For the fighting styles that combine different arts, see hybrid martial arts.

Mixed martial arts

Ground fighting during competition. The dominant fighter, Mac Danzig, maintains
knee-on-stomach while delivering strikes.
Also known as MMA, Vale Tudo(as called in Brazil)
Focus Various
Hardness Full contact
Olympic Sport No

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety
of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions, to be used in
competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both
while standing and on the ground.

Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in popular culture in 1993 with the
founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially based on finding the
most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors of
various arts were pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for
safety.[1] In the following decade, MMA promoters adopted many additional rules
aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of
the sport.[2] Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity
with pay per view reach rivaling boxing and professional wrestling.[3]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History
o 1.1 Pre-modern
o 1.2 Modern
o 1.3 Evolution of fighters
o 1.4 Olympic recognition efforts
* 2 Rules
* 3 Clothing guidelines
* 4 Strategies
o 4.1 Popular Disciplines
o 4.2 Hybrid Styles
+ 4.2.1 Sprawl-and-brawl
+ 4.2.2 Clinch fighting
+ 4.2.3 Ground-and-pound
+ 4.2.4 Submission grappling
+ 4.2.5 Lay-and-pray
* 5 Safety
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 References

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-modern
Pankration was an ancient form of unarmed hand to hand combat resembling modern
MMA.
Pankration was an ancient form of unarmed hand to hand combat resembling modern
MMA.

One of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed combat sports with minimal rules
was Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C.[4]
Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other
cities to honour remarkable pankratiasts.
No-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers
representing a huge range of fighting styles including various catch wrestling
styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall
challenge matches throughout Europe. 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. Reportedly, Roeber suffered a fractured cheekbone in this bout, but
was able to get Fitzsimmons down on the mat, where he applied an armlock and made
the boxer submit. In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and
veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele
won in 35 seconds.[5]

Another early example of mixed martial arts combat was the martial art of
Bartitsu, founded in London in 1899, which was the first martial art known to have
combined Asian and European fighting styles,[6] and which saw MMA-style contests
throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against
representatives of various European wrestling styles.[6]

Mixed style contests such as boxing vs. jujutsu were popular entertainment
throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s.[7] 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.[citation needed]

Professional wrestling died out after World War I and was reborn in two streams:
"shoot", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show," which evolved into
modern professional wrestling.[5]

[edit] Modern
180 lb. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie (white gi) submits 275 lb (125
kg). champion wrestler Dan Severn (black tights) with a triangle choke in UFC 4,
1994.
180 lb. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie (white gi) submits 275 lb (125
kg). champion wrestler Dan Severn (black tights) with a triangle choke in UFC 4,
1994.[8]

The history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests
throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s; the Gracie
family's vale tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil starting in the 1920s; and
early mixed martial arts matches hosted by Antonio Inoki in Japan in the 1970s.
The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity in the United
States in 1993, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie handily won the
first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in
just five minutes,[9] sparking a revolution in the martial arts.[10] Meanwhile in
Japan the continued interest in the sport resulted in the creation of the PRIDE
Fighting Championships in 1997.[11]

The movement that led to the creation of the UFC and PRIDE was rooted in two
interconnected subcultures. First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by
the Japanese shoot wrestling shows. Vale tudo began in the 1920s with the "Gracie
challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and H�lio Gracie and upheld later on by
descendants of the Gracie family.[4] In Japan in the 1970s, a series of mixed
martial arts matches were hosted by Antonio Inoki, inspiring the shoot-style
movement in Japanese professional wrestling, which eventually led to the formation
of the first mixed martial arts organizations, such as Shooto, which was formed in
1985.
Chuck Liddell (right) and Tito Ortiz broke PPV records with their rematch at UFC
66.
Chuck Liddell (right) and Tito Ortiz broke PPV records with their rematch at UFC
66.

The concept of combining the elements of multiple martial arts was pioneered and
popularized by Bruce Lee in the late 1960s to early 1970s. 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." His innovative concepts were recognized in 2004 by UFC
President Dana White when he called Lee the "father of mixed martial arts."[12]
Recognition of its effectiveness as a test 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 in November 2005.

The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the December 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,[3] 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, merging the contracted fighters under one
promotion[13] and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other
sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football.[14]

[edit] Evolution of fighters

Ground fighting is an intrinsic part of the sport.
Ground fighting is an intrinsic part of the sport.

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 has claimed that martial arts have evolved more in the ten years following
1993 than in the preceding 700 years.[15]
"During his reign atop the sport in the late 1990s he was the prototype � he could
strike with the best strikers; he could grapple with the best grapplers; his
endurance was second to none. "
� describing UFC champion Frank Shamrock's early dominance [16]

The early years of the sport saw a wide variety of traditional styles - everything
from sumo to kickboxing - but the continual evolution of the sport saw many styles
prove ineffective, while others proved successful on their own.

In the early 1990s, three styles stood out for their effectiveness in competition:
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, amateur wrestling and shoot wrestling. This may be
attributable in part to the grappling emphasis of the aforementioned styles, which
were, perhaps due to the scarcity of mixed martial arts competitions prior to the
early 90s, unknown to most practitioners of striking-based arts. Fighters who
combined amateur wrestling with striking techniques found success in the standing
portion of a fight, whilst Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylists had a distinct advantage
on the ground: those unfamiliar with submission grappling proved to be 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 well-rounded skillset. The shoot wrestlers were especially
successful in Japan. As competitions became more and more common, those with a
base in striking became more competitive as they acquainted themselves with
takedowns and submission holds, leading to notable upsets against the then
dominant grapplers. Subsequently, those from the varying grappling styles added
striking techniques to their arsenal. This overall development of increased cross-
training resulted in the fighters becoming increasingly multi-dimensional and
well-rounded in their skills. The changes were demonstrated when the original UFC
champion Royce Gracie who had defeated many opponents using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
fought the then UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes at UFC 60 and was defeated
by a TKO from 'ground-and-pound'.[17]

[edit] Olympic recognition efforts

It was thought that Olympic recognition would be forthcoming for the 2004 Summer
Olympics, held in Athens, under the banner of pankration. However, the
International Olympic Committee was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total
number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new
medal sports and pankration was excluded.[18]

[edit] Rules

Main article: Mixed martial arts rules

A fighter tapes his hands prior to putting gloves on.

A fighter tapes his hands prior to putting gloves on.

The rules for modern mixed martial arts competitions have changed significantly
since the early days of vale tudo and Japanese shoot wrestling and UFC 1 and even
more from the historic style of pankration. As the knowledge about fighting
techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original
minimalist rule systems needed to be amended.[19] The main motivations for these
rule changes were protection of the health of the fighters, the desire to shed the
image of "barbaric, no rules, fighting-to-the-death" matches and be recognised as
a sport.

Rules included the introduction of weight classes, as knowledge about submissions

spread, with more fighters became well-versed in submission techniques and
avoiding submissions, differences in weight became a substantial factor. Small,
open-fingered, gloves were introduced to protect fists in punches, reduce the
occurrence of cuts (and stoppages due to cuts) and encourage fighters to use their
hands for striking, to enable more captivating matches and time limits were
established to avoid long fights with little action as competitors conserved their
strength, matches without time limits also complicated the airing of live events.
Similar motivations produced the "stand up" rule, where the referee can stand
fighters up if it is perceived both are resting on the ground or are not advancing
toward a dominant position.[19]

Gloves were first mandatory in Japan's Shooto promotion and were later adopted by
the UFC as it developed into a regulated sport. In the U.S., state athletic and
boxing commissions have played a crucial role in the introduction of additional
rules because they oversee MMA in similar way to boxing. Smaller shows may use
more restrictive rules because they have less experienced fighters who are looking
to acquire experience and exposure that could ultimately lead them to getting
recruited into one of the larger, better paying promotions. In Japan and Europe,
there is no regulating authority over competitions, so these organizations have
greater freedom in rule development and event structure.

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.