🤼 What is this UFC thing about anyway? - Jack of All Trades, Master of Some #3
The basics of MMA for dummies.
Hello, and welcome back to JOATMOS (what an acronym),
I hope those of you concerned that they would get spammed by subscribing to this are now reassured. At a pace of one email every 4 months, I’m giving plenty of space for this relationship between us to grow.
In this edition and ahead of UFC 300, I want to talk about mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes known as cage fighting, and break down what the hell it’s all about, in case you’re interested.
What are my credentials to be qualified to talk about this topic? I’m glad you asked:
Staying up late every weekend for years to watch mediocre fights until dawn due to the time difference between the U.S. and Europe.
Writing a largely unsuccessful newsletter about the sport every single week for two years.
Training at a boxing gym for about 6 months a few years ago and feeling like I was Jean Claude Van Damme for light-sparring two rounds against a guy half my size that one time.
Going to a live UFC event once in Vancouver, Canada, and seeing a man lose consciousness upon being hit in the face (it was terrifying).
Years ago, I wrote an extensive blog post on this topic called “MMA for Dummies: A guide for the aspiring fan.” As the sport continues to grow, I figured it would be a good idea to revisit it today.
What is MMA?
MMA stands for “Mixed Martial Arts” and is a full-contact combat sport. It’s based on combining various martial arts to create a complete mix: Fighters can kick, punch, clinch, grapple, fight on the ground, and submit their opponent.
At its core, the concept is similar to tournaments in classic video games like Street Fighter. What would happen if you were to lock a Muay Thai fighter and a boxer in a cage? What is the most effective martial arts of all? Who would win between an electric man-beast from the jungle and a guy from Spain wearing a mask and wielding sharp metal claws? Those are legit things we needed to know as a species, and that’s how I figure MMA was born.
For an actual history of the sport, you can refer to Wikipedia instead of me copying and pasting the information here. But long story short, the origins of modern MMA can be traced back as far as pankration in Greece, and Vale Tudo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Brazil.
The lore of MMA is intrinsically linked to the Gracie, a Brazilian family who was exposed to Japanese martial art by a Japanese martial artist student of the legendary Kanō Jigorō (the father of Judo), and in turn, developed their own version, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
In the 80s, one of the Gracie family members, Rorion, teamed up with businessmen to create the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a tournament where different fighters compete to see who’s the strongest. Fights took place in an Octagon (an 8-sided cage) without weight classes or well-defined rules. Some guys were fighting with clothing, others in boxer briefs, they could kick each other in the face with shoes on…. it was a big ole mess.
Soon, the UFC was getting into trouble with regulating bodies and the moral police. But with time, other organizations like PRIDE in Japan started taking off, and two Vegas casino guys, the Fertitta brothers, teamed up with their boxing promoter friend Dana White to buy the UFC. They saw potential and wanted to turn MMA into a “clean” sport in the U.S.
Call it a hunch, because they bought the organisation in 2001 for $1M, and sold it in 2016 for $4B. Not bad.
Breaking down the rules of modern MMA
The Unified Rules of MMA, defined by the Nevada Athletic Commission, are pretty much universal across the board. Some organizations, such as ONE Championship, are mixing it up a bit, but overall, it’s more of the same:
What is the length of an MMA fight?
Three five-minute rounds for normal fights / five five-minute rounds if a championship title is on the line, and for main events.
Weight classes in MMA
Fighters are organized in weight classes, from flyweight to heavyweight, to ensure that athletes are roughly the same size as their opponents and guarantee everyone’s safety. Because of human nature, of course, this is definitely not what happens.
Since weigh-ins occur the day before fights, athletes usually “cut weight,” meaning that they try to lose a maximum amount of weight, dehydrating and starving themselves, to try and fight in a lower category, thus gaining an advantage.
This is not unique to MMA and happens in most combat sports, but it’s still quite ridiculous and dangerous. Because everyone cuts weight, athletes are forced to roll with it unless they want to fight against guys who are 20 pounds heavier than them on fight day.
Alternatives have been explored (by ONE Championship, for example, measuring hydration throughout the weeks before the fights), but they don’t seem to be perfect either.
What are the judging criteria for an MMA fight?
The only person in the cage, along with the fighters, is a referee, responsible for the protection of the athletes and for stopping the fight if necessary. There are three judges on the side, watching and scoring the fights.
At the end of each round, the winner scores 10 points, and the loser scores 9 (sometimes 8, if the one was really one-sided). A draw round will be scored 10-10. Points can also be deducted in case of a foul.
Judging in MMA is based on:
Significant strikes and effective wrestling: Who’s dealing the more effective blows, taking down the opponent effectively, etc
Effective aggression: Who is pushing the pace and goes after it?
Cage control: Who’s controlling the center of the mat, dictating the rhythm?
Once you get into the sport, you’ll realize that many fans don’t know how to score an MMA fight or don’t bother considering what makes a winning round. It’s worth looking at the unified rules of MMA, and following reliable media personalities online for informed takes (more on that below).
How can an MMA fight end?
A fight can end by Knockout (KO) if one of the fighters loses consciousness due to strikes, Technical Knockout (TKO) if the referee has to jump in and stop the fight due to a fighter not defending him/herself, or Submission when a fighter gives up either verbally, by tapping, or by losing consciousness due to a choke for example.
If the fight goes on for the entirety of the rounds, judges will hand over their scorecard for a decision that can be either unanimous, split or even a draw. In rare cases, fights can also be scored as no-contests, for example, in case of a forbidden strike given in good faith.
What is allowed in an MMA fight?
In MMA, fighters can do many things, but not quite everything. For the mot part it’s common sense, if you think something is too messed up, it’s probably a foul. Here’s a short list of the main things fighters cannot do in the cage:
Eye gouging, fish hooking or hair-pulling
Biting or spitting at an opponent
Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
Throat strikes of any kind and/or grabbing the trachea
Downward pointing elbow strike (’12 to ‘6 strike)
Groin attacks of any kind
Kneeing and/or kicking the head of a grounded opponent
Stomping a grounded opponent
Holding or grabbing the fence or ropes with fingers or toes
You apparently also cannot “throw an opponent outside the cage,” but I would love to see someone try.
Must-watch, classic MMA fights
The best way to get started is to watch past fights hailed as some of the greatest. Here are some all-time favorites that you simply can’t go wrong with, including links to the videos on YouTube:
Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren (UFC 239): A perfect introduction to MMA with a clash (pun intended) between a high-level kickboxer and a renowned wrestler. Don’t blink!
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (UFC fight Night 33): A legendary heavyweight fight between two absolute units ending up drenched in blood. Bigfoot was suspended for elevated testosterone levels after the fight (another topic for another time), but it’s still an all-time great moment.
Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold 2 (UFC 199): One of the best storylines of the sport, in my opinion, Michael Bisping’s rise to the top culminates here as he competes on two weeks’ notice for the Middleweight belt against cocky champion Luke Rockhold.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1 (UFC 196): Conor McGregor, at the peak of his career, faces Nate Diaz, one of the sport’s most eccentric characters, an expert in BJJ, mean-mugging, and slaps.
Robbie Lawler vs. Rory McDonald (UFC 189): Pure VIOLENCE, a scary amount of damage taken and received on both ends, super gruesome.
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm (UFC 193): Ronda Rousey, Judo Olympian, and dominant champion who was destroying everyone and was hailed as the greatest ever at the time, faces an experienced boxer/kickboxer who apparently didn’t get the memo.
Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry (UFC on Versus 4): One of the most impressive comebacks in the history of the UFC.
Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (PRIDE 21): One of the first fights that really took my breath away. These guys are just going for it and look both terrifying and somewhat hilarious doing so.
Any fight with Francis Ngannou (quite handy for a quick watch because they rarely exceed one minute).
There are obviously many more, but these are a good place to start. Be careful not to watch them all at once, however, or symptoms such as shadowboxing in your living room or destroying a door for no reason might start to appear.
Best MMA channels, websites, and sources
There are plenty of cool MMA sources, websites, and social media profiles to follow. This is my personal crème de la crème, the MMA channels I follow every day to stay up to date with the sport, see someone get punched in the face, or have a good laugh:
MMA Digest: The absolute best MMA channel on YouTube. Short, no-nonsense videos, original content with inside jokes, and exclusive interviews. If you need to follow only one MMA-related channel, that’s the one.
Sherdog: One of the reference websites for the entire sport: Fighter records, card details, pound-for-pound and division rankings, forums… It’s a great independent source for you to get your info.
- , one of the best MMA journalists out there, who you can find on Substack or in The MMA Hour with stellar interviews and fun takes every week.
- and its , not strictly MMA-related, but very interesting investigative journalism that goes beyond the surface.
Bloody Elbow: Real investigative journalism and critical thinking within the sport of MMA. Bloody Elbow brings meaningful content beyond fight results and generic headlines.
Uncle Joey’s MMA Edits: Some of the best edits on Youtube, each video usually focuses on a fighter or a theme. They haven’t posted in a while, but I hope they will return.
Quality MMA content is abundant out there; you just have to use a bit of critical thinking to sort through the noise, as the community can get pretty loud and, at times, quite a bit toxic.
What’s your opinion about MMA?
If you haven’t had enough, head to the full version of this guide on my blog and check out La Bagarre on Twitter. Even though I stopped writing my MMA newsletter (I covered it in a previous edition), I’m still hanging out in the timeline and would be happy to interact on there about MMA.
What do you think about MMA? Have you been watching? Are you interested in learning more? Was this article interesting/fun to read? What are your favorite fights of all time? Do you think two billionaires are going to go at it in 2024?
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