Mixed Martial Arts

From MartialTalk Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia Project

Mixed Martial Arts is a style of fighting and training which uses a minimal set of rules in an attempt to create a realistic form of fighting. The name comes from the initial marketing of competitions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship as Mixed Martial Arts events, combining fighters of many different styles of Martial Arts in one ring to see which was the best.

The first UFC was held on Nov. 12, 1993, it was promoted by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie as a way to promote the Gracie style of Brazillian Jiujitsu. Competitors fought without judges, weight classes, rounds or time limits and under a minimal set of rules. The match was won by Knock out, one fighter submitting, or their corner throwing in the towel.

Since then the sport has evolved into a distinct style with unique training methods, techniques and strategies. The two largest MMA events are the Ultimate Fighting Championships in the USA and PrideFC in Japan. Rules have been created to protect the fighters and create a sanctioned sport.

Recently the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has seen rapid growth do to the popularity of PPV events, as well as SpikeTV and TSN airing old matches, and more recently the reality tv series The Ultimate Fighter. Many MMA fighters have also appeared in movies, tv shows and Pro-wrestling events.

Styles which have heavily influenced MMA development are Brazillian Jiujitsu, Wrestling, Muay Thai and Boxing.

MMA competition was one of the events in the Ancient Greek Olympics, under the name Pankration.