MMA

Histoire

Mixing all fighting styles is ancient — the Greek pankration was in the Olympics from 648 BC — and Brazil had "vale tudo" (anything goes) fights in the 20th century. The modern sport began with UFC 1 in Denver on 12 November 1993, created to find out which martial art was most effective.

Early events had almost no rules. In 2000–2001 the Unified Rules of MMA brought weight classes, gloves, rounds and banned blows, and athletic commissions began to regulate the sport. New owners bought the UFC in 2001, the reality show The Ultimate Fighter (2005) made it mainstream, and women entered the UFC in 2013.

Le saviez-vous ?

• The term "mixed martial arts" is usually credited to TV critic Howard Rosenberg, writing about UFC 1 in 1993.
• Royce Gracie, a light man, won UFC 1 using Brazilian jiu-jitsu against much bigger opponents.
• Championship fights last five rounds of five minutes; normal fights three.
• The UFC's eight-sided cage is called the Octagon.
• Most top fighters today train wrestling, BJJ and Muay Thai or boxing together.

Glossaire des techniques

Takedown

bringing the opponent to the ground

Sprawl

defending a takedown by throwing the legs back

Ground and pound

striking from top position

Guillotine

front choke

Rear naked choke

choke from behind

Cage wrestling

clinching against the fence

Armes et équipement

4 oz gloves

open-finger gloves

Octagon / cage

fenced fighting area

⚔ In the Arsenal

Saco de boxe

Figures clés

• Royce Gracie (1966–) — winner of UFC 1, 2 and 4
• Fedor Emelianenko (1976–) — Russian heavyweight, unbeaten for about ten years
• Anderson Silva (1975–) — record middleweight title reign in the UFC
• Georges St-Pierre (1981–) — Canadian champion in two weight classes
• Ronda Rousey (1987–) — Olympic judo medallist and first UFC women's champion

Sources: Association of Boxing Commissions (Unified Rules of MMA) · IMMAF · Encyclopaedia Britannica