The Ultimate Fighting Championship has helped transform mixed martial arts from a controversial, loosely regulated sport into an entertainment phenomenon featuring huge pay-per-view audiences, impressive ratings on cable television and sold-out arenas across North America.

Now, for the first time, the UFC is bringing its adrenaline-fueled act to Milwaukee.

"UFC on Versus 5" will be held Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center, sources close to the UFC confirmed Tuesday. The event will be televised live on the Versus channel.

"This is incredible news," said Duke Roufus, head coach at the Roufusport Martial Arts Academy in Milwaukee and a fixture on the local MMA scene for 20 years as a competitor, trainer and entrepreneur. "It's really neat to be a part of history in the making. It's almost like a mini-Super Bowl or all-star weekend."

Milwaukee is considered a hotbed for MMA, a full-contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting skills, including boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and tae kwon do. Rules allow for the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground.

The UFC is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world. On April 30, "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields" drew 55,000 fans to the Rogers Centre in Toronto and produced a record $12.075 million gate; the preliminary fights, shown on Spike TV in the U.S., pulled in 1.5 million viewers.

In August 2009, a free replay of "UFC 100" on Spike TV drew more viewers in the men 18-34 demographic than both the PGA Championship and baseball on Fox. USA Today prints four-page inserts in its sports section before UFC pay-per-view events, and stars such as Urijah Faber, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar have mainstream appeal.

"The UFC is selling out arenas wherever they go," said Scott Joffe, Roufus' business partner and co-promoter of the North American Fighting Championship, which has held local shows at Potawatomi Casino, State Fair Park and Milwaukee Harley-Davidson. "The UFC is the NFL of mixed martial arts. It's the crème de la crème.

"It's definitely huge for Milwaukee. The UFC is one of the biggest arena sporting events in the world. Fans are going to get their money's worth from the spectacle of it all. They're going to see some of the most finely tuned athletes on the planet."

Roufus and Joffe both predicted tickets would sell quickly for "UFC on Versus 5" and that the Bradley Center would be filled to capacity.

"Everything the UFC touches turns to gold," Joffe said. "They've taken a controversial sport, ultimate fighting, and turned it into a recognized, viable, high-end sport. People can appreciate the athletes' skills. They've gone beyond the controversy of the sport and turned it into something a lot of people in America love watching."

Though the Bradley Center fight card has not been finalized, light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar (16-7) has tweeted that he will fight in Milwaukee. Bonnar trained at the Roufusport Academy for two years before moving to Las Vegas in 2007.

It's likely that one or more fighters who train at Roufusport also will be on the card.

"Right now, we're hoping that 'Danny Boy' Downes is going to fight," Roufus said of the 155-pounder, who has a 7-1 record.

Several other UFC stars train at Roufusport, including lightweight Anthony "Showtime" Pettis of Milwaukee, who is scheduled to face Clay Guida in "The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale," June 4 in Las Vegas. Pettis' acrobatic "flying ninja" kick from his victory over Ben Henderson in December has been viewed millions of times on YouTube.

Roufusport was voted the "Top MMA Gym in America" on Versus.com earlier this year. Roufus plans to move his academy this summer from a 6,600-square-foot building at 320 N. 76th St. to a new, 14,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility being built across the street.

"I think it's great that a sport of this magnitude and growth is coming to Milwaukee," Roufus said. "It's really cool. I'm so thankful for what the UFC has done for martial arts. I know that fans who have never seen a live show are in for a big treat."