MMA, the abbreviation for Mixed Martial Arts, is now one of the most dominant and complete combat sports practiced worldwide.
Originating from Vale Tudo and Luta Livre
MMA originally emerged from Brazilian Vale Tudo and Luta Livre. It is also sometimes referred to as cage fighting, free fighting, or No Holds Barred (NHB) fighting. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, modern MMA and the major organizations have quite a few rules, and obviously far from everything is allowed.
UFC 1: a turning point in MMA history
The first time the term MMA was used was during what is now generally considered the most important moment in modern MMA history: UFC 1 (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
In the 1990s, the Gracie family from Brazil brought their adapted (Brazilian) Jiu-Jitsu style to the USA. Ultimately, this led to the first major global MMA tournament: UFC 1.
Originally, the idea was to identify the best fighting styles by allowing virtually everything. Since then, however, MMA has grown enormously, and many professional fighters have started cross-training in various combat styles.
Regulation and popularization
To keep it safe and make the sport more mainstream and therefore commercially acceptable, many more rules and weight classes were gradually introduced, leading to what is now an incredibly popular sport and organization: MMA and the UFC.
Today, MMA is such a major business worldwide, especially in the USA, that it competes with always-popular professional boxing, pro wrestling, and kickboxing.
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