Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of other combat sports. Various mixed style contests took place throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s. The combat sport of vale tudo that had developed inBrazil from the 1920s was brought to the United States by the Gracie family in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[1]
The more dangerous vale-tudo-style bouts of the early UFCs were made safer with the implementation of additional rules, leading to the popular regulated form of MMA seen today. Originally promoted as a competition with the intention of finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors were pitted against one another with minimal rules.[2] Later, fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style while promoters adopted additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport.[3] The name mixed martial arts was coined by television critic Howard Rosenberg, in 1993, in his review of UFC 1.[4] The term gained popularity when the website newfullcontact.com, then one of the biggest covering the sport, hosted and reprinted the article.[5] Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling.[6]
Contents
[show]History[edit]
Early history[edit]
During the Classic Greek era there existed an ancient Olympic combat sport, known as Pankration which featured a combination of grappling and striking skills, similar to modern mixed martial arts. This sport originated in Ancient Greece and was later passed on to the Romans.[7]
No-holds-barred fighting reportedly took place in the late 1880s when wrestlers representing styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. In the USA, the first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan, then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, Greco-Roman Wrestling champion William Muldoon, and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing championBob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman Wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In September 1901, Frank "Paddy" Slavin, who had been a contender for Sullivan's boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City, Canada.[8]
Another early example of mixed martial arts was Bartitsu, which Edward William Barton-Wright founded in London in 1899. Combining judo, jujutsu, boxing, savate and canne de combat(French stick fighting), Bartitsu was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles,[9] and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.[9]
| Ancient Greece | – Pankration | |
| Late 19th century | – Hybrid martial arts | |
| Late 1880s | – Early NHB and Mixed Style contests | |
| 1899 | – Barton-Wright and Bartitsu | |
| Early 1900s | – Merikan contests | |
| 1920s | – Early vale tudo and Gracie Challenge | |
| 1960s and 1970s | – Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do Robert Beal/Fred Degerberg and Bushido | |
| 1970s | – Antonio Inoki and Ishu Kakutōgi Sen | |
| 1985 | – Shooto forms | |
| 1989 | – First professional Shooto event | |
| 1991 | – First Desafio (BJJ vs. Luta Livre) event | |
| 1993 | – Pancrase forms | |
| 1993 | – UFC forms | |
| Mid/Late 1990s | – International Vale Tudo | |
| 1997–2007 | – PRIDE FC and UFC era | |
| 2000 | – New Jersey SACB develops Unified rules | |
| 2001 | – Zuffa buys UFC | |
| 2005 | – The Ultimate Fighter Debuts | |
| 2005 | – US Army begins sanctioning MMA | |
| 2006 | – UFC dominance and international growth | |
| 2006 | – Zuffa buys WFA and WEC | |
| 2006 | – UFC 66 generates over a million PPV buys | |
| 2007 | – Zuffa buys PRIDE FC | |
| 2008 | – EliteXC: Primetime gains 6.5 million peak viewers on CBS | |
| 2009 | – Strikeforce holds 1st major card with female main event | |
| 2011 | – WEC merged with UFC | |
| 2011 | – Zuffa buys Strikeforce | |
| 2011 | – UFC on Fox gains 8.8 million peak viewers on Fox |
The history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan, and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s;[10] In Japan these contests were known as merikan, from the Japanese slang for "American [fighting]". Merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission.[11]
As the popularity of professional wrestling waned after World War I it split into two genres: "shoot", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show", which evolved into modern professional wrestling.[12]
In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds.[12]
In 1963, "Judo" Gene Lebell fought professional boxer Milo Savage in a no-holds-barred match. Lebell won by Harai Goshi to rear naked choke, leaving Savage unconscious.
In the late 1960s to early 1970s, the concept of combining the elements of multiple martial arts was popularized in the west by Bruce Lee via his system philosophy ofJeet Kune Do. Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style, to be formless, to adopt an individual's own style and not following the system of styles." In 2004, UFC President Dana White would call Lee the "father of mixed martial arts" stating: "If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away".[13]
Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki took place in Japan in 1976. Both fighters refused to engage in the other's style and after a 15 round stalemate, it was declared a draw.
Modern sport[edit]
The movement that led to the creation of the American and Japanese mixed martial arts scenes was rooted in two interconnected subcultures and two grappling styles, namely Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and shoot wrestling. First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by the Japanese shoot-style wrestling shows.
Vale tudo began in the 1920s and became renowned with the "Gracie challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family. Early mixed-match martial arts professional wrestlingbouts in Japan (known as Ishu Kakutōgi Sen (異種格闘技戦), literally "heterogeneous combat sports bouts") became popular with Antonio Inoki in the 1970s. Inoki was a disciple of Rikidōzan, but also of Karl Gotch who trained numerous Japanese wrestlers in catch wrestling.
Mixed martial arts competitions were introduced in the United States with the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993.[14] The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity when jiu-jitsu fighter Royce Graciewon the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in a total of just five minutes,[15] sparking a revolution in martial arts.[16][17]
Japan had its own form of mixed martial arts discipline Shooto that evolved from shoot wrestling in 1985, as well as the shoot wrestling derivative Pancrase founded as a promotion in 1993. The first Vale Tudo Japan tournaments were held in 1994 and 1995, both were won by Rickson Gracie. Around the same time, International Vale Tudo competition started to develop through (WVC, VTJ, IVC, UVF etc.). Interest in mixed martial arts as a sport resulted in the creation of the Pride Fighting Championships (Pride) in 1997, where again Rickson participated and won.[18]
Origin of 'MMA'[edit]
Jeff Blatnick was responsible for the sport adopting the name Mixed Martial Arts. Previously marketed as NHB, Blatnick and John McCarthy proposed the name 'MMA' at the UFC 17 rules meeting in response to increased public criticism.[19] The term is generally attributed to Howard Rosenberg.[20]
Regulation[edit]
In March 1997, the Iowa Athletic Commission officially sanctioned Battlecade Extreme Fighting under a modified form of its existing rules for Shootfighting. These rules created the 3, 5 minute round, one-minute break format, and mandated shootfighting gloves as well as weight classes for the first time. Illegal blows were listed as groin strikes, head butting, biting, eye gouging, hair pulling, striking an opponent with an elbow while the opponent is on the mat, kidney strikes, and striking the back of the head with closed fist. Holding onto the ring or cage for any reason was defined as foul.[21][22] While there are minor differences between these and the final Unified Rules, notably regarding elbow-strikes, the Iowa rules allowed mixed martial arts promoters to conduct essentially modern events legally, anywhere in the state. On March 28, 1997, Extreme Fighting 4 was held under these rules, making it the first officially sanctioned mixed martial arts event, and the first show conducted under a version of the modern rules.
In April 2000, the California State Athletic Commission voted unanimously in favor of regulations that later became the foundation for the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. However when the legislation was sent to California's capitol for review, it was determined that the sport fell outside the jurisdiction of the CSAC, rendering the vote superfluous.[23]
In September 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) began to allow mixed martial arts promoters to conduct events in New Jersey. The intent was to allow the NJSACB to observe actual events and gather information to establish a comprehensive set of rules to effectively regulate the sport.[24]
On April 3, 2001, the NJSACB held a meeting to discuss the regulation of mixed martial arts events. This meeting attempted to unify the myriad rules and regulations which have been utilized by the different mixed martial arts organizations. At this meeting, the proposed uniform rules were agreed upon by the NJSACB, several other regulatory bodies, numerous promoters of mixed martial arts events and other interested parties in attendance. At the conclusion of the meeting, all parties in attendance were able to agree upon a uniform set of rules to govern the sport of mixed martial arts.[24]
The rules adopted by the NJSACB have become the de facto standard set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across North America. On July 30, 2009, a motion was made at the annual meeting of the Association of Boxing Commissions to adopt these rules as the "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts". The motion passed unanimously.[25]
In November 2005 the United States Army began to sanction mixed martial arts with the first annual Army Combatives Championships held by the US Army Combatives School.[26]
Canada formally decriminalized mixed martial arts with a vote on Bill S-209 on June 5, 2013. The bill allows for provinces to have the power to create athletic commissions to regulate and sanction professional mixed martial arts bouts.[27]
Growth[edit]
The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the December 2006 rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz, rivaling the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time,[6] and helping the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history. In 2007, Zuffa LLC, the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand Pride FC, merging the contracted fighters under one promotion[28] and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football.[29]
Since the UFC came to prominence in mainstream media in 2006, and with their 2007 merger with Pride FC and purchase of WEC, few companies have presented significant competition.[30] However numerous organizations have held shows of significance while competing against the UFC.
The most notable competition has included:
- Pride Fighting Championships (1997-2007)
- World Extreme Cagefighting (2001-2010)
- International Fight League (2006–2008)
- EliteXC (2006–2008)
- DREAM (2008–2012)
- Strikeforce (2006–2013)
- Bellator Fighting Championships (2008–Present)
On April 30, 2011, UFC 129 set a new North American MMA attendance record, drawing 55,724 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto; the event also set a new MMA world record for the highest paid gate at $12,075,000[31] and is the highest gate in Toronto for any event.[32]
Development of fighters[edit]
 | The examples and perspective in this section may not include all significant viewpoints. (December 2010) |
As a result of an increased number of competitors, organized training camps, information sharing, and modern kinesiology, the understanding of the combat-effectiveness of various strategies has been greatly improved. UFC commentator Joe Rogan claimed that martial arts evolved more in the ten years following 1993 than in the preceding 700 years combined.[33]
| "During his reign atop the sport in the late 1990s he was the prototype — he could strike with the best strikers; he could grapple with the best grapplers; his endurance was second to none. " |
| — describing UFC champion Frank Shamrock's early dominance[34] |
The high profile of modern MMA promotions such as UFC and Pride has fostered an accelerated development of the sport. The early 1990s saw a wide variety of traditional styles competing in the sport.[35] However, early competition saw varying levels of success among disparate styles.
In the early 1990s, practitioners of grappling based styles such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu dominated competition in the United States. Practitioners of striking based arts such as boxing,kickboxing, and karate who were unfamiliar with submission grappling proved to be unprepared to deal with its submission techniques.[36][37][38][39][40] As competitions became more and more common, those with a base in striking arts became more competitive as they cross trained in arts based around takedowns and submission holds.[40] Likewise, those from the varying grappling styles added striking techniques to their arsenal. This increase of cross-training resulted in fighters becoming increasingly multidimensional and well-rounded in their skill-sets.
The new hybridization of fighting styles can be seen in the technique of "ground and pound" developed by wrestling-based UFC pioneers such as Dan Severn, Don Frye and Mark Coleman. These wrestlers realized the need for the incorporation of strikes on the ground as well as on the feet, and incorporated ground striking into their grappling-based styles. Mark Coleman stated at UFC 14 that his strategy was to "Ground him and pound him" which may be the first televised use of the term.
Since the late 1990s, both strikers and grapplers have been successful at MMA, though it is rare to see any fighter who is not schooled in both striking and grappling arts reach the highest levels of competition.
Rules[edit]
Main article: Mixed martial arts rules
The rules for modern mixed martial arts competitions have changed significantly since the early days of vale tudo, Japanese shoot wrestling, and UFC 1, and even more from the historic style of pankration. As the knowledge of fighting techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original minimalist rule systems needed to be amended.[41] The main motivations for these rule changes were protection of the health of the fighters, the desire to shed the perception of "barbarism and lawlessness", and to be recognized as a legitimate sport.[citation needed]
The new rules included the introduction of weight classes; as knowledge about submissions spread, differences in weight had become a significant factor. There are nine different weight classes in the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. These nine weight classes include flyweight (up to 125 lb / 56.7 kg), bantamweight (up to 135 lb / 61.2 kg), featherweight (up to 145 lb / 65.8 kg), lightweight (up to 155 lb / 70.3 kg), welterweight (up to 170 lb / 77.1 kg), middleweight (up to 185 lb / 83.9 kg), light heavyweight (up to 205 lb / 93.0 kg), heavyweight (up to 265 lb / 120.2 kg), and super heavyweight with no upper weight limit.[24]
Small, open-fingered gloves were introduced to protect fists, reduce the occurrence of cuts (and stoppages due to cuts) and encourage fighters to use their hands for striking to allow more captivating matches. Gloves were first made mandatory in Japan's Shooto promotion and were later adopted by the UFC as it developed into a regulated sport. Most professional fights have the fighters wear 4 oz gloves, whereas some jurisdictions require amateurs to wear a slightly heavier 6 oz glove for more protection for the hands and wrists.
Time limits were established to avoid long fights with little action where competitors conserved their strength. Matches without time limits also complicated the airing of live events. The time limits in most professional fights are three 5 minute rounds, and championship fights are normally five 5 minute rounds. Similar motivations produced the "stand up" rule, where the referee can stand fighters up if it is perceived that both are resting on the ground or not advancing toward a dominant position.[41]
In the U.S., state athletic and boxing commissions have played a crucial role in the introduction of additional rules because they oversee MMA in a similar fashion to boxing. In Japan and most of Europe, there is no regulating authority over competitions, so these organizations have greater freedom in rule development and event structure.[citation needed]
Victory[edit]
Victory in a match is normally gained either by the judges' decision after an allotted amount of time has elapsed, a stoppage by the referee (for example if a competitor can not defend himself intelligently) or the fight doctor (due to an injury), a submission, by a competitor's cornerman throwing in the towel, or by knockout.
Knockout (KO): as soon as a fighter is unable to continue due to legal strikes, his opponent is declared the winner. As MMA rules allow submissions and ground and pound, the fight is stopped to prevent further injury to the fighter.
Submission: a fighter may admit defeat during a match by:
- a tap on the opponent's body or mat/floor
- a verbal submission
Technical Submission: the referee stops the match when the fighter is caught in a submission hold and is in danger of being injured. Often it is when a fighter gets choked unconscious; other times it is when a bone has been broken in a submission hold (a broken arm due to a kimura, etc.)
Technical Knockout (TKO)
- Referee stoppage: The ref may stop a match in progress if:
- a fighter becomes dominant to the point where the opponent can not intelligently defend himself and is taking excessive damage as a result
- a fighter appears to be losing consciousness as he/she is being struck
- a fighter appears to have a significant injury such as a cut or a broken bone
Doctor Stoppage/Cut: the referee will call for a time out if a fighter's ability to continue is in question as a result of apparent injuries, such as a large cut. The ring doctor will inspect the fighter and stop the match if the fighter is deemed unable to continue safely, rendering the opponent the winner. However, if the match is stopped as a result of an injury from illegal actions by the opponent, either a disqualification or no contest will be issued instead.
Corner stoppage: a fighter's corner men may announce defeat on the fighter's behalf by throwing in the towel during the match in progress or between rounds. This is normally done when a fighter is being beaten to the point where it is dangerous and unnecessary. In some cases, the fighter may be injured.
Retirement: a fighter is so dazed or exhausted that he/she cannot physically continue fighting.
Decision: if the match goes the distance, then the outcome of the bout is determined by three judges. The judging criteria are organization-specific.
Forfeit: a fighter or his representative may forfeit a match prior to the beginning of the match, thereby losing the match.
Disqualification: a "warning" will be given when a fighter commits a foul or illegal action or does not follow the referee's instruction. Three warnings will result in a disqualification. Moreover, if a fighter is unable to continue due to a deliberate illegal technique from his opponent, the opponent will be disqualified.
No Contest: in the event that both fighters commit a violation of the rules, or a fighter is unable to continue due to an injury from an accidental illegal technique, the match will be declared a "No Contest".
Clothing[edit]
Mixed martial arts promotions typically require that male fighters wear shorts in addition to being barechested, thus precluding the use of gi or fighting kimono to inhibit or assist submission holds. Male fighters are required by most athletic commissions to wear groin protectors underneath their trunks.[24] Female fighters wear short shorts and sports bras or other similarly snug-fitting tops. Both male and female fighters are required to wear a mouthguard.[24]
The need for flexibility in the legs combined with durability prompted the creation of various fighting shorts brands, which then spawned a range of mixed martial arts clothing and casual wear available to the public.
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