Wanna learn about MMA? Enter. (UPDATE: Watch all UFCs in here!)

[Mac Sabbath]

Will update as I see fit. Any suggestions or corrections, pm me.

1. What is MMA?
2. The Evolution
3. Strategies
4. Popular Disciplines
5. Hybrid Styles
6. What is MMA?
7. Event Library

MMA = Mixed Martial Arts. 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 and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artist of different backgrounds to compete.

The Evolution

1) History

a) Pre-Modern

- Some of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed combat sports with minimal rules were the Shardana and Egyptian freefighting, followed from Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C. Greek pankration was less violent than Etruscan and Roman pancratium, perhaps one of the best pastimes of the Roman Colosseum, the largest arena in the ancient world.

- 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.

- 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. 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 Europe, around the 19th century the Italian Giovanni Raicevich skilled in Greco-Roman wrestling defeated Akitaro Ono, a Japanese heavyweight fighter that was skilled in Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Sumo, throwing him on the mat by one-arm shoulder throw.

- 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 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, and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.

- Mixed style contests such as boxing vs. jujutsu were popular entertainment 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.

- 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.

b) Modern

- 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, sparking a revolution in the martial arts.

- 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 Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family. 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 Sh****, which was formed in 1985.

- 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."

- In 2007, Zuffa LLC, the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand PRIDE, 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.

2) Styles

- UFC commentator Joe Rogan has claimed that martial arts have evolved more in the ten years following 1993 than in the preceding 700 years.

- 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'.

[Mac Sabbath]

Strategies

- The techniques utilized in mixed martial arts competition generally fall into two categories: striking techniques (such as kicks, knees and punches) and grappling techniques (such as clinch holds, pinning holds, submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws).

- While the legality of some techniques (such as elbow strikes, headbutts and spinal locks) may vary, there is a near universal ban on techniques such as biting, strikes to the groin, eye-gouging, fish-hooking and small joint manipulation.

- Today, mixed martial artists must cross-train in a variety of styles to counter their opponent's strengths and remain effective in all the phases of combat. For instance, a stand-up fighter will have little opportunity to use their skills against a submission artist who has also trained take downs. Many traditional disciplines remain popular as a way for a fighter to improve aspects of their game.

Popular Disciplines

- Stand-up: Various forms of boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and forms of full contact karate are trained to improve footwork, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and punching.

- Clinch: Freestyle and 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.

- Ground: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling, Judo, and Sambo are trained to improve submission holds, and defense against them. These styles are also trained to improve and maintain ground control.

- Some styles have been adapted from their traditional form, such as boxing stances which lack effective counters to leg kicks and takedowns, or Judo techniques which must be adapted for No Gi 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. Cardiovascular conditioning, speed drills, strength training and flexibility are also important aspects of an MMA fighter's training. Some schools advertise their styles as simply "Mixed Martial Arts", which has become a genre in itself.

Hybrid Styles

1.) Sprawl and Brawl

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 full contact karate fighter who has trained in wrestling to avoid takedowns to keep the fight standing. Often, these fighters will study submission wrestling to avoid being submitted, 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. Chuck Liddell and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović are examples of sprawl-and-brawl fighters.

2.) Clinch Fighting

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 that have added in components of the striking game (typically boxing), and Muay Thai fighters.

Wrestlers 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 of a Muay Thai fighter is often used to improve the accuracy of knees and elbows by physically controlling the position of the opponent. Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva are examples of effective clinch fighters.

3.) Ground and Pound

Ground-and-pound is a ground fighting tactic 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 the fists. 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 (it was first demonstrated as an effective technique by UFC and PRIDE grand prix champion, Mark Coleman), the effectiveness and reliability of ground-and-pound has made it a popular tactic. Today, strikes on the ground are an essential part of a fighter's training. Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz are examples of effective ground-and-pound fighters.

4.) Submission Grappling

Apart from being a general martial arts term, 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 catch wrestling, judo, Sambo, pankration, Army Combatives, MCMAP and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Josh Barnett, BJ Penn, the brothers Antônio Rodrigo and Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Shinya Aoki and Fedor Emelianenko are examples of submission grapplers.

5.) Lay and Pray

Lay-and-pray is a pejorative term for a strategy whereby a fighter can control their opponent on the ground, but is unable to mount an effective offense.[25] They simply seek to negate the offense of their opponent, "praying" for a decision victory. In some MMA promotions, penalties may be imposed for lay-and-pray techniques if the referee determines that a fighter is stalling.

Source: wikipedia

[Mac Sabbath]

Event Library

Just click the links and watch the fights. No downloading required.

UFCs

UFC 1
UFC 2
UFC 3
UFC 4
UFC 5
UFC 6
UFC 7
UFC 8
UFC 9
UFC 10
UFC 11
UFC 12
UFC 13
UFC 14
UFC 15
UFC 16
UFC 17
UFC 18
UFC 19
UFC 20
UFC 21
UFC 22
UFC 23
UFC 24
UFC 25
UFC 26
UFC 27
UFC 28
UFC 29
UFC 30
UFC 31
UFC 32
UFC 33
UFC 34
UFC 35
UFC 36
UFC 37
UFC 38
UFC 39
UFC 40
UFC 41
UFC 42
UFC 43
UFC 44
UFC 45
UFC 46
UFC 47
UFC 48
UFC 49
UFC 50
UFC 51
UFC 52
UFC 53
UFC 54
UFC 55
UFC 56
UFC 57
UFC 58
UFC 59
UFC 60
UFC 61
UFC 62
UFC 63
UFC 64
UFC 65
UFC 66
UFC 67
UFC 68
UFC 69
UFC 70
UFC 71
UFC 72
UFC 73
UFC 74
UFC 75
UFC 76
UFC 77
UFC 78
UFC 79
UFC 80
UFC 81
UFC 82
UFC 83
UFC 84
UFC 85
UFC 86
UFC 87
UFC 88
UFC 89
UFC 90
UFC 91
UFC 92
UFC 93
UFC 94