Whose style is cooler? Today, mixed martial arts (or MMA) is one of the most popular types of martial arts (and in terms of promotion and profitability, MMA has long been a competitor to professional boxing). Often called in the old-fashioned “fights without rules” mixed martial arts, not without reason, are considered one of the bloodiest and cruelest sports. Here, two fighters, being in a cage, are able not only to exchange blows with hands and feet, but also to carry out captures in order to knock the enemy to the floor (transfer to the stalls) to try to finish the fight with a suffocating / painful reception.
Of course, if you try to understand the origins of this bloody sport, you can come to the conclusion that MMA is not such a young sport. In fairness, it is worth noting that in the ancient period fought, combining different techniques. Then, do not forget and Bruce Lee, who invented jit kung-do - martial arts, combining elements of different martial arts, as well as the fight of boxer Muhammad Ali with wrestler Kanji Inoki in 1978. And finally, cinema played an active role in the emergence of MMA in life. Both “Judo Genius”, “Event of the Dragon”, and “Bloody Sport” proved that it looks cool, like fighters from different schools, converge in the ring, trying to find out what is cooler or more effective – judo, or jujitsu, karate, or Thai boxing, etc.
It was in order to understand who is cooler, and was held November 12, 1993. the first Absolute Fighting Championship (UFC), which was performed by 8 fighters representing different types of martial arts: Savat, sumo, kickboxing, boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo, Taekwondo, Shooting.
The first thing that catches the eye when watching UFC-1 is that everything that the viewer is used to (dividing fighters into weight categories, only sports shorts from clothing, 8-ounce gloves on their hands) came into use only with time. And here we see the same “fights without rules”, where the participants dress as they want. A striking example is the fight of boxer Art Jimmerson with jiu-jitsu wrestler Royce Gracie, where one came out in sneakers and a boxing glove in his left hand, and the other in a kimono and without shoes. Or take the very first fight between Gerard Gordo and Teyla Thuli – it would seem only in the cinema a person of average build can resist such a heavyweight as the sumoist Thuli. But Gordo won a rather quick victory (while injuring his leg against the broken teeth of the sumoist).
Another feature of the tournament was that all the fights ended quite quickly. Even if we imagine that then the fights were not divided into rounds, then they still lasted no more than 3-4 minutes.
As for the winner of the championship, it was a worthy victory in fair competition. Although it seems funny that Royce Gracie is a member of the Gracie family, who founded the UFC with businessman Art Davey. But I repeat: there was no favor and sue "his" here, but only an honest victory.
Well, sometimes it is useful to get acquainted with what a particular sport was originally. And the popularity of that UFC broadcast showed that the sequel ...
6 out of 10