By JACQUELYNN D. POWERS PORTRAIT: TOMAS MUSCIONICO

Ultimate Fighting takes boxing to the next level--in every way imaginable. Not only does the sport combine many disciplines (boxing, muay thai, jujitsu and wrestling), but it is also edgier, more accessible and more extreme than its predecessor. "Boxing has become what skiing was," says Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). "Your parents used to ski. Now, everyone snowboards. The UFC is like snowboarding and boxing is like skiing. Kids aren't watching boxing anymore." In fact, when the Las Vegas-based UFC tours to a new destination, it often breaks attendance records. "Usually, the UFC is number one and the Rolling Stones are number two," White continues. "We beat out Barbra Streisand in Canada." Fans are attracted to the UFC's mixed-martial-arts style, which has athletes sparring, grappling and kicking simultaneously. It's the ideal distraction for today's Xbox generation.

The UFC began in 1993 as an anything-goes spectacle with an emphasis on blood and gore. "The UFC was created by a bunch of television guys," recalls White, who was not involved in the launch. "They wanted to answer that age-old question of which fighting style was the best. Would a karate guy beat a kungfu guy? Would a wrestler beat a boxer? They produced the first event and it did incredible pay-per-view numbers. It rivaled big boxing events at that time...

For the full story, Subscribe to Vegas Magazine now!