Introduction to Mixed Martial Arts

Pit fighters brawling inside a cage before scores of fans to satisfy their uncontrollable bloodlust. Brutal exhibitions of violence and bloodshed, in which anything goes and no rules are followed. This is the mixed martial arts, at least how many people still see it today. Despite being legalized in over thirty states, with more legalizing each year, and adhering to a strict set of rules mixed martial arts and the athletes which compete in the shows are still viewed by many, even many people who are fans of other combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, as barbaric no-holds barred fighting in which a fighter can win by any means they deem necessary.

The truth of the mixed martial arts is vastly different though. In truth, MMA, as the sport is often known as, is just that, a sport. As with any full contact combat sport, it is dangerous, but many rules are in place to keep the competitors safe as possible for those involved. With the sport climbing to new heights of popularity, Elite XC is now seen on CBS primetime, it seems like an opportune time to try and dispel some of the myth around MMA and present a short history.

So, where did MMA start in the first place? Way back in ancient Greece, in a sport known as pankration. This sport truly was brutal, even allowing one competitor to kill another as a viable way to victory. Pankration involved a variety of throws, locks, chokes and holds as well as punches and kicks seen in Greek pugilism. It was an ancient Olympic sport and has been revived today, in a much milder form, by Jim Arvanitis, albeit in a much less lethal form. While there are many differences in techniques between ancient Pankration and modern MMA, the ancient sport is still important as it shows that even in those ages past people loved to watch two competitors battle in a venue similar to mixed martial arts.

Pankration was far from the only sport to combine aspects of grappling and striking, boxing allowed a lot of wrestling and even a bit of kicking back in it's early days, even up to the early 1900's. Japanese Sumo allows several slapping strikes along with grappling.

In the early 1900's, the Gracie family, famous for creating the Gracie style Jiujutsu, began holding Vale Tudo tournaments in Brazil, Vale Tudo is a no holds barred style of fighting practiced in South America. The Gracie family issued the 'Gracie Challenge' in the 1920's in which they would face any challenger from any style to test their family style. In 1993, MMA became world famous with the introduction of the now infamous Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC. Not surprisingly, Royce Gracie won this 8-man tournament. Back then there were few rules, no eye gouging and no biting. There were no weight classes as the challenge was to see whose style was best suited to taking on opponents of any size or strength.

From there MMA became increasingly popular until it found itself banned in many states due to the lack of rules. In 2001 the UFC was purchased by Zuffa, ltd and went through many reforms. The company added in weight classes and several new rules, creating modern MMA. Most promotions that showcase MMA follow these same rules/weight classes, providing somewhat of a standard for competitors to follow throughout all of the sport.

The added rules are as follows;

Wins would be awarded based on-

-Knockout

-Submission

-TKO (stoppage due to referee declaring one fighter is unable to continue safely)

-Doctor Stoppage

-Forfeit

-Disqualification of the other fighter

-Judges Decision

Fouls are as follows-

-Head butting

-Eye Gouging

-Hair Pulling

-Biting

-Groin attacks

-Strikes to the back of head, kidney or spinal area

-Purposely holding onto the cage/ring ropes

-Control of small joints (less than three fingers/toes)

-Fish Hooking (using a finger to pull at an opponents cheek)

-Strikes or Grapples directly to the Trachea

-Leaving the Cage or intentionally pushing/throwing your opponent out

-Chokes for more than three seconds

The Weight classes for the MMA are as follows-

-Flyweight-125 lbs

-Bantamweight-135 lbs

-Featherweight-145 lbs

-Lightweight-155 lbs

-Welterweight-170 lbs

-Middleweight-185 lbs

-Light heavyweight-205 lbs

-Heavyweight-265lbs

-uper Heavyweight-no limit

Not all promotions use all weight classes and some have additional classes added in that are not a sport standard.

With the additions of these rules, MMA truly has made the change to become a true sport. The matches seem brutal to those who do not understand the intricacies, but in truth they are exciting competitions between talented athletes. Though not all will enjoy the sport, there is nothing that everyone likes; I hope this article has educated people about the truth of MMA. In the future I hope to bring people reviews of matches as well as articles detailing techniques and tactics used in MMA and boxing. Thank you for your time and I hope you have found this insightful and educational.