Mixed martial arts

Growing mixed martial arts from the Ground up

Drive east along Boston Street, past Canton and the 1st Mariner building and you arrive at the Broom Factory, less than a mile from Interstate 95 on the left-hand side. Resembling an old industrial building from the outside of 3500 Boston St., inside the Broom Factory contains inconspicuous office suites used by a variety of businesses. The second-floor door to one of the suites looks like any other, but step inside and you may be surprised -- instead of an accounting office or small tech company, you'll find the home of Baltimore's mixed martial arts movement, Ground Control Baltimore Academy.

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One-on-one with UFC President Dana White

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White is nothing if not aggressive. Under his stewardship since 2001, the promotion has grown from an underground fight league with very limited mainstream acceptance to an outfit that is now synonymous with mixed martial arts in the United States.

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One-on-one with UFC's Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz will challenge champion Chuck Liddell for the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown on Dec. 30 at UFC 66. A rematch of their April 2004 UFC 47 bout -- which Ortiz lost in the second round -- the fight provides Ortiz with an opportunity to recapture the title that he held for over three years from 2000-2003.

Saturday night at the bar

It's not your typical Saturday night at the local pub.

UFC 65: 'Bad Intentions' preview

Pramit Mohapatra is a mixed martial arts enthusiast – a die-hard fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE professional circuits and an amateur participant – who will be covering the sport for baltimoresun.com. His first report previews tonight's Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 65: "Bad Intentions."

Rick Maese: Ultimate Fighting's popularity may put boxing down for count

I sat ringside for my first boxing match when I was 14 years old. There might have been 100 people in the room, but somehow those droplets of blood chose to fly from the fighter's nose and land on my white shirt. I was infected. Whatever it was about the supposed sweet science, it got me.

Fighting to be the ring leader

When Chuck Liddell first fought in an Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon, he was a 28-year-old bartender with backgrounds in amateur wrestling and karate and a fervent hunger to scrape out a living doing what he loved - fighting.