Mixed martial arts

For the fighting styles that combine arts, see Hybrid martial arts.
"MMA" redirects here. For other uses, see MMA (disambiguation).

Mixed martial arts
Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, the main event of UFC 131 in Vancouver in 2011
Highest governing bodyInternational Mixed Martial Arts Federation
Characteristics
ContactFull contact
Mixed-sexNo, separate male and female events
TypeCombat sport
VenueOctagonal cage, other type of cage, MMA ring

Mixed martial arts (MMA)[a] is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.[10]

In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place throughout Japan and the countries of East Asia. At the same time, in Brazil there was a phenomenon called vale tudo, which became known for unrestricted fights between various styles such as judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, catch wrestling, luta livre, Muay Thai and capoeira. An early high-profile mixed bout was Kimura vs. Gracie in 1951. In mid-20th century Hong Kong, rooftop street fighting contests between different martial arts styles gave rise to Bruce Lee's hybrid martial arts style Jeet Kune Do. Another precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Ali vs. Inoki exhibition bout, fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan, where it later inspired the foundation of Shooto in 1985, Pancrase in 1993, and the Pride Fighting Championships in 1997.

In the 1990s, the Gracie family brought their Brazilian jiu-jitsu style, first developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States—which culminated in the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion company in 1993. The company held an event with almost no rules, mostly due to the influence of Art Davie and Rorion Gracie attempting to replicate mixed contests that existed in Brazil[11] and Japan. They would later implement a different set of rules (example: eliminating kicking a grounded opponent), which differed from other leagues which were more in favour of realistic, "street-like" fights.[12] The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.

Originally promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with relatively few rules.[13] Later, individual fighters incorporated multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, to comply with sport regulations and to broaden mainstream acceptance of the sport.[14] Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling.[15]

  1. ^ Bateman, Oliver Lee (July 6, 2018). "The Early Years of MMA Were a 'No-Holds-Barred Freakshow' That Couldn't Be More Different From Today". MEL Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Barbosa Rozendo Lima, Vitor; Levi Fraga, Nicolas; Nobre de Carvalho, Vitor; Bettine de Almeida, Marco Antonio (September 22, 2015). "Influência do Vale-Tudo nos atletas atuais de MMA". EFdeportes. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Shooto". jkd.gr. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Breen, Jordan (May 8, 2009). "A Blood Called Shooto". Sherdog.com. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "What's Pancrase?". Pancrase. Retrieved September 26, 2023. In addition to producing professional Pancrase competitors who are known as Pancraseism (captain/ Kiuma Kunioku); Pancrase Inagakigumi(captain / Katsuomi Inagaki); Pancrase GRABAKA (captain/ Sanae Kikuta); Pancrase Mission(captain / Minoru Suzuki); Pancrase Megaton(captain/ Keigo Takamori). Pancrase Organization has its own gyms in Japan which is called P's LAB with plans to establish additional Pancrase amateur gyms and also to spread Hybrid Wrestling around the world.
  6. ^ Flinn, Jenny (March 9, 2016). "The rise and rise of ultimate fighting (and why boxing is now so passé)". The Conversation. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "What Is Shootfighting?". MMA Channel. August 31, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2023. In fact, some might claim that shootfighting was the original form of Mixed Martial Arts.
  8. ^ Haines, Matthew (October 13, 2015). "Cage fighting has become even more dangerous thanks to extreme dieting". The Conversation. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Grenne, Nick (August 26, 2018). "How John McCain Grew to Tolerate MMA, the Sport he Likened to "Human Cockfighting"". Slate. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "mixed martial arts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. August 21, 2023.
  11. ^ Grant, T.P. "History of Jiu-Jitsu: Coming to America and the Birth of the UFC". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  12. ^ Sonmez, Can. "UFC 1: The Beginning". Mixed Martial Arts.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  13. ^ Plotz, David (November 16, 1997). "Fight Clubbed". Slate. Archived from the original on December 31, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2006.
  14. ^ McFarland, Matt (May 6, 2008). "Ultimate Fighting wants to come to NY". WNYT.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  15. ^ Trembow, Ivan (March 1, 2007). "UFC PPV Revenue Tops $200 Million in 2006". MMA Weekly. Archived from the original on May 22, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2007.


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