Historical archive

From “human cockfighting” to a world sport: modern MMA

Rules, weight classes and television turned a spectacle into a regulated sport.

1985–2016

Original WABUKAN illustration (ink and wash), 2026. Two modern MMA fighters in the cage, a kick checked with the shin.

The story

Mixed fighting had roots before UFC: Brazilian vale tudo, Japanese shoot wrestling and Shooto, founded by Sayama Satoru in 1985 with rounds and weight classes. But the early American events were bloody and lightly regulated. In 1996 the senator John McCain called it “human cockfighting” and urged states to ban it. Cable companies dropped the shows, and the UFC nearly died.

The answer was regulation. In 2000–2001 the New Jersey athletic commission and promoters agreed the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts: gloves, rounds, weight classes, a list of fouls and medical checks. In January 2001 the casino owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White bought the UFC through their company Zuffa for about 2 million dollars. Meanwhile in Japan, PRIDE, which began in 1997 at the Tokyo Dome, filled stadiums.

The turning point on television was the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, whose 2005 finale between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar drew a huge audience. Zuffa bought PRIDE in 2007. Women entered the UFC in 2013, when Ronda Rousey fought Liz Carmouche. In 2016 New York became the last US state to legalise professional MMA, and the UFC was sold for about 4 billion dollars.

Key dates

1985
Shooto is founded in Japan.
1996
McCain’s “human cockfighting” campaign.
1997
PRIDE 1 at the Tokyo Dome.
2000–2001
Unified Rules adopted in New Jersey; Zuffa buys the UFC.
2005
The Ultimate Fighter finale.
2013
First women’s bout in the UFC.
2016
New York legalises professional MMA.

Myth and fact

Myth

MMA is a brawl with no technique.

Modern MMA is regulated by athletic commissions under the Unified Rules, with weight classes, medical tests and referees, and its fighters train boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling and jiu-jitsu at a high level.

Why it matters

MMA became a meeting point for almost every combat tradition and a source of new training methods. It also raised hard questions about head injuries and fighters’ pay that are still open.

Images: public-domain or CC0 works credited under each picture, or original WABUKAN ink illustrations. Panels: the story told in numbered comic boxes.

Sources

Mixed martial arts — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Ultimate Fighting Championship — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Pride Fighting Championships — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
Shooto — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org

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