INTRO

Okay, so by now most people have heard of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships). Its popularity has soared in the last few years and has enjoyed massive mainstream success, even surpassing that of boxing. A large number of the fans are still somewhat new to the "sport" meaning they get that blank look on their faces upon mention of mma pioneers such as Royce Gracie or Kazushi Sakuraba. I've often heard people say they want to go train in "Ultimate Fighting" or refer to it as the name of the sport.

"Ultimate Fighting" refers to the UFC, which is an organization, an extremely successful and significant one at that. More importantly, the sport you are watching when you watch the UFC is Mixed Martial Arts or simply MMA. If you wanted to start playing basketball, you wouldn't go train in NBA would you? Okay, I've had my fun. Now let's get into the nitty gritty of MMA.

Mixed Martial Arts is a combat sport that combines a wide array of fighting and martial art disciplines in one ring or cage. Basically, you have karate, judo, tae kwon do, wrestling, boxing, muay thai, jiu jitsu, and so on. Going way back, practictioners of each respective disclipline believed their art to be superior to others. So whats the next best thing to do? Let's prove it! Hence, the birth of MMA.

Modern MMA can be traced back to as early as the 1920s, when the legendary Gracie Family held Vale Tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil. Vale Tudo is basically unarmed hand to hand combat with minimal rules. Since then, MMA has come a long way and now is much safer than it has ever been. You will tend to see more knockouts in MMA than you will ever see in boxing due to the smaller 8 oz. gloves used in order for fighters to be able to grapple effectively. (i.e. clinches, holds, etc...)

As stated earlier, MMA fighters can utilize any discipline they choose as long as they fight within the confines of the rules. However, with the evolution of the sport, today's fighters have become better athletes and far more well rounded than their predecessors. A one dimensional fighter (meaning only versed in a specific art) in today's sport can no longer complete at an elite level. It comes down to stand-up and grappling. Here are some discliplines that have proven to be the most effective when combined to make a complete fighter:

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu - grappling and ground fighting utilizing chokeholds and joint locks with the intention of forcing a verbal submission or tapout

Some submissions often used: rear naked choke, armbar, kimura, triangle choke, guillotine choke

Some of the best BJJ practitioners in MMA include: Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Dean Lister, BJ Penn, Nick Diaz

Muay Thai - "The Art of the Eight Limbs" (fists, elbows, knees, shins), Thai Boxing

some MT techniques seen in MMA: muay thai clinch, knees delivered from the clinch, flying knee

Some of the best Muay Thai MMA fighters: Anderson "The Spider" Silva, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva

Wrestling - physical style between unarmed opponents involving holds, clinches, and locks

Some MMA fighters with strong wrestling backgrounds: Randy "The Natural" Couture, Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Josh Koscheck

NOTE: There are several styles not mentioned above that have proven to be effective in MMA; these three are basically the main areas of focus for many successful fighters.

Some exciting fighters to look out for in each weight class

Heavyweight:

Fedor Emelianenko - Pride Heavyweight Champion (now owned by the UFC), one of the most if not THE most complete fighter in the game

Randy "The Natural" Couture - UFC Heavyweight Champion (status unclear due to his recent resignation), at 44 yrs of age seems like the older he gets the better he gets

Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira - Former Pride Champion, best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the heavyweight division

Brandon "The Truth" Vera - Exciting fighter with a strong Muay Thai background

Light Heavyweight:

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, known for his brutal slams

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - very aggressive fighter with a brutal clinch game

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell - one of the most feared strikers in the UFC, former UFC light heavyweight champion

Houston Alexander - He's new to the UFC, has won his first two fights in brutal and exciting fashion. Bottom line, he's fun to watch; only time will tell how complete of a fighter he is.

Middleweight:

Anderson "The Spider" Silva - UFC middleweight champion, the most complete and technical striker in the game, following his brutal dismantling of former champ Rich Franklin, many believe he is the best pound for pound fighter in the world now

"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler - devastating power, current Elite XC and ICON middleweight champ

Matt Lindland - Olympic Wrestler, silver medalist in Greco Roman Wrestling, currently a free agent

Frank Shamrock - 5 time undefeated UFC middleweight Champion, current Strikeforce middleweight champion, master of the grappling game, has evolved into an excellent striker (many ppl wouldn't put Frank here due to his inactivity for most of this decade, but until it is proven otherwise I'm putting him here)

Welterweight:

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre - extremely physically gifted fighter, well rounded, former UFC welterweight champion

Karo "The Heat" Parisyan - most successful fighter with Judo background, his Judo throws are a joy to watch

Jake Shields - well rounded fighter, strong jiu jitsu and kickboxing, fights for Elite XC

Lightweight:

Takanori Gomi - Pride Lightweight Champion (owned by UFC), great boxing skills, KO power in both hands

Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez - Strikeforece Lightweight Champion

BJ Penn - Outstanding BJJ, overall well rounded fighter

The big dawgs - UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships), Pride Fighting Championships (bought and dissolved by the UFC), Strikeforce (California based org, perhaps the next to challenge the UFC)

others: WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting, owned by UFC), IFL (International Fight League, team based league), M-1 (new org, home to Fedor Emelianenko), K-1 HERO'S, DEEP, Pancrase, ICON sport, Gracie FC, BodogFight

*there are more that are not listed

Though the media and pop culture alike have often and continue to portray Mixed Martial Arts or "Ultimate Fighting," as many have come to know it, as brutal and violent, in reality it couldn't be farther from the truth. Mixed Martial Arts is an ART, built on respect and honor. Some may not see it that way and thats okay, but at the end of the day, its the art that keeps the sport alive.