The modern day MMA game is vastly different from the "blood and guts" cage fighting of the nineties. These days there's a medical team on standby and fights are stopped regularly to make sure nothing is too bloody or barbaric; but that definitely wasn't the case when everything started. Which moments and matches were the most egregious examples of the 'old UFC', which the business is now wanting to move away from? Today the UFC and the sport of MMA in general are highly regulated. Fighters are examined by a doctor both before and after the events and if necessary are suspended for medical reasons. The fighters are tested for various banned substances and if they test positive are punished for it. Rules are set in place and weight classes separate the fighters based on size. However, there was a time not too long ago in the big picture that the sport was barely regulated if at all. Because the original premise was to find the best fighting style in the world, there were barely any rules and initially no weight classes. The idea was that a more skilled smaller opponent could indeed defeat a much larger opponent. The referees were even limited in whether they could stop the fight or not which is why officials may now stop fights early today. The shock value is what both drew people and repulsed people by the sport and the resulting bans is what turned the sport into what it is today. It is all of this controversy that the UFC would like to forget and move on as a professional sport. Here are the top moments that need to be forgotten.
Matthew Salzer fell in love with Mixed Martial Arts when he watched Pride Fighting Championships on Japanese TV. He is a lifelong wrestler having earned a Bachelor of Science at Missouri Baptist University. Matthew is the Senior Editor at MMA Freak and has written for Funky Monkey MMA, H4 Entertainment, and MMA Fiends.
