Mixed martial arts is one of the most booming contact sports in recent decades. Within MMA, the most important company is the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship, in which the best-known fighters compete and is responsible for the most massive events in the world related to this sport.
MMA has grown so big that it has become mainstream, in a way, and now it is streamed worldwide with a growing audience. MMA went far beyond America and can be found in the best sports betting sites in India, for example. The country’s bookmakers offer the best odds for MMA beyond classic sports such as NBA or soccer. The number of available UFC betting markets and bonuses for events is increasing. In addition, due to the growth in the sports sector, a wide variety of promotions and free bets are offered for users to try their luck.
The beginning of MMA
Back in the ’90s and early ‘2000s, MMA was a completely different thing. The premise was to have fighters from different styles, such as traditional kung fu, Taekwondo or Karate to fight each other in their specific martial art form.
This has evolved into its own thing where the most efficient martial arts techniques are being used by most fighters and it has proven to be very interesting for its viewers and further growth of the sport of MMA. Now there’s even a women’s league where the best MMA Female fighters get in the cage and give their best to win the belt.
Of course, such a large and rapid development of a martial arts sport has some negative consequences, and one of them is the development of various myths.
Some of those most widespread myths are: the sport of MMA is dangerous; MMA is not for everyone; MMA should be banned; MMA is just hyped.
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History lesson
The modern sport of MMA began with a sporting event that took place on November 12, 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, which is known as the First Ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1.
Event organizers include Art Davie, Robert Meyrowitz and Rorion Gracie. The competitions were held between eight different martial arts fighters: Royce Gracie, Zane Frazier, Ken Shamrock, Telia Tuli, Gerard Gordeau, Kevin Rosier, Patrick Smith and Art Jimmerson.
As many as 86,592 viewers witnessed Royce Gracie’s dominance via pay-per-view. Although the event had a large audience, the organization of all subsequent competitions did not go so well.
The founders of the UFC competition, especially Rorion Gracie, believed that the UFC competitions should be run with fewer rules to make the fights more realistic. However, when Senator John McCain saw these fights, he did not like them and did everything possible to ban this type of competition.
This is why the sport of MMA was banned in New York and most of the US in 1997, as well as in some European countries like France. The ban lasted quite a long time in some countries.
The New York State Assembly voted against the 1997 MMA ban in 2016 and thus became the last US state to re-legalize the sport of MMA. The legalization was largely due to the changing of the fighting rules (let’s just say the rules became more humane).
The new beginning
Certain changes in the sport of MMA occurred when the UFC was purchased in 2001 by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, as well as when they formed their parent company, Zuffa.
Dana White was given the presidential role. Thanks to their acquaintances and impact in the state of Nevada, they managed to legalize the sport of MMA, which was essential for its further development. Gradually, many other MMA sports organizations were founded around the world, and we can name just a few of them: Bellator, Pride, Affliction, Strikeforce, WEC, MMA, IFC, Rizling, Elite XC (no longer active), etc.
Let’s not forget, of course, the many excellent competitors and trainers. Credit for the popularity of the sport of MMA goes especially to Gene LeBell, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, just to name a few.
Conclusion
Martial arts have been around for thousands of years. The sport of MMA today is just another step in the evolution of martial arts, which has a long history of development, as well as MMA as a style of competition.
The MMA development path is just a natural continuation of the basic human need to practice martial arts in order to protect oneself as an individual and one’s family members. At its core, MMA is a synergy of the best techniques from all of the martial arts turned into a personalized system of self-defense or competition.
