Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 12-3-2019 2:00 PM Narratives of Canadian Identity at the Ultimate Fighting Championship Jared V. Walters The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Heine, Michael The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Kinesiology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Jared V. Walters 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other Kinesiology Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Walters, Jared V., "Narratives of Canadian Identity at the Ultimate Fighting Championship" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6783. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6783 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the use of representations and symbols of Canadian identity within the event coverage produced by the Ultimate Fighting Cham- pionship Corporation, in the context of its two key events, Ultimate Fighting Champion- ship, and Fight Night, produced in Canada. To establish the historical context in which the sport developed in Canada, a narrative historiography of the political and legal struggles that led to the legalization and increas- ing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, and the UFCC’s version of the sport, in particular. This first major part of the dissertation is contained in Study 1.