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, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, taekwondo, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be traced back to the ancient Olympics where one of the earliest well documented systems of codified full range unarmed combat was utilized in the sport of Pankration.
Various mixed style contests also took place throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s. The combat sport of Vale Tudo that had developed in Brazil from the 1920s was brought to the United States by the Gracie family in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is currently the largest MMA promotion company worldwide. Prior to the UFC, professional MMA events had also been held in Japan by Shooto since 1989.
In due course, the more dangerous Vale Tudo style bouts of the early UFCs were made safer with the implementation of additional rules, leading to the 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. 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. The name mixed martial arts was coined by Rick Blume, president and CEO of Battlecade, in 1995. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay per view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling.
No-holds-barred fighting reportedly took place in the late 1880s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles, including various catch wrestling styles (forms of folk wrestling), 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 champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds.
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, and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.
The history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan, and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s; 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. 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.
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 of Jeet 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.’
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 martial arts-themed professional wrestling matches in Japan (known as Ishu Kakutōgi Sen (‘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. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity when jiu-jitsu fighter Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, subduing three challengers in a total of just five minutes, sparking a revolution in martial arts.
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. 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.
In 2001, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) held a meeting to discuss the regulation of mixed martial arts events. This meeting attempted to unify the myriad of 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 were able to agree upon a uniform set of rules to govern the sport of mixed martial arts, which have become the de facto standard set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across North America.
In 2005, recognition of mixed martial arts effectiveness came as the United States Army began to sanction mixed martial arts with the first annual Army Combatives Championships held by the US Army Combatives School. Professional MMA competitions are allowed in most states, and relevant legislation is pending within several states where it is currently illegal including Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. In 2012, Wyoming became the 45th state to regulate MMA. Globally, the sport is sanctioned in Canada, Japan, Sweden, and South Africa.
The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the 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, 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 and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football.
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.
In the early 1990s, practitioners of grappling based styles such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling dominated competition in the United States. Practitioners of striking based arts such as boxing, kickboxing, and karate who were unfamiliar with submission grappling proved unprepared to deal with its submission techniques. Shoot wrestling practitioners offered a balance of amateur wrestling ability and catch wrestling-based submissions, resulting in a more well-rounded skill-set. The shoot wrestlers were especially successful in Japan. 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, leading to notable upsets against the then dominant grapplers. Likewise, those from the varying grappling styles added striking techniques to their arsenal. This increase of cross-training resulted in fighters becoming increasingly multi-dimensional and well-rounded in their skills.
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. 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.
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.
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. In the case of a knockout, as soon as a fighter becomes unconscious due to strikes, his opponent is declared the winner. As MMA rules allow ground fighting, the fight is stopped to prevent further injury to an unconscious fighter. In a submission victory, a fighter may admit defeat during a match by a tap on the opponent’s body or mat/floor or a verbal announcement/verbal tap.
Most ‘traditional’ martial arts have a specific focus and these arts may be trained to improve in that area. Popular disciplines of each type include: Stand-up (various forms of Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Karate are trained to improve footwork, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and punching); Clinch (Freestyle, Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo and Judo are trained to improve clinching, takedowns and throws, while Muay Thai is trained to improve the striking aspect of the clinch); and Ground (Submission Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling, Judo and Sambo are trained to improve ground control and position, as well as to achieve submission holds, and defend against them).
Some styles have been adapted from their traditional form, such as boxing stances which lack effective counters to leg kicks and the muay thai stance which is poor for defending against takedowns due to the static nature, or Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, techniques which must be adapted for a No Gi (the traditional Karate uniform, which can be used for various grabs and throws) competition. It is common for a fighter to train with multiple coaches of different styles or an organized fight team to improve various aspects of their game at once.
Amateur Wrestling (including Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and American Folkstyle) gained tremendous respect due to its effectiveness in mixed martial arts competitions. Wrestling is widely studied by mixed martial artists. Wrestling is also credited for conferring an emphasis on conditioning for explosive movement and stamina, both of which are critical in competitive mixed martial arts. It is known for excellent takedowns, particularly against the legs.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came to international prominence in the martial arts community in the early 1990s, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Royce Gracie won the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships, which at the time were single elimination martial arts tournaments. Royce fought against often much-larger opponents who were practicing other styles, including boxing, shoot-fighting, karate, judo and tae kwon do. It has since become a staple art for many MMA fighters and is largely credited for bringing widespread attention to the importance of ground fighting. It is primarily considered a ground-based fighting style, with emphasis on positioning, chokes and joint locks.
Karl Gotch was a catch wrestler and a student of Billy Riley’s Snake Pit in the UK. In the film ‘Catch: the hold not taken,’ some of those who trained with Gotch talk of his fascination with the traditional Lancashire style of wrestling and how he was inspired to stay and train at Billy Riley’s after experiencing its effects first hand during a professional show. He later went on to teach catch wrestling to Japanese professional wrestlers in the 1970s to students including Antonio Inoki, and Satoru Sayama ( Tiger Mask). Starting from 1976, Inoki, hosted a series of mixed martial arts bouts against the champions of other disciplines. This resulted in unprecedented popularity of the clash-of-styles bouts in Japan. His matches showcased catch wrestling moves like the sleeper hold, cross arm breaker, seated armbar, Indian deathlock and keylock.
Karl Gotch’s students formed the original Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan) in 1984 which gave rise to shoot-style matches. The UWF movement was led by catch wrestlers and gave rise to the mixed martial arts boom in Japan. Catch wrestling forms the base of Japan’s martial art of shoot wrestling. Japanese professional wrestling and a majority of the Japanese fighters from Pancrase, Shooto and the now defunct RINGS bear links to catch wrestling.
The term no holds barred was used originally to describe the wrestling method prevalent in catch wrestling tournaments during the late 19th century wherein no wrestling holds were banned from the competition, regardless of how dangerous they might be. The term was applied to mixed martial arts matches, especially at the advent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Using their knowledge of ne-waza/ground grappling and tachi-waza/standing-grappling, several Judo practitioners have also competed in mixed martial arts matches. Former Russian national Judo championship Bronze medallist Fedor Emelianenko, famous UFC fighter Karo Parisyan, Olympic medallists Hidehiko Yoshida (Gold, 1992), and Ronda Rousey (Bronze, 2008) now Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Karate, a martial art which originates in Okinawa, has proved to be effective in the sport as it is one of the core founders of kickboxing. Various styles of karate are practiced by some MMA fighters, notably Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida and Georges St-Pierre. Liddell is known to have an extensive striking background in Kenpō and Koei-Kan, whereas Lyoto Machida practices Shotokan Ryu (Machida Karate variant which focuses on original Shotokan) Karate and St-Pierre practices Kyokushin.
Muay Thai is the style which is used predominantly for the stand-up game in MMA. It originated in Thailand, and is known as the ‘art of eight limbs,’ which refers to the use of the legs, knees, elbows and fists. It is a very aggressive and straight forward style from which kick boxing is derived.
A very popular Korean martial art, Taekwondo has had mixed success. While many practitioners have a background or have trained in Taekwondo in the past, due to the sparring rules Taekwondo is traditionally sparred in, it often requires cross-training with kickboxing for full contact strikes. Nonetheless, the excessive kicking is recognized as a good way to keep the opponent at a distance, score points and even effectively knock someone out. Fighters such as Anderson Silva, Cung Le and Stephan Bonnar are notable fighters who have successfully used Taekwondo techniques in mixed martial arts competition.
The techniques utilized in mixed martial arts competition generally fall into two categories: striking techniques (such as kicks, knees, punches and elbows) and grappling techniques (such as clinch holds, pinning holds, submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws).
Sprawl-and-brawl is a stand-up fighting tactic that consists of effective stand-up striking, while avoiding ground fighting, typically by using sprawls to defend against takedowns. A sprawl-and-brawler is usually a boxer, kickboxer, Thai boxer, or Karate fighter who has trained in various styles of Wrestling, Judo, and/or Sambo to avoid takedowns to keep the fight standing. Often, these fighters will study submission wrestling to avoid being forced into submission, should they find themselves on the ground. This style can be deceptively different from traditional kickboxing styles, since sprawl-and-brawlers must adapt their techniques to incorporate takedown and ground fighting defense.
Clinch fighting and dirty boxing are tactics consisting of using a clinch hold to prevent the opponent from moving away into more distant striking range, while also attempting takedowns and striking the opponent using knees, stomps, elbows, and punches. The clinch is often utilized by wrestlers and Judokas that have added components of the striking game (typically boxing), and Muay Thai fighters. Wrestlers and Judokas may use clinch fighting as a way to neutralize the superior striking skills of a stand-up fighter or to prevent takedowns by a superior ground fighter. The clinch or ‘plumb’ of a Muay Thai fighter is often used to improve the accuracy of knees and elbows by physically controlling the position of the opponent. Other fighters may use the clinch to push their opponent against the cage or ropes, where they can effectively control their opponent’s movement and restrict mobility while striking them with punches to the body or stomps. Randy Couture used his Greco Roman wrestling background to popularize this style en route to six title reigns in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Ground-and-pound is a strategy consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw, obtaining a top, or dominant position, and then striking the opponent, primarily with fists and elbows. Ground-and-pound is also used as a precursor to attempting submission holds. This style is used by wrestlers or other fighters well-versed in submission defense and skilled at takedowns. They take the fight to the ground, maintain a grappling position, and strike until their opponent submits or is knocked out. Although not a traditional style of striking, the effectiveness and reliability of ground-and-pound has made it a popular tactic as it was first demonstrated as an effective technique by UFC and Pride grand prix champion, Mark Coleman, then popularized by fighters such as Don Frye, Frank Trigg, Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz. Matt Hughes is also well known for his ground and pound. Today, strikes on the ground are an essential part of a fighter’s training.
Apart from being a general martial arts, submission grappling is also a reference to the ground fighting tactic consisting of taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw and then applying a submission hold, forcing the opponent to submit. While grapplers will often work to attain dominant position, some may be more comfortable fighting from other positions. If a grappler finds themselves unable to force a takedown, they may resort to pulling guard, whereby they physically pull their opponent into a dominant position on the ground. Submissions are an essential part of many disciplines, most notably Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling, judo, Sambo, and shootwrestling. They were popularized in the early UFC events by Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.
The Daily Omnivore 
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