Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a combat fighting sport, which is performed primarily in the United States and Japan. MMA utilizes full contact combat and uses a diverse array of fighting techniques such as judo, boxing and wrestling. Some of the fight strategies used in MMA fighting are the following: submission grappling, ground and pound, sprawl-and-brawl and clinch.http://www.mmawild.com/

The sport continually evolves to determine the most effective fight strategies possible. Mixed martial arts were used by man as far back as 648 B.C. At that time, the Greek Olympics contained a sport called pankration, which was a combination of boxing and wrestling. http://www.grapplearts.com/Mixed-Martial-Arts-1.htm However, actual MMA fighting competitions started in the 1800's in Europe and had very few rules.http://www.mmawild.com/ By the 1970s, Japan began to have MMA matches, hosted by Antonio Inoki.http://www.mmawild.com/ As MMA fighting grew, organizers realized that there was a need for stricter rules. Every few years more rules and regulations are added to MMA competitions for the safety of the fighters and the enjoyment of fans.

Ultimate Fighter is a reality television show that allows fighters to compete for a spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The show airs on Spike TV, and a complete schedule of air dates can be found on their official website.http://www.ultimatefighter.com/ The UFC is the largest promoter of mixed martial arts in the world. The competition can be viewed on many stations and devices such as TV, the iPhone and FloTV.http://www.ufc.com/schedule/all In 1992, the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship took place.http://www.completemartialarts.com/whoswho/ufc/ufchistory.htm

Divided weight classes, glove requirements and referee intervention (before the fight becomes brutal) are a few of the rules and regulations that have been added to the game.http://www.mmamemories.com/2007/12/14/mma-rules-unified-rules-for-mixed-martial-arts.html The sport also has a list of invalid strikes, such as head butting, biting, eye gouging, spitting, throat strikes, heel kicks to the kidney and clawing.http://www.mmamemories.com/2007/12/14/mma-rules-unified-rules-for-mixed-martial-arts.html Striking and grappling are the two valid techniques used to submit or knock out opponents.http://www.mmawild.com/