Art Davie | |
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| Born | April 5, 1947[1] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Art Davie (born April 5, 1947) is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles.[2] In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship.[3][4][5] In 1998, Davie, as vice-president of K-1 USA, brought the successful K-1 kickboxing franchise from Japan to Las Vegas and North American pay-per-view television.[6] In 2003, Davie was an executive producer with Mandalay Sports Entertainment. In 2006, he became vice-president of television at Paradigm Entertainment Group.[7] In 2014, Ascend Books published Davie's book, Is This Legal?: The Inside Story of the First UFC from the Man Who Created It.[8] Sean Wheelock assisted in the book's research and writing.
In November 2014, Davie was inducted into the Legends of MMA Hall of Fame, alongside Big John McCarthy, Pat Miletich, Fedor Emelianenko, and Rickson Gracie. On 5 July 2018, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in the Contributors wing.
- ^ "Mma Museum".
- ^ Gentry III, Clyde; No Holds Barred: Evolution (1st edition), page 24, Archon Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-9711479-0-6.
- ^ Curtis, Steve. "Art Davie on the Origins of XARM". Payout. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
- ^ Hester, Todd; Is the Octagon Outdated?, Grappling, July 2002, page 4.
- ^ Hester, Todd; The Art of War, Grappling, January 2002, page 107.
- ^ Iole, Kevin (August 7, 1998). "K1 USA fighters promise fans will get their kicks". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Our Team: Art Davie, Executive Producer". Archived from the original on 2006-07-09. Retrieved 2006-07-07.
- ^ Davie, Art; Wheelock, Sean. Is This Legal?: The Inside Story of the First UFC from the Man Who Created It. Ascend Books. Retrieved June 10, 2015.