MMA For Dummies: What Newbies Should Know

By Rod Bourgoine


As far as sports go, MMA is still fairly new, but the roots of this sport go back many hundreds of years. Mixed martial arts is a sport that includes moves from the earliest Greco-Roman wrestling as well as martial arts from all over the world. This sport allows fighters to use a variety of skills to overcome an opponent, which makes MMA an exciting spectator sport. If you are new to the world of MMA, here are a few facts you should know.

First and foremost, don't confuse MMA with WWE. MMA is real, WWE is not. MMA fighters are actually competing against one another in real fights. If you want to watch a bunch of guys pretend to fight, head to a WWE event. If you want to see skilled athletes actually competing, then stick with mixed martial arts.

The mixed part of MMA is the idea that fighters can use a variety of different martial arts in order to win a bout. There is no one style required for MMA, but most fighters learn at least one of the following martial arts: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, boxing, and different types of wrestling. Having a full arsenal not only provides you with offensive skills, but important defensive skills that allow you to escape from chokes and holds. So while you might have one style you favor, it is wise to master some other skills as well. There is a reason why Anderson Silva is so effective in a fight; he is a black belt in four different forms of martial arts.

Some people confuse the terms MMA and UFC, believing that they are the same thing. The UFC is an MMA organization but there are plenty of other groups out there hosting great mixed martial arts fights. Bellator MMA, for example, hosts a series of prominent tournaments, as does King of the Cage and other smaller enteritis. Just about every large city in the country has MMA events during the year, so there is rarely a weekend that goes by when you can't find an MMA event to attend.

While sometimes an MMA fight can resemble a bloodbath, sanctioned MMA fights do have many rules. These rules, known as the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, protect fighters from suffering serious injuries. While deaths sometimes occur in unsanctioned MMA fights, there have been just three deaths resulting from sanctioned MMA bouts since the rules were put in place in 2001. To keep it in perspective, there are many dangerous sports with more fatalities, including skiing, boxing, bike racing and NASCAR.

Watch a few fights and you will soon be hooked on MMA. If you want to learn more, consider watching a show such as "Fight Master," on Spike or "The Ultimate Fighter," on FX. There are also tons of blogs, MMA forums and websites dedicated to the sport, and you can start to build your knowledge of mixed martial arts by learning about some of the great fighters. Consider reading about everyone from Royce Gracie to Randy Couture to BJ Penn and many more.




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