Yes, John McCain tried to ban the sport of MMA in 1995 while being a boxing supporter.

John McCain called for a ban of ultimate fighting in 1995 after watching a UFC tape. McCain, an avid and lifelong boxing enthusiast [2], was horrified with what he saw, calling it "barbaric" and "not a sport." [1] At the time McCain had economic ties to boxing through his connection with Budweiser, boxing's biggest sponsor. [8] He described MMA (mixed-martial arts) as "human cockfighting", which was somewhat ironic since actual cockfighting was legal in McCain's state of Arizona during that time (it was eventually banned in 1998) [3]. He proceeded to send letters to all 50 governors asking them to ban ultimate fighting. Thirty-six states enacted laws banning "no-holds-barred" fighting including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12, forcing an overnight relocation of the event to Dothan, Alabama. [4] The ban in New York remains in place to this day.

McCain On Ultimate Fighting in 1995:

McCain next started a letter writing campaign to prevent UFC 8 and UFC 9 from taking place, however both went on as scheduled. UFC 9 in Colorado did incorporate some new rules, however. [2] In early 1997 after UFC 9, McCain targeted the cable and PPV industry when he became chairman of the commerce committee, which oversees the cable industry. Soon after the UFC was removed from Time Warner, TCI, Request, Cablevision Systems, Viewer's Choice, and other major operators dropping the potential number of PPV subscribers from 35 million to 7.5 million and the PPV audience from 300,000 per show to 15,000. UFC was forced to move the bulk of its events overseas. [1]

Carol Klenfner, spokeswoman for UFC's parent company, SEG:

"It was a very cheap way for the cable companies to portray themselves as anti-violence. It did not cost them much and it made them look good in Washington" [1]

While the criticism had a dire effect on business and almost killed the sport, the UFC did increase its cooperation with state athletic commissions and redesigned its rules. Weight classes were introduced at UFC 12; gloves became mandatory and kicks to a downed opponent, hair pulling, fish hooking, headbutting, and groin strikes were banned at UFC 14. Strikes to the back of the neck and head, and small joint manipulations were banned at UFC 15 while five-minute rounds were introduced at UFC 21.

Despite the rule changes, business continued to get worse and the UFC could not secure home video releases for UFC 23 through UFC 29. However, the rule changes allowed events to be held in smaller U.S. markets like Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming and Alabama. UFC 28 on November 17, 2000 became the the first UFC event to be sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and boxing promoter Dana White bought the UFC for $2 million in January 2001 and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC. With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001 and shortly thereafter, at UFC 33, the UFC returned to PPV. Since then the sport has grown tremendously and has emerged as one of the fastest growing sports in North America. [5]

UFC President Dana White has since credited John McCain for the rule changes that helped the UFC evolve to it's current standing as a major spectator sport. He's even gone so far as to say that McCain "created the UFC" [6] While it's true that McCain's crusade against the sport led it to make the changes necessary to garner the mainstream acceptance it receives today, it's also clear that it was not what McCain had in mind.

Since then, McCain's opinions toward the sport have changed and he is quoted as saying: "The sport has grown up. The rules have been adopted to give its athletes better protections and to ensure fairer competition." [7] However, McCain still notes that he is not a fan of the sport:

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[1] Plotz, David. Fight Clubbed. Slate. November 17, 1999

[2] Walter, Donald F. Mixed Martial Arts: Ultimate Sport, or Ultimately Illegal?. Grapple Arts. December 8, 2003

[3] Nibert, David Alan. Animal Rights/human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation. Rowman & Littlefield, 2002, p 183

[4] Gentry III, Clyde. No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution. Milo Books, 2003, p 106, 123

[5] Granatstein, Solly. Mixed Martial Arts: A New Kind Of Fight. CBS News. July 29, 2007

[6] Dana White talks UFC future, Sen. McCain and, of course, Tito. Sports Illustrated. August 15, 2008

[7] Davies, Gareth A. UFC night proves a hit. Telegraph. November 20, 2007

[8] Meltzer, Dave. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. September 15, 2008