Mixed Martial Arts - A Concise History Of MMA
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Fighting has a long rich history in the storybook of mankind. Even apes, close genetic relatives to our primate ancestors, can be found engaging in fisticuffs with each other. The history of MMA, mixed martial arts as an organized sport, goes back to Greco-Roman culture and continues to thrive today.
The first documented case of mixed martial arts was known as pankration, and was a fighting tournament with a minimalist set of rules. The game continued on into Roman times and its popularity never dipped. Pankratiasts, as the Romans called them, were very popular, and statues were built to honor the empire's most gifted athletes in the sport. Champion pankratiasts were rewarded with fame and glory.
In the late eighteen hundreds, fighters from all branches of martial arts, boxing and wrestling would come together to fight in no holds barred matches. These combat matches usually took place in music-halls or anywhere big enough to hold a crowd. These free for all no rule matches became very popular in Europe at the time.
On the Pacific Rim in the early 1900s, Japanese, American and European fighters met for battle in Merikan. Merikan matched opponents of eastern and western fighting styles, such as boxing and jujitsu, and is slang for American fighting. These matches were rated, and had rules governing victory by knockout and submission.
A pivotal event in the mixed martial arts timeline, Peter Sauer and Kingfish Levinsky competed in a mixed style combat match in nineteen thirty six. Levinsky was a heavy weight boxer and Sauer was a catch wrestler competing under the ring name Ray Steele. Sauer defeated Levinsky in thirty five seconds.
A history of mixed martial arts could not be considered complete without mention of the Gracie family from Brazil. This combat sporting family developed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a combination of Judo, Sambo and wrestling. The family has spawned a large number of fighters, including three time UFC champion Royce Gracie.
Established in 1999, the International Sports Combat Federation heralded in a new era of mixed style fighting tournaments. Born from tournaments like the Japanese wrestling Shooto matches and the Brazilian Gracie Family Challenge, the ISCF created a ruling body with governing officials. Fighters from all styles came together to fight in the first official mixed martial arts sanctioning body. The United States Army created its own annual MMA tournament, the Army Combatives Championships, six years later.
The Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz UFC fight in 2006 hit all time records in the pay per view industry, rivaling profits from some of the world's biggest boxing matches. This surged the popularity of mixed martial arts, and in 2006 the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship purchased their business rival, the Pride FC from Japan. They combined the fighters of the two leagues and created the most popular mixed style tournament to date.
The popularity of mixed martial artists seems to be growing daily. Fighters like Ortiz, Liddell, and the Gracie family have worked hard over the history of MMA to bring legitimacy to their unique combat style. Based off the public's reception to this sport, it's sure to flourish for some time.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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