Art Davie
Published by on November 19th, 2007 in HOF

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Back in 1992, advertising executive Art Davie, looking for some promotional vehicles for a client, happened upon an idea inspired by an article in Playboy magazine that had been written about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Rorion Gracie. After meeting with Gracie, Davie conceived an event where competitors using different styles of fighting and the martial arts would vie against each other to determine which of the styles was supreme. Davie originally called it “War of the Worlds” but later changed the name to the “Ultimate Fighting Championship.”

Davie created the general format of the event, virtually without any road map to go by. He overcame a series of obstacles in getting the UFC off the ground, even some resistance from within the martial arts community itself. He believed in his concept when others – especially those with broadcast and cable networks – did not. He put together a partnership between himself, Rorion Gracie and Bob Meyrowitz of Semiphore Entertainment Group that brought the UFC through its formative stages.

Davie involved himself with nearly every aspect of the UFC’s operation, even recruiting fighters into the inaugural event. he is responsible for finding Pancrase fighter Ken Shamrock and bringing him into the fold. Davie’s enthusiastic approach laid the groundwork for mixed martial arts to become first a successful “cult” event, then a sports accepted by a much wider audience. In the process he drew up a blueprint for all other MMA promoters to follow.

It took guts and imagination to undertake a new sport from scratch. Art Davie walked the tightrope without a net, and survived to tell about it. He is the most important pioneer builder in the sport’s history.