All language subtitles for Dark.Side.Of.The.90s.S02E05.1080p.WEB.h264-BAE

-Let's get it on!

-What is drawing millions
of modern Americans

to the bloody games?

-It's not a sport...
It's barbarism.

-They're being soccer kicked
in the face.

I'm seeing teeth flying out.

-We're going to continue
to fight to make it illegal.

-The brutal and bloody
competition

inside the octagon...

-And this baby's getting good!

-It didn't look like a sport.
It looked like street fighting.

- leaves the UFC battling
powerful opponents

outside of the ring.

-Most people don't want it
in their states.

-Struggling
to stay on its feet...

-The world's most dangerous man!

-Well, they weren't able
to pay me.

-Can't pay the fighters,
you can't have a show.

-The UFC was
in pretty bad shape.

- the UFC gets one last chance
to avoid a knockout.

-Practically down and out,

Ultimate Fighting is trying
to become a legitimate sport.

-I was told we're not gonna
get approved,

and if we're not approved,
then we're done done.

♪♪

[ Dial-up modems screeching ]

♪♪

[ Crowd cheering ]

-In the '90s, U.S. audiences
get their first look

at mixed martial arts.

MMA is a full-contact sport
with fighters each using

their own style
of hand-to-hand combat.

-Medina grabs the leg.

-People were always wondering
like, "Okay, well,

in a real fight,
like, who would win this?

What discipline is the best?"

-The brutal nature
of these cage fights

is both terrifying...
- That's intense, folks.

- and a can't-look-away
display of unbridled violence.

-That's what it's all about.

-This outrageous mix
of competing fighting styles

is the brainchild
of a feisty entrepreneur.

-The only two restrictions...

No biting and no eye gouging.

I'm Art Davie,

and I'm the creator
and founder of the UFC.

-Davie partners with
jiujitsu expert Rorion Gracie

to create an MMA league

known as the Ultimate Fighting
Championship.

-No judges' scores
and no time limit.

-The marketing people
were selling carnage.

They were selling
no holds barred.

They were selling
teeth flying out of mouths.

-But not everyone is buying.

The bloody wars fought
in the octagon

spark political backlash,

spearheaded by
a former war hero...

Arizona Senator John McCain.

-It appeals to the lowest common
denominator in our society.

There's just no place for it.

-All of these states
were starting to come up

with ways of trying
to stop the events.

-Under constant attacks
from government officials,

the UFC's creators
throw in the towel.

After just five tournaments,
Davie and Gracie

sell the company to Semaphore
Entertainment Group founder

Bob Meyrowitz.

-So, Bob made me
a seven-figure offer,

and it was a good
seven-figure offer,

and I said yes.

And then I stayed on
as the UFC commissioner.

♪♪

-The new owner has a plan
to save the business.

-The UFC is back.
The speed, the power...

-Meyrowitz will transform
the UFC into a legitimate sport

by winning over state
legislators and governors,

starting in New York State.

But his plan leads
to one of the fiercest showdowns

in the UFC's history.

-Bob Meyrowitz hired a lobbyist

and he actually got the governor
of New York to sign into law

that MMA was legal.

Hi, I'm "Big" John McCarthy.

I'm known as one
of the original referees

and officials for the UFC.

♪♪

Bob Meyrowitz had agreed
with the politicians

that he would not bring the UFC
into the city of New York

until they were
comfortable with it.

He would go
to the outlying areas.

He would go to Albany.
He would go to Niagara.

♪♪

-True to his word,
Meyrowitz quickly announces

the next tournament, UFC 12,

will take place
in Niagara Falls.

But three weeks
before the event,

there's an unexpected setback.

♪♪

Hearing that New York State
has legalized MMA fighting,

a competing company,
Extreme Fighting Battlecade,

books an event in New York City.

It's exactly
what Meyrowitz promised

the governor of New York
would not happen.

-A real, man-to-man,
all-out war.

-Extreme Fighting says, "We're
going to Madison Square Garden."

The politicians quickly said,
"Whoa, whoa."

Bob Meyrowitz goes, "I'm not
in control of that one."

-It doesn't matter.

News of the event
at Madison Square Garden

sparks a public outcry.

-This is promoting violence

in an already
totally violent society.

-The New York Times
had an editorial

in which they called it
the most barbaric show

in the history of television.

-Organizers at the UFC
are stunned

when New York Governor
George Pataki

suddenly reverses his opinion
on mixed martial arts.

-People call it a sport.
It's not a sport.

It's barbarism.

-We had already sold
several thousand tickets.

At the last minute,
the legislature in New York

decided that they wouldn't
allow this to come.

-With the MMA law
already on the books,

it's the New York State Athletic
Commission that steps in,

just days before the event
in Niagara Falls,

and enacts new rules
for mixed martial arts,

including a requirement
that the 32-foot octagon

be widened
to 40 feet in diameter.

It's an impossible task
on such short notice.

-They're saying these are
what our rules are.

It was a 114-page rulebook.

If you don't follow them,

then yes, your show
is gonna get shut down.

-Semaphore Entertainment
files a last-minute appeal

in federal court, but
it's thrown out by the judge.

The show in Niagara Falls
is canceled.

-That was just brutal.
We all had to load everything.

The octagon, all the gear,
and all the people.

My name is Mark Lucas,
and I was the first

live TV director of the Ultimate
Fighting Championships.

-If organizers have a backup
plan, it hasn't been shared

with the Ultimate Fighters
on the card,

including a one-time amateur
wrestler known as "The Beast."

-You're there, and now
you're not welcome here.

You got to go!

Hello, this is
Dan "The Beast" Severn here.

I'm probably one
of the most decorated

UFC competitors
in their history,

a Triple Crown Champion
from the NHB,

which stands for
no-holds-barred era.

-Dan "The Beast" Severn.
He always looked cool.

I'm Robin Black, and I'm
a practicing martial artist.

I analyze and commentate
fighting all over the world.

Dan looked like
he was from the '70s.

Kind of the hair
and the mustache.

He looked like somebody
you should not... with.

♪♪

-I was a freakish farm boy,
is what I was.

I throw bales of hay around,

I should be able to throw
somebody around.

-Severn's trying for a reversal.

And gets his 2 points.

-I would come at you
with such an onslaught,

and I'd overwhelm most people.

-Doing a nice job trying
to get this turn.

-After failing to qualify for
the 1984 Olympic wrestling team,

a disappointed Severn decides to
try a career in pro wrestling.

♪♪

He easily gets work on the
independent wrestling circuit.

But in the early '90s,

Severn is turned on
to the new competition

gaining favor with fight fans.

-I didn't know that the UFC
even exists.

A friend of mine who watched
the first two,

he copied them
on an old VHS tape.

Viewers of this eventually
will go, "What's a VHS tape?"

♪♪

-Throughout the '90s,
as VHS players arrive

in millions of Americans'
living rooms,

selling and sharing bootlegged
VHS recordings

of movies and other forms
of entertainment is booming.

This underground market helps
build awareness of the UFC.

-Besides that 85,000 or 90,000
that saw it on pay-per-view,

there were 300,000 VHSes
being sent all over the world.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-He showed them to me
and he says,

"You ought to think about
doing this."

So I watch it, I'm seeing
some of these athletes,

they're being soccer kicked
in the face.

I'm seeing teeth flying out.
I thinking, you know...

I said to him,
"I'll give it a try."

-Art Davie, the co-creator

of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship

and its chief matchmaker,

is impressed by Severn's
wrestling experience.

And in 1994, he puts
the fighter on the card

for the UFC's fourth tournament.

-Now, did I tell
a single family member?

No!

[ Crowd cheering ]

My kids simply knew that...

Dad worked every weekend.

-Severn continues to work.

Takes an elbow to the head.

-I didn't want them to worry.

-Again, you see,
steps up too hard...

-It's an astonishing debut.

Severn then goes on to win
not one but three championships,

including a beatdown
of the UFC's biggest superstar,

Ken Shamrock.

-Ka-kush!

When are you gonna...
Ka-kush!

Going to... ka-kush!

Tap?

Ka-kush!

♪♪

[ Laughing ] I'm the guy that,

I'm gonna grab you
by the scruff of the neck

and I'm gonna shove your face
into the cow pie of reality.

-As Severn prepares to capture
another championship

in Niagara Falls,

it's the UFC itself that is put
into a political chokehold.

With the event officially
prohibited in New York,

critics hope the Ultimate
Fighting Championship

is down for good.

They soon learned the UFC can
take a punch and keep fighting.

-They had an alternate location
in Alabama...

Dothan, Alabama.

God knows everybody knows
where Dothan, Alabama, is.

-I tried not to get caught up
in any of the bullshit.

I have to compete.

-When we land in Dothan,

it was probably
like 2:00 in the morning,

and some guys went right
to work right there.

-With less than 24 hours
before the opening bell,

there isn't even time
to sell tickets.

It's kinda like going...
Open doors,

whoever wants to come in
and watch us...

I mean, it just... they were
up against a lot of things.

-Amidst a torrent of controversy

that runs deeper
than Niagara Falls,

it's the Ultimate Fighting
Championship.

-The following night,
as the lights go up

on the octagon
in the Dothan Civic Center,

the UFC comes off the mat.

♪♪

-The city of Dothan came out
in droves to watch.

The place was packed.

All the people, the fans,
they knew what was going on

and they supported
what the UFC was trying to do.

They supported the fighters.

Vitor Belfort was a brand-new
fighter that no one knew.

-Lands a right to the head.

Another! Another!

That's it!

That's it. It's over.

-And he put on just, you know,
a blazing performance

and winning
the heavyweight tournament

and just all these things
that happened.

-Things including the debut
of the UFC's newest commentator.

-Unbelievable victory.

-Comedian Joe Rogan
is handpicked

by Semaphore Entertainment's
marketing guru.

-I brought him in for UFC 12.

So he got thrown
right into the fire.

Hi, I'm Campbell McLaren.

I'm the co-founder of the UFC,

and now I run a great company
called Combate Global.

-Folks, it's gonna be
a barn burner.

-We were having trouble
finding announcers,

and I felt we needed someone
for more lighter moments.

You know, I had a background in
doing comedy TV, so I knew Joe.

-You're disturbing my erection.
Please leave the room.

I'm watching the nice girl
in the program.

[ Gibberish ]

-And he did great.
He's just a great talent.

-Anything we need to know,

as soon as I find out,
you'll know.

Back to you guys.

-But not everyone has
such a great night.

-And that's it.

-Coleman's got him!

Coleman choked him...

-Dan Severn loses his
much-anticipated Superfight

to three-time UFC champion
Mark Coleman

-And there is the mutual respect

shown by two great
American wrestlers.

-It's Severn's final
Ultimate Fighting Championship

of the '90s.

-Nobody lasts forever,

in no matter what
professional-level sport

that you go into.

I've had
one hell of a ride, but...

who says I'm done?

♪♪

-The future of the UFC
also remains a question.

It may have won the battle
against New York,

but its war with athletic
commissions and state officials

across the country continues.

-We're going to put in place
the most stringent

regulations possible.

-Just weeks after the UFC
is forced out of Buffalo,

Governor Pataki
signs a new bill into law

that bans no-holds-barred events
from the state of New York.

-There was starting to become
a backlash of,

"Oh, these guys are... you know,
they're pirates out there.

They think that
they're untouchable."

'Cause at the time,

the UFC was kind of running
from regulation.

-The reason why most people
don't want it in their states

is that they are repulsed by it.

-Anywhere that had regulation,
we can't go there.

-They were constantly
in and out of court,

no matter where we went.

I'm Ken Shamrock,
former UFC heavyweight champion

and former Pancrase champion.

A lot of money being spent

trying to keep
this thing rolling.

And Bob Meyrowitz was the one

that was, you know,
heading that up.

Well, he wasn't able to pay me.

When that happened,
I had to make a choice

of whether or not
I would stay in the UFC.

♪♪

-It's just a matter of time
in Ultimate Fighting

before one opponent damages
the other very severely,

up to and including death
within the ring.

-In 1997, the Ultimate
Fighting Championship

continues to be attacked

by politicians
and the mainstream media.

-It's dangerous, certainly
to the participants,

but it's more dangerous
to us as a society

to glorify or pay people
who engage in this activity.

-This story is about us.

What is drawing millions
of modern Americans

to the bloody games?

[ Cheering ]

-But its reputation
as an outlaw organization

perpetually on the run
from state regulators

helps fuel a rising fascination
with the sport.

-It was hardly, like,
underground.

We were everywhere.

-So, listen, um, my friends were
telling me a little bit about

this, um,
Ultimate Fighting thing.

-You know, we were in
two episodes of "Friends."

-Believe me, I don't want to get
hurt, either.

-When Jon Favreau, who's playing
Courteney Cox's boyfriend,

decides to join the UFC.

-Let's get it on!

-[ Grunts ]

Ugh!

-Cover of Mad magazine.

We were super mainstream,
super mainstream.

-Mainstream or not,

the cable companies
that carry the sport

face increasing
political pressure

to drop the UFC from
their pay-per-view services.

-Back then,
cable's dirty little secret

was about one-third of their
revenue was coming from porn.

There wasn't the Internet,
right?

It was a different time.

So, there was rumblings
in Congress

that Congress was gonna look
at the adult programming.

And cable goes,
"Well, we don't want

to give that up, 'cause
that's, like, serious money.

Let's turn off the UFC
and see if they like that."

-The head of
the Senate committee

that oversees the cable industry

is none other than John McCain,
the UFC's archnemesis.

He raises no objections

when major cable operators
unilaterally cut off

their customers' access
to UFC content.

Tens of millions of potential
pay-per-view customers

vanish in an instant.

-We were in major decline.

We were only on satellite,

which at that time
maybe had 10% of global homes.

So we, you know,
lost 90% of our audience.

-The UFC also loses
one of its biggest stars.

-Ken Shamrock was getting
courted by the WWF at the time.

-He left home at the age of 10

and lived in his car
when he was a teenager.

He learned to fight
on the streets.

-Vince McMahon is there,

and Vince offered him
a lot of money.

He's a good-looking guy and
he was very popular at the time.

So, you know,
he stepped away from the UFC.

-I had kids, I was married,

so I was supporting my family
through fighting.

There's one thing
that I've done all my life,

and that's fight.
[ Crowd cheers ]

If I could do it right,
I would be able to showcase

my submission skills
and all the things that I did

as a fighter
in the pro wrestling ring.

-Oh, he'll make... Oh!

But you... you don't...

Look at that.
Right in that arm bar.

Taking him right down.

-Ken arrives at the WWF
at the perfect time

during the so-called
Attitude Era.

-And a catapult!

Ugh!

Throws him like a javelin!

-The company is moving away

from its traditional
family-oriented programming

in favor of edgier,

more physical
and controversial content,

courting the same young
male demographic

as the Ultimate
Fighting Championship.

-This is a conscious effort
on our part

to open the creative envelope,
so to speak,

in order to entertain you
in a more contemporary manner.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-Luckily for me, it worked out.

-Shamrock is an animal.

And McMahon's enjoying
this, too!

Nowhere for The Rock to go!

-Ken's departure is a huge loss
for the UFC,

leaving it in need
of a new lucky shamrock

to help them fill the void.

Fortunately, Ken's adoptive
brother is waiting in the wings.

-My name is Frank Shamrock.

I'm the first-ever
UFC middleweight champion.

They call me "The Legend."

-Like his brother Ken,

Frank's early years
are troubled and tumultuous.

-I left home
when I was 11 years old.

I grew up in a home of abuse.

And so I learned
to commit crimes

to get out of my home
and other situations.

-And just like Ken,

Frank is taken in by
Bob Shamrock's ranch for boys

in Susanville, California,

and is eventually adopted
by Shamrock.

-Bob Shamrock is the first
father figure

and man in my life,
and he gave me great advice...

You know, build your body,

build your mind,
build your spirit.

-But at 18, Frank isn't ready
to hear Bob's guidance

and returns
to life on the street.

-I was on a crime spree...

A literal, straight crime spree
every day.

I was charged with 20
felony counts of burglary,

stolen property, grand theft,

larceny,
everything you can imagine.

-Frank is placed in California's
maximum security

Folsom State Prison,

where the 18-year-old
quickly learns how to survive.

♪♪

-3 1/2 years
of nothing but lifting weights

and stretching and focusing

and studying bodybuilding
and biomechanics.

You know,
I was incredibly strong.

Nobody ever punked me
or got over on me.

And many, many people tried.

I guess the lesson is
if you wanna be a great fighter,

go to prison for a few years.

-In 1993, Frank completes
his sentence.

Now 21 years old, he's finally
ready to listen to Bob's advice.

-Bob Shamrock met me
at the gates of Folsom Prison

and said, "Here's the deal."

UFC had just started.

And Ken, my brother,
he'd already been in UFC 1.

Everything was exploding
in popularity.

And so, you know, Bob,
being the dad, was like,

"This is the natural course
for you, if you can get

your life together,"
and then the next day,

he dropped me off
at the Lion's Den.

-The Lion's Den
is a training facility

that Ken creates during
his early days at the UFC,

where he readies a new team
of elite mixed martial artists.

Bob wants Frank
to be one of them.

-My dad loved him
and spoke highly of him

and wanted me to mentor him,

and that was enough for me.

I would do
whatever my father wanted to do

to take care of him.

-He absolutely did not
want me there.

-He had long hair
down to his butt.

And I don't care who you are...
When you go into prison,

you come out with an attitude.
That's just... you have to.

I treated him hard.

-Ken beat the living shit
out of me.

♪♪

-When you're in the Lion's Den,
you got no favoritism.

And so I did what I did
because he had to respect me.

-It's a brutal initiation

that drives a wedge
between the two Shamrocks.

-Ken and I became brothers
later in life,

so we didn't have
that youth bonding,

you know, that childhood thing
that gets really close.

And all of our personal issues
got in the way

of what could have been
and should have been

just a healthy relationship,
you know, brother relationship.

-But Ken's tough love turns
his hardworking brother

into a contender.

Following in his brother's
footsteps,

Frank starts his
mixed martial arts career

at Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
in Japan.

But Frank is reluctant to follow
Ken into Ultimate Fighting.

-The UFC was Wild W...
There were no rules.

People were just
getting jacked up.

It didn't look like a sport.

-He's gotta break that hold that
he choked himself out of.

-Honestly, I was terrified.

It looked like street fighting.

-Now making his UFC debut...

-But I'd met Art Davie, and we'd
started talking about the UFC

and he sold me on it.

Art was a great salesman.

-...please welcome
Frank Shamrock!

-The middleweight division.

Shamrock and Jackson
now under way.

-And then, you know,
when I fought Kevin Jackson,

it was like beating a child.

-Go right now, right now!

-Devastating knee.

Oh, and there's a submission
on Jackson.

Over already!

Frank Shamrock!

-Frank is brought in
just as the UFC

is introducing weight classes
to the tournaments.

-The first-ever
middleweight champion

in the UFC.

It took just 22 seconds.

-It's a Guinness World Record.

And that's when I realized like,

"Wow, I am way ahead
of everybody out there."

-Frank is on track to be
the most devastating

Ultimate Fighter
in the league's brief history.

But when the UFC loses
the cable companies,

he wonders if there will even be
a league for him to dominate.

-You can't lose 90%
of your revenues and audience.

Just, you can't.

You know, as I'm stepping
onstage to be a champion,

it's all dying
and falling apart.

-Despite the ongoing controversy
surrounding the UFC...

-Critics say Ultimate Fighting
is a vicious,

bloody spectacle
only masquerading as a sport.

- it continues to attract new
contenders to the tournament.

- Let's get it on!
- And we're looking at

a big size difference here...
- At UFC 13,

a last-minute alternate
brings a new level

of combat skills
to the octagon...

-Couture trying to sink
the choke on that big neck.

- and goes on to win

the evening's
heavyweight championship.

-Randy Couture!

-Randy Couture is viewed,
quite rightly, as a pioneer.

-Punch by Couture.
Looking to move.

-Over his career, Couture
will blend wrestling, boxing,

and jiujitsu like no other
MMA fighter...

- Oh!
- There's a takedown.

-...revolutionizing the practice
of mixed martial arts.

-He chose to charge.

All I had to really do
was change levels.

He walked right into
the double leg.

-Couture continuing to punish...

-With the Couture era,

there came a level
of athleticism that was just,

you know, the next level.

That was the whole era
of Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman.

These guys were monsters.

-Mark Kerr quickly going
after his opponent,

Greg "The Ranger" Stott.

The Ranger goes down.

-These fighters dropping bombs
out of the sky.

And it was known as ground...
Take you to the ground...

And pound...
Pound the... out of you.

Ground and pound.

-The UFC's finances are also
taking a serious beating,

now that cable companies
have pulled

the Ultimate Fighting
Championship

from their services.

-Budget cuts happened right away

as soon as we lost
our major carriers.

In fact,
when I fought Jeremy Horn...

-Here we go.

The middleweight title
on the line.

-...we didn't have money for
a complete pay-per-view show.

-This is about to be
the longest fight

of Frank Shamrock's career.

-So, I fought the first fight
of the night...

We recorded it,
never told anybody about it.

-And this baby's getting good!

-And then we sold that fight

along with other
champions' fight

in a pay-per-view
called Night of Champions.

We were trying to get creative

and do whatever
we could to keep it going.

-Everything became cheaper.
They wanted to renew...

renegotiate my price.

I thought, "Do I want to do this
for the rest of my life?"

So I never worked
for them again.

How many times can I get
close-ups of an open wound,

I mean, and play it back
in slow motion?

Eh. Alright.

-It was tough all around,
financially.

-Seems as if, that Shamrock
has fell into some disfavor

with some WWF fans, but...
- [ Screaming ]

-The UFC's dwindling profits
led to Ken Shamrock's exit.

But just one year
into his new job,

the WWF is proving to be more
than he bargained for.

-I thought that when I went into
pro wrestling I'd be home more

'cause I didn't have
to train as much, right?

That wasn't true.
I was actually gone more.

I was not happy.
I didn't want to be there.

My marriage is crumbling.

I was getting farther
and farther away from my kids.

-Ken also indulges in the kinds
of behavior that will bring down

many professional wrestlers
in the Attitude Era.

-Everything coming at me,
and beautiful women,

drinks on the house.

You're sitting there
and you're like,

"Yeah, okay. Why not?
It can't hurt me."

It's like, "I'm just doing it
for a short time.

I'm just having fun."

Almost takes your soul away,

like you're not
the same person you are,

and people see it.

They look at you and think,
"Well, you're...

You're slowing down,
you're getting older.

You're not the fighter
you used to be."

-As Ken's skills deteriorate,
so do his fortunes at the WWF

as they begin writing new,
less favorable storylines

for the former Ultimate Fighting
champion.

-[ Shouting ]

-And there's a DDT!

-I was starting to get beat
all the time,

which was really hurting
the Ken Shamrock brand.

Ken Shamrock,
the Ultimate Fighter.

- Well, he's...
- Oh, man!

-He's gonna go down.

-The world champion in Pancrase,

the world champion in the UFC

is now going to be damaged

because now they're starting
to beat me on a regular basis.

-With heavy hockey equipment on.

-I couldn't let that happen,
because I worked too hard

to get to where I was at.

And so that's when I made
the decision

that I was gonna leave.

-But leaving the WWF
only deepens Shamrock's feelings

of isolation and depression.

-There was a time
I wasn't fighting

and I wasn't doing the WWF

and I was hanging out
and I was separated.

I remember ecstasy was a form
of a pill that I could take

that would put me
in this euphoria.

I would feel good.
I could drink, have fun.

I was literally trying to bury,
I guess,

the... the insecurity
and the loneliness.

♪♪

-Once your purpose

is taken away from you
as a professional athlete,

there's a lot of damage
to your body,

but it's also very demanding
on the psyche.

-I had this house that
overlooked the San Diego Stadium

where the Chargers used to
play at and the Padres play.

So when you walked out
on the balcony,

you'd see out over the stadium.

I was friends with a lot
of the guys that ran the club,

some bikers... don't want
to mention the names...

And they ran the girls
in the strip club in San Diego.

So, all the girls at 2:00
or 2:30 in the morning,

when they'd get off
their shifts,

they would come over
to my house.

♪♪

We had a stripper pole
in the middle of my floor.

We had a Jacuzzi in my bedroom
that was marble.

I had this bed that had mirrors
that went from one ceiling

all the way around.

It was a Playboy mansion.

It became this weekend thing,

and all of a sudden
it turned into five months.

♪♪

I didn't care.
I just literally...

The next day
was all I looked at.

I didn't have a future.

It got to this point to where
I felt like it was over.

-As Ken hits rock bottom,

the MMA league
that made him a star

is also imploding.

-I did the most amazing things
in this sport,

in the smallest audience
we've ever had.

I was like, "No, we can't.
We got to fix this."

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-But by the middle
of the decade,

the violence inside
and outside the squared circle

reaches a new level
of brutality.

-He can barely stand up.

-A 1996 match at New York's
Madison Square Garden

devolves into a riot,
injuring 22 people.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

One year later, Mike Tyson
achieves a new level of infamy

after chomping down
on Evander Holyfield's ear.

-And it's really getting
very nasty.

Some other people
are trying to join in.

-But somehow,
the so-called sweet science

manages to duck
the political fistfight

that hammers the UFC
for most of the decade.

-Holyfield bit
by a dirty Mike Tyson!

Lane signaling that it's over.

-Two times!

-Look out now!

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-Arizona Senator John McCain

is adamantly opposed
to Ultimate Fighting,

even though
he's a big fan of boxing.

-You can't have a sport

where you allow
blows to the brain stem

in order to paralyze
your opponent.

-Senator McCain came out
against this very aggressively.

-John McCain said at the time,

"I believe in boxing."
He was a boxer.

He would be at boxing events
all the time.

-There was a lot of speculation

about why he may have been
so adamant

and so opposed to the UFC.

-His family, his wife, you know,

they were part of a distribution
company with Budweiser beer,

who was the biggest sponsor
for boxing at the time.

-And now Budweiser presents
the main event!

-It was Budweiser beer.
So he had his reasons.

-Whatever his reasons,
the attacks by McCain and others

are crippling the UFC
financially.

-UFC was in pretty bad shape,

you know, and I am no longer
being consulted

on any part of the business.

-Bob Meyrowitz and I

had become friends,
and he just sat me down.

He's like, "Listen, you know,
here's the problem.

We got to get back on cable."

So that became my mission.

I became the first talent
spokesman that would go meet

with all the cable companies
and try to get us back

onto cable
to get us back to where we were.

-As Frank is attempting
to save the UFC,

his brother Ken is trying
to save himself.

-I never used drugs
because I had to...

I used drugs
because I wanted to.

Till I got to a point to where
I just said, "No more.

I'm done."

And I didn't want
to be with girls,

I didn't want to be with people.

I wanted to be alone.

-An old friend from his days
at Bob Shamrock's ranch for boys

gives Ken a new lease on life.

-Once I got with Tonya,
none of this stuff was a factor.

None of it.

I've known her since I was
in the group home,

so she's known
all my dark secrets,

my skeletons in the closet.

And she was going
through a divorce.

We kind of just clinged
onto one another.

We were always friends.

When we got together,
it gave me a purpose.

It gave me someone
who cared for me,

truly understanding
what I needed, and was strong.

You got to have somebody
that's gonna stand up and say,

"You know where that's gonna go.

Don't do it.
I'm not gonna let you do it."

-As Ken builds a new family life
for himself,

his brother Frank's ties
to the UFC family

are stronger than ever.

Frank even works with owner
Bob Meyrowitz

to try and save the organization
from a financial disaster.

-A big block from the outside.
Frank with an uppercut.

-I knew Bob was hurting
for money.

I knew he was
paying for it himself.

You know, the money was coming
from somewhere, and it was Bob.

-Practically down and out,

Ultimate Fighting is trying
to become a legitimate sport.

-I spoke at the Nevada Athletic
Commission with Bob Meyrowitz

when he was trying to get Nevada

to give us a license
for mixed martial arts.

I presented right there with
him... "This is what we are,

this is what we do,
please consider us."

And then we were supposed
to have a follow-up one,

which was our application
and all that stuff.

-Winning a Nevada license
is far from a sure bet,

but if successful, it could turn
around the finances

at Semaphore Entertainment
and save the UFC.

-In this world of ours,
Las Vegas, Atlantic City...

that's the bar of credibility
in the fight game.

So we feel that when we start
doing shows in those places,

we will be respected
for the sport that we are.

-But the application with
the Nevada Athletic Commission

is suddenly in jeopardy.

-The lobbyist calls Bob as we're
having dinner and says,

"Hey, you can't take it
to the commission.

It's not gonna pass.
Someone has changed their mind.

Don't bring it
before the commission.

It'll slow it down forever
in getting legalized."

-I was told
we're not gonna get approved,

and if we're not approved,
then we're done done.

And we backed out.

-It's a crushing blow
to the organization.

UFC manages to cobble
together another tournament.

And inside the octagon,

Frank Shamrock
can still put on a show,

even if it marks the end
of the UFC.

-Undefeated, undisputed...

-In 1999, Shamrock defends
his middleweight championship

at UFC 22 against newcomer
Tito Ortiz.

-Let's get it on!

-I am tingling here.
I love both these athletes.

It's gonna be hard
to pick a winner.

-It's one of the UFC's classic
fights of the '90s.

- Third round.
- Third!

[ Cheering ]

-15 seconds.
Working Ortiz still.

- And he's down.
- And it is over!

-You know, I was a rock star.

-What a gutsy performance
by the champ!

-But I was afraid to get hurt.

You know, I was terribly afraid
to get hurt.

And I hurt people, you know.

Look at Igor Zinoviev.

He never fought again.

And I heard his neck and
collarbone and shoulder breaking

when I slammed him.

This is a job you get in
to get out of

as soon as you can.

[ Crowd cheering ]

-Let's have a big hand...

-After two years

as the undefeated
middleweight champion,

Frank decides
to retire from the UFC.

-This is your belt, my friend.

If you want to retire it,
you take it home with you

because you earned it
more than anybody else ever has.

The greatest champion
in our history.

- Thanks, Bob.
- Losing one of its biggest stars

couldn't come at a worse time
for Meyrowitz.

The UFC continues
to bleed money,

and he has run out of options.

-I know Bob was trying
to sell it,

and then all of a sudden,
up popped, you know, Dana White.

-Dana was the manager
of Tito Ortiz

and was trying to get Tito
a new contract

and Bob couldn't pay him.

He says, "You know, I don't have
that kind of money."

And he realized... he goes,
"These guys are in trouble.

They would sell."

-What begins as a contract
negotiation over one fighter

turns into an existential moment
for the entire UFC.

Soon, the reign of Bob Meyrowitz

and the no-holds-barred era
will come to an end,

and the Ultimate Fighting
Championship

will change forever.

-By the decade's end,

Bob Meyrowitz's
Ultimate Fighting Championship

is teetering close
to bankruptcy.

Seeing a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity,

manager Dana White approaches
Las Vegas casino owners

Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
with the idea of buying the UFC.

The three partners return
to Meyrowitz with an offer.

♪♪

-Bob was looking for a partner,
and he wanted Lorenzo

to be his partner,
and Lorenzo said,

"I'll buy the whole thing
or I'll buy nothing."

And you go,
"Oh, you dirty bastards."

But that's... that's business.

-Bob always believed.
You know, he saw it

and he's like,
"Yes, this is... this...

There's something very special
about this."

But he couldn't hang onto it,
I think, just financially.

I just think it was too much.

-In January of 2001,
Bob Meyrowitz sells

his beloved sports franchise
to the Fertitta brothers'

newly formed company Zuffa
for $2 million.

And manager Dana White
gets a new title.

-And joining me now, Dana White,

president of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship.

Dana, congratulations
on your first show.

That's got to feel good.
- Thank you very much, James.

I appreciate it.
We're very excited.

-He knows so much
what the audience wants

and has so guided the UFC
to where it is.

-Basically, what we want to do
is we want to make this

the Super Bowl
of mixed martial arts.

-State regulators spent years
trying to take down the UFC,

but the new owners
are well-funded

and know how to play politics.

Lorenzo Fertitta
is a former member

of the Nevada State
Athletic Commission

and quickly secures
the sanctioning

Meyrowitz desperately needed
from the commission

but never received.

A return to cable pay-per-view
soon follows.

-I gave a lot of credit
to the Fertitta brothers,

who had brains, money, and balls

and came in,
invested $50 million,

and got it sanctioned
in New York, California,

New Jersey,
the provinces in Canada.

-As Zuffa stages a huge comeback
for the UFC, it coaxes

one of the sport's pioneers
back to the octagon.

In 2002, the now-legendary
Ken Shamrock

faces off against Tito Ortiz
in a highly publicized match.

-Many, many lesser men
would've tapped out long ago.

-I fought Tito even though
I was past my prime

'cause I felt like
this was my legacy.

-Ken suffers a shocking loss.

- They're gonna stop the fight.
- Wow!

-It is all over.

-But the grappler's return
is a win for White

and the Fertitta brothers,

the event nearly doubling
the pay-per-view numbers

of their previous tournaments.

-And now coming to the octagon,

the world's most dangerous man!

-The following year, Ken and
his chief rival, Royce Gracie,

become the first inductees
into the UFC's Hall of Fame.

-I thank you very much
from the bottom of my heart.

God bless, and we'll see you
back in the ring!

-It's a moment of triumph
for both Ken and the UFC.

But as the sport
is becoming bigger than ever,

Ken and his brother
are forced to say goodbye

to the man
who transformed their lives.

-Bob Shamrock ran those homes

and created
that family structure,

and it was wonderful for us,

but for him,
he didn't take care of himself

and eventually that led to
diabetes and then heart failure,

and then he had a series
of heart attacks and problems.

Then he moved in with Ken,

and Ken was really
looking after him.

-I truly believe that we were
able to put him back

in a comfortable state of mind.

♪♪

-I mean, he really
changed my life.

♪♪

I just loved him so much.

♪♪

[ Sniffles ]

-Since then, the two brothers
have learned

to put the past behind them.

-There was a lot of things that
happened that caused Frank

to... to probably be angry.

Um, and not that
it was anybody's fault.

It was just
the way things happened.

-From a healing standpoint,
we were able to both

move through, you know, what
had happened and our roles in it

and kind of get back
to being brothers again.

And that's where we're at now.
You know, where he's my brother.

♪♪

-Throughout the 2010s,
the UFC's popularity surges,

surpassing
the pay-per-view numbers

of both boxing and the WWE.

♪♪

-♪ There is no substitute ♪

♪ For the ultimate
is what's in store ♪

-The new owners even finance
a reality show

that introduces millions
of Americans to the sport.

-Do you want to be
a [bleep] fighter?

That is my question.

-After a nearly 20-year ban
on the sport,

New York State legalizes
mixed martial arts.

Even Senator John McCain
eventually endorses the UFC.

-They have cleaned up
their act enormously.

Actually, this Ultimate Fighting
now is...

Isn't a heck of a lot different
from boxing.

-But it's an unprecedented
deal in 2016

that makes headlines
around the world.

-Some big news to tell you about
at the cross-section

of business
and sports this morning.

-The UFC announced Sunday night
that the company had been sold.

-And has just clinched
a $4 billion sale.

It's the biggest ever
in professional sports.

-Is this the happiest birthday
yet, after making $4 billion?

-[ Laughs ]

It doesn't suck.
[ Laughter ]

-It's an astounding price tag
for a sports league

that its founders
originally sold off

for a reported
seven-figure deal,

a fraction of
its current value today.

-I knew it was the right
decision to make,

and I had no regrets.

I really didn't do this
for money.

-And now a very proud member
of UFC Hall of Fame,

the great Art Davie.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-You've made a 71-year-old man
pretty happy.

God bless you all.

-Look, that's the guy that
actually came up with the idea.

He's the guy that actually
was able to put

the right people together.

He deserves a ton of credit.

-I remembered seeing a billboard
and I looked at that billboard

and thought, "You know,
I'm like a divorced father now.

Somebody else is raising my kid,

but they're doing
a goddamn good job of it."

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Today, the UFC is huge
and it employs thousands

and entertains tens of millions.

It is one of the largest sports
properties on planet Earth.

This '90s era, it was ugly
and it was imperfect,

but it was innovative
and it was new.

-Can you outthink?
Can you overthink?

-I literally looked at it
as a game of chess,

a physical game of chess
where checkmate is gonna hurt.

♪♪

-You see the poetry of somebody
overcoming fear

and anxiety and pain
to be victorious.

-Let's get it on!

-Combat is a part
of the human experience.

-'92, '93...
There's no schools that do this.

This didn't exist.

It was no holds barred,
anything goes.

And for us to be able
to be a part of that

and change the culture
was awesome.

I feel like I can fight
through anything

and I will eventually win.

I always feel that.
That's my heart, that's my soul.

And I will always believe that,
till the day I die.

♪♪