More To Come

Mixed Martial Arts is a pretty misunderstood sport. It is harder than people know, especially the training and sacrifices and it is also a lot less violent than people think. There are actual rules to make it safer like - no eye gouging, no biting, no knees to the head when arms or hands are touching the ground, head butting, groin area, striking the back of the head and more. 
Over the few days I'll be telling you more about MMA and where it started to it's international following. 

MMA is a sport that combines a mix of different martial arts that involve striking and grappling. Some of these are Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Samba, Wrestling, Boxing and Judo. Before the UFC there were competitions around the world that involved opponents using a mix of martial arts against each other. Some time in the 1920's Brazil started something called Vale Tudo (full-contact unarmed combat event) and was brought to the US in 1993 by the Gracie family and the UFC was created. This was the year that the term Mixed Martial Arts or MMA was coined in a review of UFC 1. UFC 1 - 3 was a bit of a free for all and had boxers against wrestlers and taekwon doe black belts against judo black belts, there were not a lot of rules and it was usually very one sided, but still entertaining. It probably wasn't until PRIDE FC was formed in 1997 that it became more internationally recognised and followed, especially in Japan and Russia.