Known as MMA in the community. MMA is one of the fast growing sport in the world. Many people know it mainly through the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or Pride Fighting Championship events. These are the two largest MMA organizations. UFC is an American organization whereas Pride is mainly in Japan but is considered to be more of an international organization since it represents a large demographic of fighters from around the world. My first time seeing an MMA event was back in the early 90’s when I saw the first UFC event on VHS, now I’ve been actively interested in MMA since 1999.
These MMA events have fighters who are well-versed in many aspects of fighting disciplines ranging from judo, wrestling, boxing, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and to other combat styles to compete against each other. Many people see MMA as a barbaric spectacle sport. Actually, its is a very organized and controlled sport much like any popular sport organization that exists.
Think of MMA as a physical chess game where fighters use their strategy and skills to overtake their opponent. There are many ways to win in a fight. There are submissions, knockouts, doctor stoppages, ref stoppages, corner stoppages, or through a judges decisions. Some fights have been won without a punch being thrown. These fighters don’t fight out of anger or evilness. They fight to prove that they have better skills, that they are better trained, and is the better athlete. Competitive fighting is one of the oldest sport in the world and many people are just starting realize how amazing it is.
The reason this is in my blog today is because there is a UFC event tonight which has a couple of my favorite fighters fighting tonight. And the following week Pride is also having an event pitting two of my favorite fighters fighting for the world heavy weight championship as well as it will be the finals for the middle weight grand prix tournament.