MMA’s International Growth and Expansion
By very nature of it’s name and origins mixed martial arts competitions have a worldwide
MMA
attraction and following. The history of the modern MMA championships that we are all so familiar with today can be traced back to mixed style fighting matches that were held in the 1900s in Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim. The MMA that most are familiar with today dates back to 1993 and the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, designed as a full contact competition to see which fighting style was the best for unarmed combat. The first Ultimate Fighting Championship was won by Royce Gracie in 1993 when he was able to beat three challengers in a total of five minutes.
Of course the core styles that originally made up the mixed martial arts competitions come from all over the globe including Muy Thai from Thailand, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and various wrestling and grappling styles. However today’s competitors are much more well rounded fighters, that have spent more time developing their stand up and ground fighting techniques.
Despite it’s international roots modern MMA has largely been a US phenomenon boosted to
MMA: Jiujitsu
fame by the media and widespread publicity. And even though many fighters that have fought in the legendary octagon have come from many different countries including, Brazil, Mexico and Japan it hasn’t been a big an event as it is in the US. The ISCF or International Sport Combat Federation was formed in May of 1999 to be the worlds first “MMA” Sanctioning body. This began in a new era of MMA where it has become recognized as a real sport worldwide.
However with the growth the MMA and surrounding culture, including magazines, the International MMA Expo and reality TV shows like the Ultimate Fighter international popularity has begun to boom. The international expansion of MMA and domination as a major sport is further demonstrated by the UFC 89 match between Cris Leben and Bisping being held in London, England and the UFC debut in Australia set for February 2010.
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