What is Mixed Martial Arts?
The term MMA stands for "Mixed Martial Arts" and is largely credited as being created by Rick Blume in 1995. It is a full-contact and extremely physical sport which involves, and allows the use of both grappling and striking whilst competitors are both standing and brought to the ground. Due to the wide range of fighting techniques allowed, MMA includes a broad range of arts including, but not limited to Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Karate.
Whilst it may be true that Rick Blume coined the "mixed martial arts" term, the roots of the sport can in fact be traced back as far as the Roman era where the Olympics first began. The sport in this era took on the form of the Pankration whereby in the same way as today, competitors used grappling and striking techniques to win the contest and it was one of the most popular sports of the time.
Obviously since this era the sport has both developed and grown exponentially in terms of popularity and worldwide appeal, with what is generally regarded as being the tipping point when the sport gained worldwide acclaim was the 2006 contest between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. This particular event came close to generating as many Pay per View sales as the biggest boxing events of all time and it was this bout in part which led to the merging of the UFC MMA brand based in America and its Japanese counterpart "Pride FC."
The rules of the sport are similar to boxing in some respects, for example as in boxing MMA fighters are also classed into different weight categories ranging from flyweight (up to 56.7kg) to super heavyweight which features no upper weight limit. Time limits are also in use to ensure that fights do not turn into long and drawn out affairs with little action, again showing some similarities to boxing and there are four methods by which a fighter can win, this being either a referee's decision, a judgement made by the fight doctor, a submission or by a knockout.
Undoubtedly MMA used to be an extremely dangerous sport; however over time its safety record has improved to a standard akin to boxing with the implementation of the "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" also helping to reduce the frequency of serious injuries and there have been no reported fatalities during sanctioned MMA fights since 2007.
MMA represents an extreme sport in terms of the fitness and physicality required of competitors both during training and actual fights and it is for these reasons and many more that the popularity of the sport continues to grow year on year on a global basis.
Whilst it may be true that Rick Blume coined the "mixed martial arts" term, the roots of the sport can in fact be traced back as far as the Roman era where the Olympics first began. The sport in this era took on the form of the Pankration whereby in the same way as today, competitors used grappling and striking techniques to win the contest and it was one of the most popular sports of the time.
Obviously since this era the sport has both developed and grown exponentially in terms of popularity and worldwide appeal, with what is generally regarded as being the tipping point when the sport gained worldwide acclaim was the 2006 contest between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. This particular event came close to generating as many Pay per View sales as the biggest boxing events of all time and it was this bout in part which led to the merging of the UFC MMA brand based in America and its Japanese counterpart "Pride FC."
The rules of the sport are similar to boxing in some respects, for example as in boxing MMA fighters are also classed into different weight categories ranging from flyweight (up to 56.7kg) to super heavyweight which features no upper weight limit. Time limits are also in use to ensure that fights do not turn into long and drawn out affairs with little action, again showing some similarities to boxing and there are four methods by which a fighter can win, this being either a referee's decision, a judgement made by the fight doctor, a submission or by a knockout.
Undoubtedly MMA used to be an extremely dangerous sport; however over time its safety record has improved to a standard akin to boxing with the implementation of the "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" also helping to reduce the frequency of serious injuries and there have been no reported fatalities during sanctioned MMA fights since 2007.
MMA represents an extreme sport in terms of the fitness and physicality required of competitors both during training and actual fights and it is for these reasons and many more that the popularity of the sport continues to grow year on year on a global basis.