How old is mixed martial arts

Not only does a fighter's incorporation of multiple disciplines create more than one method of neutralizing an opponent's strength, but if nothing else, the multiple styles create the unpredictability aspect that makes this sport so fun to watch, and it creates that aspect in a way that almost seems to guarantee that fans of the sport will see something that they've never seen before. The scary thing about MMA's evolution is that what we have seen in only the past four years of the sport will one day be seen as outdated and perhaps even one-dimensional, and in the future of this sport, fighters will make common usage of moves that have yet to successfully work in today's MMA.

MMA's come a long way since the days of pure jiu-jitsu vs. Looking back, it's a wonder if the forefathers of the sport—who probably didn't understand the sport they were creating when they put together the first UFC—had any idea as to whether the Ultimate Fighting Championship would ever evolve to what it is right now.

Mixed Martial Arts techniques include striking such as kicks, knees and punches and grappling such as clinch holds, pinning holds, submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws.

While Mixed Martial Arts was initially practiced almost exclusively by competitive fighters, this is no longer the case. As the sport has become more mainstream and more widely taught, it has become accessible to a wider range of practitioners of all ages. But the roots of this exciting combative sport reach back to ancient times.

EpigraphyTuesday pic. The rules of Pankration mostly involved boxing and wrestling techniques, but other moves such as kicking, joint-locking, arm-bending, and choking on the ground were also allowed, making the sport very similar to modern-day mixed martial arts. No eye gouging or biting was allowed. The contest went on until one of the combatants submitted or was unconscious, or the judges deemed it right to stop the contest under certain circumstances and award the victory to one of the fighters - once again, like we see in modern-day mixed martial arts.

Pankration has historical significance as well in the Greek pantheon. Mythological heroes Heracles and Theseus are credited with the invention of this form of MMA combat in their respective battles against the Minotaur of the Labyrinth and the Nemean lion. Mixed martial arts resurfaced in the modern era when brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie popularized Brazilian combat sport form 'Vale Tudo' in the early 20th century. They started a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Rio de Janeiro in and started hosting tournaments.

A total of 86, spectators witnessed his dominance via pay per view. In fact, the pound Gracie won three of the first four UFC tournaments, proving in the eyes of many that his style of fighting was king. Interestingly, Royce was chosen by the Gracie family to compete in the competition because of his diminutive size. Given this, if he won — which the family believed that he would — then the Gracies felt there would be no choice but to accept Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the greatest fighting art in the world.

Thus, groin strikes, headbutts, and pulling hair were allowed. Gone are the days when head butting, hair pulling, and striking to the groin were legal. They formed Zuffa as the parent company of the organization and appointed Dana White as president. With that and the return of pay per view, the sport began to make a resurgence. Competitors on the show up and coming fighters trained in a house together with either Randy Couture or Chuck Liddell as coaches. Then they fought in a single elimination style tournament, with the winner set to receive a six-figure UFC contract.

Though the UFC is still by far the gold standard organization when it comes to the sport of MMA, there are many other organizations out there. MMA is also seen on television regularly and enjoys excellent pay per view buy numbers, especially via the UFC. Depending on the MMA organization, the rules of mixed martial arts combat may be slightly different.

Regardless, MMA is a sport where combatants attempt to either defeat their adversary via stoppage submission or T KO or by decision. Decisions are rendered by judges and are based on the criteria of winning the fight.

MMA matches are characterized by the variety of martial arts styles from which it draws. Specifically, matches often go through a variety of scenarios including stand up fighting punches, clinch work, knees, kicks, and elbows , throwing or takedowns, and ground fighting ground control, submissions, and submission defense. Since MMA fighters come from a variety of backgrounds, their training regimens do differ. However, all successful MMA fighters must train to fight both on the ground and on their feet.