"When I first started, we were averaging five fights a year," White says. "Last year, we had 19. This year, we're looking at somewhere between 23 and 25. We're opening an office in London. We're continuing to grow, and our programming is getting stronger. It's because people like our product."

That is largely due to the fact that UFC has built its fighters into personalities. UFC uses The Ultimate Fighter (as well as other programming) to create names and build brands. They may need to work on their nicknames (they have fighters called the Hungarian Nightmare and the People's Warrior), but despite that, UFC has big-time talent whom people pay to see. Rich Franklin. Matt Hughes. Forrest Griffin. Chuck Liddell. Tito Ortiz. These are fighters whom fans not only know but also adore, and there are more of them. (Come up with five big-name boxers right now, and then ask yourself if you'd pay to see them. Didn't think so.)

Those who cover the sport and those who attend are proof of UFC's pop-culture relevance, that the fighters and the fights are significant now. Outlets that wouldn't have even mentioned UFC five years ago now regularly write about it, including the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, the Miami Herald, et al. The big Mike Tyson fight used to be the draw of the year in Vegas. Now Tyson himself attends UFC events. So do Shaq, Tim Duncan, Paris Hilton, and Leonardo DiCaprio. At one fight, I went to the bathroom and stood next to Lee Majors. The Fall Guy!

"Look," White says, "you can go to a Lakers game, but you're never going to meet Kobe. You can go to a football game, but you're never going to meet your favorite player. This sport is accessible. That's what we're selling. I guarantee you that if you come to one of our fights or to a weigh-in, you're gonna get an autograph or a picture with your favorite fighter. And we're gonna keep it that way."