An Introduction To Mma

I grew up in an incredible era of boxing. I was fortunate enough to watch the likes of Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Caesar Chavez, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello, Boom Boom Mancini, and Hector "Macho" Camocho to name a few. My dad loved it so much that numerous members of the family drove to town and rented a hotel room so we could watch Pryor vs. Arguello on HBO! It was a great fight. Somewhere along the line boxing dramatically changed. There are many reasons, dirty promoters too many organizations etc.

In my opinion boxing still hasn't recovered from the chaos that followed. When I was growing up, everyone knew who the Heavyweight Champ was. Do you know who the current champ is? I started to sway away from boxing as well.

Then along came UFC in the early 90s. Several of my friends and I would rent the UFC videos and watch in absolute amazement. How could this skinny guy named Royce Gracie defeat guys who were much larger and more athletic than him? We watched every video we could get our hands on. I grew to love the sport even through its near demise. Now, MMA (mixed martial arts) is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is the biggest organization in the sport. Keep in mind UFC is not MMA. I've heard that mistake often. Using football as an example, the NFL is not football instead a football league. There is also NCAA football, the CFL (Canadian Football League) and semi pro leagues scattered throughout the country. The same application can be used with MMA. There are smaller promotions all over the nation, growing rapidly in fact.

Now, I will attempt to describe the sport. In some form or fashion, MMA has been around even before Christ. People would gather to watch fights of all fighting disciplines. I'm sure many of you are familiar with boxing, kickboxing, grappling, and wrestling, they are fighting disciplines.

MMA came to the forefront well before UFC. The Gracie family is considered the founding family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.and in essence modern MMA. Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art in which scholars claim has been around in some form since the Olympics in Greece B.C. The Gracie family developed their own form of Jiu-Jitsu commonly referred to as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Their family tree is far too complicated to explain in one column (see www.thetrianglechoke.com/Previous_Columns.html for an interview with Renzo Gracie). The importance of the Gracie family to the sport and its growth cannot be exaggerated.

As mentioned previously, Royce Gracie dominated the early UFC events. In those days, fighters were not well versed in all disciplines. For example, if a kick boxer participated in an event, he simply only knew kick boxing. Gracie would get a kick boxer on the mat, and smother him with Jiu-Jitsu and likely break his opponent's arm. Much has changed since then, most fighters have their specialty, but now they train with coaches from a variety of disciplines. Take nothing away from what Royce Gracie accomplished, his victories were incredible but the truth is he was fighting limited fighters. Even with its initial popularity, UFC almost died. Legislators argued the sport was human cockfighting. States starting banning the sport, UFC was hanging by a thread. Then current UFC President Dana White with the financial support of his friends the Fertitta brothers, purchased UFC. Slowly, they started changing rules including implementing weight classes and constructing a new image of the sport. This helped getting UFC sanctioned in several states. That in and of itself wasn't enough to financially save the sport. Then UFC launched The Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV. The war between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar caught the nation's attention. The television ratings grew as the battle continued; fans were calling others to make sure they were watching an absolute slugfest. Dana White has stated many times, that fight saved the sport and made it what it is today. As a side note, Forrest Griffin has continued to grow from that fight and is currently The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Below are several suggestions to help acquaint yourself to the sport:
" Rent or buy UFC 1-4 : www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6014421
" Watch The Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV-Wednesday nights. Ignore the typical reality TV drama and focus on the coaches, great way to learn the sport
" Check out a book from the library such as Randy Couture! www.amazon.com/Becoming-Natural-Life-Out-C

There are plenty of MMA books to review.

That is a great start to gain a firm grasp of the sport. SpikeTV airs past bouts under the title of UFC Unleashed. This is a great way to watch outstanding fights for free. Versus also airs past WEC fights and live fights (Urijah Faber fighting live on November 5th). Like all sports, MMA has its share of bone heads, you will see plenty on The Ultimate Fighter. They will throw barbs at each other to promote a fight but for the most part, the athletes are respectful of their opponents and act with class especially within the confines of the octagon

You may be picturing the sport as barbaric but the sport is filled with exceptional athletes, some having competed in the Olympics. It is a great sport to watch and there is never an off season. Right now is a perfect time to be a fan as Randy "The Natural" Couture comes back yet again after an extended lay off. Couture is now 45 years old. He has returned against the odds several times and is viewed by many as the greatest champion the sport has ever known. This time, he faces a former NCAA wrestling champion in Brock Lesnar on November 15th in Las Vegas. Couture will be outweighed by at least 35 lbs and face an age difference of 13 years. I cannot guarantee who will win this fight but I can guarantee this, Couture will come into the fight in outstanding shape and will be prepared.

To those who are already MMA fans, I apologize for the history lesson. To those who are just starting with the sport, you will love the ride.
In future columns, The Triangle Choke will profile fighters, review and preview events, and share interviews with some of the most famous fighters in the sport.
MMA fans, stay out of life's triangle chokes.