7 Fights That Defined Mixed Martial Arts
7 fights that, one way or another, made modern MMA what it is today.
Mixed Martial Arts has existed in various forms since at least the time of the Ancient Greek Olympics. Then known as pankration, combatants fought entirely naked - and were often killed in competition.
Thousands of years of progress, and one Reebok deal later, the UFC became the world’s most valuable combat sports organisation after being sold for $4.2 billion dollars in 2016. Superstars such as Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey have propelled MMA into the mainstream.
But it hasn’t always been easy. The first organised events contained few more rules then the original pankration events and received widespread disapproval for their barbarity. This criticism nearly killed the sport in the west in the late 1990s, when US Senator John McCain famously called the sport “human cockfighting.”
MMA evolved in the years that followed, and the New Jersey Athletic Commission’s 2001 Unified Rules of MMA, helped turn the fledgling UFC from an often-bareknuckle spectacle, into the codified sporting juggernaut that we know it as today.
These fights, one way or another, were instrumental in making modern Mixed Martial Arts.
7. Gracie Vs. Kimura (1951)
A fight surrounded by more mythology than any other on this list, much of the events surrounding this contest vary depending on who is asked, but the lasting outcome remains the same.
The Gracie family began teaching martial arts in Brazil in the 1920s after being taught in judo by Mitsuyo Maeda, a student of the founder of the art Jigoro Kano. Taking on all comers, the family attempted to establish itself as the foremost source for martial arts in the country.
To further display the effectiveness of their art, Helio Gracie challenged various competitors to test him - in this case travelling pro wrestler Mashahiko Kimura.
Taking place on 23 October 1951, the fight was contested under rules more similar to some modern forms of competition grappling, with the only way to win being forcing your opponent to submit. Kimura dominated the contest throughout, continually throwing the smaller Gracie, who fought valiantly before being caught in the judo armlock known as gyaku ude-garami. Gracie refused to tap and the fight wasn’t stopped until Carlos Gracie threw in the towel.
In honour of his victory, the move would be referred to as the Kimura amongst Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners thereafter, eventually being prominently utilised by another Japanese pro wrestler who would draw the ire of the Gracie family.