Brian Kirk will preview the MMA action for TheScore. But first he offers an introduction to the controversial but extremely popular fight game.

The “Ultimate Fighting Championship” was founded in USA in 1993 as a way to showcase various disciplines of Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, in a competitive arena.

Fighters representing jiu-jitsu, boxing, karate, kick-boxing, and wrestling participated in tournaments to see who could be crowned the “Ultimate Fighting Champion.”

The UFC was born out of Vale Tudo, a Brazilian sport which, when translated means “anything goes”, or “no rules”. American Businessman Art Davie teamed up with Rorion Gracie, whose family had a long history of vale tudo matches and operated a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in America; to produce a show that would try and answer sporting questions such as “Can a boxer beat a karate expert?”

After a backlash that claimed the early productions were too violent, (UFC 1 ran with the tagline “There are no rules!”),  a spate of reforms were introduced in line with the state athletic commission’s recommendation and the sport began to take shape.

Each bout would happen in an eight-sided caged area, the Octagon, and be presided over by a referee. A fighter could win by KO, TKO, unanimous or split decision, or submission, signalled by a physical or verbal tap out from the stricken fighter.

As well as this, if the fighters aren’t trying to improve their position, the referee can decide to stand them up or pull them apart and bring them back to starting positions. Fighters now had to wear four/six ounce gloves, professional boxers use 10 ounce ones,  and five weight categories were introduced: lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.

All bouts would be conducted over three five-minute rounds, championship bouts over five rounds, and a one minute rest period would happen in between rounds. The introduction of the new rules saw more protection given to the fighters, and many of the more unsavoury elements such as kicking/kneeing an opponent when on the ground as well as head-butting and hair pulling were all stamped out.

The core elements of striking and grappling were maintained and emphasised, and a fighter could also score by managing to takedown their opponent. The 10-point must system is in effect for all UFC fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives 10 points, the loser nine points or fewer. If the round is even, both fighters receive 10-points.

The UFC hosts between 12 and 14 pay-per-view events every year that can be viewed on some British and Irish satellite stations. As well as this, the popular reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter, where fighters  enter a competition to fight their way to a UFC contract, air every year and have helped convert the UFC into the mainstream psyche.

Boys from Brazil

One of the main differences between UFC/MMA fights and boxing matches is that the fight can also take place on the floor. Many practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and karate will prefer to try and takedown their opponent and force them to submit rather than stand toe-to-toe with a person who has more experience when it comes to boxing, whereas the boxer would prefer to avoid the takedown and keep the fight standing.

This leads to every fight being not only a matchup between two fighters, but a clash of fighting styles also. When the fighters are on the ground they are encouraged to improve their position to get to a point where they can try and submit their opponent through various chokes, arm locks and leg locks, or strikes.

The full mount position, when where one combatant sits on the other combatant’s torso with the face pointing towards the opponent’s head, is seen as the most dominant and many fights can be finished that way. By adding so many different elements to a “mano a mano” situation, the sport has taken off worldwide and now rivals boxing as America’s most watched pay-per-view television event, leaving behind its original image of an uncontrolled, underground event, to a vibrant new take on an exciting and technical sport.