We aim to develop knowledge of how new technology, in this case social media, can contribute to how sports fans interact with their idols. Therefore our framing of a question is to present how fans experience their contact with mixed martial arts (MMA) & ultimate fighting championship (UFC) through social media platforms. To specify our study, we also have a supplement question with in which way sports fans uses social media.We have chosen to conduct a qualitative study consisting of interviews and data observations of websites, related to the organization UFC, to approach our main question. We have interviewed nine randomly selected people with one common interest - MMA/UFC. With an implant of theories, consisting of social media, fandom and lurking, on the result of the interview and website data, we try to come closer to a conclusion for our intention with this thesis.Our conclusion is that the interviewed fans express that through the usage of social media, they feel like they have come closer to UFC. They have developed a deeper knowledge about the sport, the members and other fans that shares the same interest. Most of our respondents have a lurking attitude towards the social media usage, which means that they are more like observers and soak in the information and media material. They are active in the searching of material related to UFC, but they are not active in the way of contributing with comments, discussions or material.

Scholarly research has analyzed how female athletes use their social media platforms and how they are represented in news media coverage. However, no scholarly literature has specifically looked at Ronda Rousey, an American mixed martial artist. The current study used a quantitative content analysis to examine how Rousey has utilized her Twitter account as well as how local and national newspapers in the United States framed coverage of Rousey between 2014 to 2016. For the tweets, content, referring to pictures that Rousey posted, was the most popular category; the second most prevalent category was promotional, referring to tweets that promoted upcoming events or sponsorships. Rousey mainly used her Twitter to post pictures of herself and promote her personal brand. For the newspaper articles, the most frequently used frames were agency, powerless, and goals and ambitions. Two new frames emerged from the current study – fame, referring to Rousey’s film career, and relations, referring to Rousey’s personal life and relationships. The newspapers were predominantly neutral in their coverage of Rousey throughout the three-year study period. This case study is important because it found that Rousey was framed in a way that differed from previous research. The findings in this study demonstrate that Rousey was not marginalized in newspaper coverage or portrayed in a negative manner, as other female athletes have been in the past. Rather than focusing on her appearance or sexuality, the news coverage highlighted Rousey’s success and athletic achievements.

This is an early history of Mixed Martial Arts in America. It focuses primarily on the political campaign to ban the sport in the 1990s and the repercussions that campaign had on MMA itself. Furthermore, it examines the censorship of music and video games in the 1990s. The central argument of this work is that the political campaign to ban Mixed Martial Arts was part of a larger political movement to censor violent entertainment. Connections are shown in the actions and rhetoric of politicians who attacked music, video games and the Ultimate Fighting Championship on the grounds that it glorified violence. The political pressure exerted on the sport is largely responsible for the eventual success and widespread acceptance of MMA. The pressure forced the sport to regulate itself and transformed it into something more acceptable to mainstream America