, an average of 1.5 million people views fights worldwide, in the allocated venues, via online streams, or through their accredited cable TV channels.
Since the 20th century, MMA promoters and organizations have existed to preserve and popularize the sport.
They function as sponsors to fighters, play a large part in their successes, build upcoming talents, and merge potential stars into legends.
These promotions also organize shows either monthly or quarterly, depending on their size and net worth.
In this article, the top-15 best MMA promotions have been revealed.
These organizations are ranked based on their quality of events and top fighters.
The Best MMA Promotions & Organizations Ranked
15. Cage Warriors Fight Championship (CWFC)
- Founded: 2002
- Headquarters: London, UK
- Top Fighters: Jake Hadley, Jack Cartwright, Morgan Charriere, Agy Sardari, Nathias Frederick
The CWFC was established by Dougie Truman in 2002 and had its headquarters in London, England.
It debuted its 1st event in 2002, themed Armageddon.
The CWFC is usually broadcasted predominantly by UFC FightPass and BT Sports, although it has signed broadcast deals with 18 media firms in 15 countries.
It has hosted 143 events and would be expected to host 4 in the coming year.
Its flagship fighters include Michael Bisping, Conor McGregor, and Bigfoot Silva.
14. Road Fighting Championship (Road FC)
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Wonju-si, South Korea
- Top Fighters: Yang Hae-Jun, Mighty Mo, Lee Jeong-Yeong, Mansour Barnaoui, Kim Min-Woo, Ham SEO-HEE
The Road FC is one of Asia’s most popular and biggest MMA promotions, and it is based in South Korea.
Over the last decade since its founding, the MMA promotion has produced such notable fighters.
Some of such fighters include the American Siala-Mou Siliga, who has won six fights out of his last seven, and Aorigele, dubbed the ‘Heavyweight Supernova,’ who has recorded six wins last seven.
It has signed broadcast deals with a Korean local media firm, MBC Sports, and its fights are streamed on YouTube.
13. Deep International
- Founded: 2001
- Headquarters: Nagoya, Japan
- Top Fighters: Mizuno Tatsuya, Sumimura Ryuchirou, Koji Takeda, Yamitsu Dominator Satoshi
Deep mixed martial arts organization was founded in 2001 and is based in Japan.
It is among the biggest Asian MMA promotions.
Some famous MMA fighters such as Chan Sung Jung and Ryo Chonan started their careers in Deep.
Deep promotion fights can be streamed directly on Abema TV.
12. Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW)
- Founded: 2004
- Headquarters: Warsaw, Poland
- Top Fighters: Phil De Fries, Michal “Magic” Materla, Mamed “Cannibal” Khalidov, Antoni “Antonio” Chmielewski, Lukasz “Juras” Jurkowski
KSW is a Polish-based MMA Promotion that has gained popularity around Europe since its founding in 2004.
It is famous for its fighters’ exchange and is scheduled to host its KSW 59 championship in March 2021.
The fight of the evening at the main event will be a battle between Mariusz Pudzianowski vs Bombardier.
KSW fights can be streamed on KSWTV and YouTube for viewers outside Poland.
Local viewers can watch the bout live on the Polish local TV Polsat Sport.
11. World Fighting Championship Akhmat (WFCA)
- Top Fighters: Rakhman “The Warrior” Dudaev, Abubakar Vagaev, Beslan “Tiger” Ushukov Ahmed Shervaniev
The WFCA is a Russian-based MMA promotion firm boasting about 900 fighters who competed in 754 fights under 70 events.
10. Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA)
- Founded: 2017
- Headquarters: Houston, Texas, US
- Top Fighters: Zviad Lazishvili, Vanessa Demopoulos
- Website: lfa.com
The LFA is an American-based MMA private promotion firm established in 2017 by Ed Soares.
It is regularly broadcasted on AXS TV Fights and can also be streamed on UFC Fight Pass and YouTube.
The LFC has organized over 85 events and has successfully hosted over 715 bouts, the last which was LFA 100, between Altamirano and Smith on February 19, 2021.
For the rest of 2021, several more matches are anticipated; the soonest, LFA 101 – The Undefeated, will occur on March 12, 2021, at Shawnee, Oklahoma, including top fighters AJ. Dobson, Anthony Kalani, Jalin Fuller, Miguel Jacob, Hunter Colvin, etc.
9. M-1 Global
- Founded: 1997
- Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Top Fighters: Sergey Morozov, Nate Landwehr, Roman Bogatov, Shavkat Rakhomonov, Bruna Silva, Khadis Ibragimov, Alexandar Volkov
- Website: m1-global.com
The M-1 Global is a European top-flight MMA promotion firm based in Russia and the most famous in the region.
Fights can be streamed on their website and mobile application.
8. Pancrase
- Founded: 1993
- Headquarters: Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan
Pancrase is a grand MMA organization in Japan with over 25 years of existence.
It was established by 2 Japanese wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki, in 1993.
The establishment has been praised for its unique fighting rules but criticized for its resemblance to wrestling.
Fights from this promotion are being broadcasted on the UFC Fight Pass and locally on the Tokyo MX.
7. Invicta Fight Championships (IFC)
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters: Enka Village, NC, US
- Top Fighters: Alesha Zappitella, Kanako Murata, Vanessa Porto, Julija Stoliarenki, Pam Sorenson
The Invicta Fight Championships is the most popular all-pro female MMA promotion in the world.
It is an American-based organization that has signed broadcast deals with UFC Fight Pass, and fights can also be streamed via YouTube.
The establishment has hosted over 40 events, with the most recent being Invicta 43 between King and Harrison, in November 2020.
6. RIZIN Fighting Federation (Rizin FF)
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Top Fighters: Ayaka Hamasaki, Seo Hee Ham, Shintaro Ishiwatari, Hiromasa Ogikubo, Bob Sapp, Osunaarashi
RIZIN FF is a Japanese MMA private promotion firm established in 2015. The promotion has over 60 fighters and is broadcasted internationally on FITE TV.
It can also be watched on a pay-per-view plan on SKY Perfect TV and can be streamed on YouTube in English through their direct YouTube channel.
5. ONE Championship
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: Downtown Core, Singapore
- Top Fighters: Brandon Vera, Roman Kryklia, Aung La N Sang, Kiamrian Abbasov, Christian Lee, Reinier De Ridder
- Website: onefc.com
The ONE Championship is a Singaporean MMA promotion organization and, in fact, the most prominent promotion firm in Asia.
It has produced big fighters like Brandon Vera and Aung La Nsang.
Fights from the promotion are usually broadcasted on Fox Sports Asia and worldwide on YouTube.
4. AMC Fight Nights
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Moscow, Russia
AMC Fight Nights, formerly Fight Nights Global, is a Russian-based MMA promotion organization in operation since 2010 and founded by Kamil Gadzhiev, which has hosted over a thousand matches in about 100 events.
They previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events.
It held its recent fight in February 2021 under the AMC Fight Nights: Sochi events, featuring Andrey Koreshkov, Adriano Rodrigues, Vladimir Egoyan, Gustavo Erak, and several others.
3. Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)
- Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Grozny, Russia
- Top Fighters: Tony Johnson, Salamu Abdurahmanov, Abubakar Vagaev, Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov, Deivi Daniel Oliveira de Almeida, Azamat Kerefov
- Website: aca-mma.com
The Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian MMA organization founded in 2014.
ACA’s matches are broadcasted on Match TV and can be streamed on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
2. Bellator MMA
- Founded: 2008
- Headquarters: Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, US
- Top Fighters: Ryan Bader, Cris Cyborg, Douglas Lima, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Patricio Pitbull
- Website: bellator.com
Bellator is an American-based MMA organization that was established in 2008 by Viacom.
For some MMA spectators, Bellator MMA is just as entertaining as the UFC.
It is notably among the top-two best MMA promotion presently.
Bellator MMA is broadcasted around the US by Paramount Network as well as internationally on many accredited channels.
1. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
- Founded: 1993
- Headquarters: Las Vegas, Nevada, US
- Top Fighters: Jon Jones, Petr Yan, Alexander Volkanovski, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes
- Website: ufc.com
The UFC is by far the biggest, most popular, and best MMA promotion in the world.
Founded in 1993, UFC is based in the US, and its fights are broadcasted on ESPN, UFC Pass, and many other accredited media firms worldwide.
The UFC has hosted over a thousand matches in over 500 events.
The UFC also boasts of MMA’s most prominent fighters in history, and presently, some of these include Tito Ortiz, Chris Leben, Miguel Torres, and Ken Shamrock, among several others.
Conclusion
Hope you enjoyed our article on the best MMA promotions in the world.
Which organization do you think should’ve made this list?
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