by Devon McNeely
Here are 10 interesting facts about Mixed Martial Arts:
1. Mixed Martial Arts (abbreviated MMA) is a martial sport in which fighters can use techniques from different martial arts rather than both being trained in the same style. These techniques include stand-up striking and kicking, takedowns, and ground fighting.
2. MMA has become extremely popular in recent decades but dates back into antiquity. Pankration was similar to mixed martial arts and was included in the greek Olympics back in 648 BCE.
3. Shooto was the first mixed martial arts organization. It was established in 1985 in Japan
4. The most popular MMA competition is The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Other large organizations include Bellator, ONE Championship, Pride, and Invicta Fight Championships (IFC). There are also numerous smaller and localized competitions.
5. Modern MMA culture started with UFC1 in 1993. Co-created by Rorion Gracie, and won by Royce Gracie, this tournament both pushed the popularity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and showed the importance of grappling skills in MMA.
6. While the original tournaments were fighters from many different styles coming and competing against one another, MMA has evolved into its own style. MMA students train for proficiency in stand-up and grappling skills, they become well-rounded fighters but lack the depth that a specialized fighter in that area has.
7. The UFC’s octagon has become a staple of the sport. The 8 sided ring takes its inspiration from the 1980 Chuck Norris movie called The Octagon in which he fights ninjas in a similar arena.
8. MMA was illegal in the state of New York from 1997 to 2016.
9. Most MMA competitions including the UFC follow ‘The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts’ a system of codified rules governing rules, weight classes, penalties, and judging.
10. MMA can be described as a dangerous sport or even a deadly one. Despite this, there have been no deaths in the UFC which is the largest promotion. Historically there have been a total of seven recorded deaths from sanctioned matches and nine recorded deaths from unsanctioned fights. To put this in perspective, twenty-eight NASCAR divers have died in races.