The most important event in the history of British mixed martial arts will take place on 27 July 2024 – and in a typically British twist of irony, the majority of the UK public won't be able to stay up to watch. Of course, nocturnal action is nothing new to British fans, with the average UFC experience culminating as the sun begins to come up.
Thankfully, this innocuous schedule disruption is only a small but bitter pill in a feast of MMA action that included some of the greatest assemblages of talent in the history of the British event, which can be easily understood by comparing UFC 304 to its centennial-celebrating predecessor, UFC 204, which took place in Manchester and represented the highest-grossing card of UFC gold ever won in the UK at the time.
card
The 204 main card featured just two British fighters, recently crowned champion Michael Bisping and light heavyweight prospect Jimi Manuwa, who was ranked 14th going into his bout with 11th-ranked contender Ovince Saint Preux. The rest of the main card was a talented but lackluster field of European fighters who, ironically given the height of Euroscepticism in 2016, were unlikely to be commercial blockbusters for the PPV.
Compare this to UFC 304 and it's clear just how much British MMA has grown (both competitively and commercially) in that time. Prior to last-minute changes, there was one British fighter in each main card slot, and all but one (Paddy Pimblett) were ranked in the top six in their division. More importantly, and unprecedented, the card is headlined by two British champions, both of whom will be quick to remind you that they won their belts in British gyms, making the welterweight and heavyweight belts genuine British exports.
To understand this patriotic fervor, several questions need to be answered: what is the state of British mixed martial arts? Where is the homegrown talent coming from? And who has been flying the British flag?
Full of promotions
The first major event in the UK took place at the Royal Albert Hall on 13 July 2002, where the then unbeatable welterweight giant Matt Hughes made a strong defence of his title against Carlos Newton in a night that featured a shocking finish on the main card. This first trip across the Atlantic signalled a desperate sprint to establish a UK-based UFC rivalry following the success at the Albert Hall.
Of course, for the more level-headed, it was truly a marathon, and in the end, Cage Warriors Promotions emerged victorious as a feeder league to the UFC and a true innovator in MMA. Other promotions that were less fortunate (or more foolhardy) were Cage Rage, the counter-cultural, spectacle-oriented promotion that ran from 2002 to 2008, and its badly-bankrupt successor, BAMMA (British Mixed Martial Arts Association).
The latter organisation certainly had a major advantage, as both were instrumental in nurturing the next generation of British talent (Leon Edwards, Paul Daly, Jimi Manuwa, Brendan Loughnane and Tom Aspinall) as well as attracting international stars such as Anderson Silva and Frank Trigg to bolster the reputations of their fledgling organisations.
Though initially rewarded with a lucrative contract with Sky Sports, outdated presentations and abusive post-fight interviews relegated Cage Rage to the short-lived “Nuts Magazine TV,” where it spent the rest of its days riding the wave of early 2000s youth culture. Its successor proved similarly ill-suited to compete with UFC. Though it absorbed most of the Cage Rage members, it bounced around from network to network due to declining viewership and over-promising to sponsors, and its erratic release schedule and inconsequential marketing meant it never really built a consistent fanbase. The strategy has bounced back in recent years with another promotion, this one involving Scott Coker.
Bright glow
Cage Warriors Promotions was founded in 2001 by MMA enthusiast Dougie Trueman, and staged its first major card on that fateful night at the Albert Hall on July 27, 2002. By the turn of the decade the promotion struggled under the pressure of better-known British rivals, and by the time it was bought by Graham Boylan in 2010 its assets amounted to “three cardboard boxes and matchmaker Ian Dean”.
Boylan's ability to use his business acumen and substantial connections to put together a consistent release schedule saw the promotion grow exponentially over the next few years, as the company expanded its influence into Europe and developed the sport's biggest star in history, Conor McGregor.
But all was not well on the surface, with structural problems and budget deficits eating into the promotion's revenues and leading to Cage Warriors ceasing operations at the end of 2015 after Boylan's dramatic departure as CEO at the end of 2014.
Luckily, that decision didn't last long, and Boylan made a comeback in 2016, bolstered by streaming deals with UFC Fight Pass and BT Sport. This continued regularity undoubtedly saved Cage Warriors, giving them the platform that BAMMA and Cage Rage had always eluded. And under new management, Cage Warriors has gone on to greater heights since, most recently expanding its bonus scheme and launching an international “MMA Fight Academy” in search of the next Conor McGregor.
But to appreciate the leap between UFC 204 and 304 is to appreciate the smattering of combat sports gyms that spawned a generation of fighters who took the sports world by storm.
MMA Factory
Founded in 2013, Renegade Gym is at the forefront of MMA in Europe. Its decentralized training approach has produced solid results, no doubt contributing to the blend of effective striking and defensive grappling that has propelled Leon Edwards to the top of the welterweight division. Sources close to the gym describe its daily rhythm as one of camaraderie, and it's no secret that there's a zero-tolerance attitude towards interference from hobbyists or promotional stars.
Such an impressive track record speaks to the great work being done at Renegade, despite a precarious financial situation that saw the loss of its headquarters at the start of the pandemic. But thanks to a stable of professional fighters (Arnold Allen, Fabian Edwards, Jay Herbert and Tom Breese) and a dedicated local fanbase, the gym has come back in a big way, garnering some of the greatest head kick KOs of all time and a 2022 UFC gold medal.
Sadly, such an accolade has yet to be claimed by the Merseyside-based Next Generation academy, another major talent hotbed and home to the infamous Paddy Pimblett-Molly McCann duo. Like the Renegades, Next Generation has deep roots in the community, with a range of classes aimed at Liverpool's youth and a “nerdy vibe” that stretches from beginners to professional players.
In terms of name recognition alone, Renegade certainly has the advantage – at the time of writing, only three UFC fighters have been produced from their next generation – but dig in and a different story emerges: the Merseyside gym is poised to double down on its UFC exports thanks to rising stars such as Liam Gittins (Cage Warriors champion), Luke Riley (signed to the Contender Series) and Shem Rock (favored to main event the Octagon).
Protagonists
For a long time, Michael Bisping was the only British fighter who could truly be called a star. His loud, foul-mouthed, opinionated, high-pressure boxing never captivated fans around the world until his stunning win over Luke Rockhold, but without “The Count,” there would have been little reason for UFC to expand into the UK, as he had long been an acceptable face for a small but promising market.
Other pioneers include Brad Pickett, the long-underrated explosive inside fighter with wins over Demetrious Johnson and Francisco Rivera, and Rosi Sexton, who led the rise of women's mixed martial arts in the UK and deserves to be recognised as a pioneer of women's combat sports globally.
Golden age
When Leon Edwards steps into the cage at UFC 304 it will be the culmination of a revolution that has been driven by countless fighters, coaches, fans and promoters over two tumultuous decades, all of whom deserve credit as we usher in a new era for British mixed martial arts.
