What is the country of origin for modern MMA?

skribs · Oct 18, 2023

I'm planning on decorating my home dojo with the flags of the places where I have trained or where the arts I have trained come from, including USA (where I'm from), Korea (TKD and HKD), Brazil (BJJ), and Thailand (Muay Thai). But I've also done a bit of MMA. Where exactly is it from?

If we consider UFC 1 to be the birth of the sport, was that from Brazil (and the Gracies) or from USA (where it was hosted)? Is UFC 1 the birth of the sport?

marvin8 · Oct 18, 2023

skribs said:
If we consider UFC 1 to be the birth of the sport, was that from Brazil (and the Gracies) or from USA (where it was hosted)? Is UFC 1 the birth of the sport?

UFC was founded in the USA by Art Davie, Rorion Gracie, and Bob Meyrowitz. The Greek Olympic games is considered to be the birth of the sport of MMA.

Excerpts from "History of MMA and the UFC:"

Verdict MMA said:
The origins of MMA can be traced back to the ancient Greek Olympic games, where athletes would compete in pankration, a martial art that combined elements of boxing and wrestling. In the modern era, MMA began to take shape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the development of various martial arts styles and the emergence of professional wrestling...

The UFC was founded in 1993 by Art Davie, Rorion Gracie, and Bob Meyrowitz. The first UFC event, UFC 1, was held on November 12, 1993, in Denver, Colorado. The event featured a single-elimination tournament with eight fighters representing different martial arts disciplines.

Monkey Turned Wolf · Oct 18, 2023

I'd consider it to be brazil. Both the gracies and vale tudo are there...the USA just happened to be the first place they showcased it.

punisher73 · Oct 19, 2023

There probably have been "MMA" contests throughout the history of mankind.

I would say the most well known and documented mixed martial art contest would be Greece and Pankration in their Olympics. It was introduced in their Olympics in 648 BC.

The Chinese had their "Lei tai" fights going back to the Qin Dynasty (around 700 BC to around 221 BC).

So, really nothing new under the sun. But, the first time the term "Mixed Martial Arts" was applied was to UFC 1.

frank raud · Oct 19, 2023

Japanese shoot wrestling had a significant impact on MMA, as the training ground of such early MMA stars as Ken Shamrock and Sakabura" the Gracie killer." To add to the confusion, Karl Gotch, an American was a huge influence on shoot wrestling.

drop bear · Oct 19, 2023

What was the origins of the MMA you did?

Oily Dragon · Oct 19, 2023

Well Vale Tudo isn't really MMA, it's worse. More like Lethwei. And yeah, all sorts of countries have their old school version of NHB.

But if we are talking the rule set of modern MMA, UFC has always been and still is the pinnacle of the sport, and it is an American innovation and has been headquartered in Las Vegas since inception. Fighters come from all over the world, but they come to the US.

You can tell because it is as made for boobs watching TV, and specifically, PPV and VHS rentals. 100% USA red meat.

Steve · Oct 20, 2023

I think shootfighting was more of a direct precursor to modern MMA than shootfighting.

But, if you're talking about "modern MMA" as in the actual modern sport, that is purely the UFC and the approval of the unified rules by the New Jersey gaming commision in around 2000 or 2001. The unified ruleset is what transformed all of these precursors into a combat sport that can be sanctioned by various gaming commissions, and also televised and marketed by mainstream sport outlets (Fox, ESPN, etc).

Oily Dragon · Oct 20, 2023

Steve said:
I think shootfighting was more of a direct precursor to modern MMA than shootfighting.

What came first though, shootfighting or shootfighting?

Seriously though curious what you meant to say.

Steve · Oct 21, 2023

Oily Dragon said:
What came first though, shootfighting or shootfighting?

Seriously though curious what you meant to say.

ha. I meant shootfighting over vale tudo.

HighKick · Oct 21, 2023

Monkey Turned Wolf said:
I'd consider it to be brazil. Both the gracies and vale tudo are there...the USA just happened to be the first place they showcased it.

But did the Gracie's call it 'Mixed Martial Arts'?

Tony Dismukes · Oct 21, 2023

HighKick said:
But did the Gracie's call it 'Mixed Martial Arts'?

Nope. The Gracies were promoting style vs style. The evolution into modern MMA occurred after fighters got smart and realized that learning from each other would lead to more success than trying to prove “my art is better than yours.”

Monkey Turned Wolf · Oct 21, 2023

HighKick said:
But did the Gracie's call it 'Mixed Martial Arts'?

Nope, but it (particularly vale tudo) was the origin of the modern mma, even if they didn't use that word. In the same way judo was the origin of bjj even if they didn't call it that.

Oily Dragon · Oct 21, 2023

This is the actual post UFC1 article from 1993 where the term "mixed martial arts" was first used in the LA Times.

Rosenberg definitely references Brazil (which might be because of the Gracie influence in the promotion of UFC), but in a North American newspaper, and there were definitely "mixed" style tournaments before Vale Tudo in Asia and elsewhere Rosenberg probably just didn't know about (at the time, those eastern hemisphere competitors, even ones in Japan, weren't well known).

Hard to believe PPV only charged 14.95 back then.

'Ultimate' Fight Lives Up to Name : Television: Pay-Per-View Battle, Instead of Being Merely Gory and Funny, Gets Interesting After the First Two Bouts

Yes, as a regular television viewer, I'd seen my share of violence.

www.latimes.com

"St. Louis cruiserweight boxer Art Jimmerson didn’t get to throw even one punch before giving up. He was swiftly taken down and dispatched with a chokehold by jujitsu master Royce Gracie, whose family is synonymous with the sport in their native Brazil, where mixed-martial arts championships like this one are commonplace."

Gaucho · Oct 22, 2023