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Over the last decade, MMA fighters have adapted to a Hybrid MMA style of fighting rather than representing a specific martial art in MMA. In the early days of the UFC, there were several fundamental martial arts in MMA that fighters styles developed from.
In recent years the popularity of MMA has grown more than any other sport in the world. It’s important that as the sport grows, fans remember the martial arts from which MMA was developed.
In this article, I discuss eight common martial arts in MMA, and the best fighters that specialise in them.
A (Brief) History of MMA
MMA dates back to the Olympics in ancient greek times. MMA originated as hand-to-hand sport called pankration. There were two rules; no eye-gouging and no biting. In ancient times, champions were celebrated like heroes, similar to modern-day champions.
Modern MMA traces back to Vale Tudo and the Gracie challenge. Fights would take place in the circus or on the beaches of Rio and had hardly any rules.
During the 1990s, Modern MMA exploded. The decade featured the first UFC event in America, and PRIDE FC was selling out stadiums in Japan.
MMA is now the fastest growing sport in the world. The sport is on track to take over boxing in popularity within the next ten years.
Martial Arts in MMA
Although MMA isn’t limited to a specific set of martial arts, there are several common martial arts in MMA. Below I discuss 8 of the most popular martial arts in MMA.
Thai Boxing
Thai Boxing or Muay Thai is known as the art of eight limbs. The martial art is similar to kickboxing, with the addition of knees, elbows and clinching.
Thai Boxing originated in the 18th century, as a combat martial art for soldiers. Muay Thai is now a popular martial art globally, with the epicentre rooted in Bangkok.
Thai boxing is one of the most complete striking martial arts in MMA, due to the fact it uses all eight limbs. Muay Thai fighters are known for their vicious leg kicks and elbows.
Throughout the years there have been multiple MMA champions who specialise in Thai Boxing. One of the most notable being former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The Muay Thai style works well against boxers and grapplers who are unable to secure a takedown. Muay Thai is an extremely effective martial art for MMA, as it teaches fighters to both kick, punch and clinch.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – BJJ
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that consists of grappling, ground control and submissions. In BJJ, fighters wear a traditional GI, and no strikes are allowed. BJJ was developed by the Gracie family in the 1920s and is an adaption of Japanise Jiu-Jitsu and judo. The popularity of BJJ exploded after Royce Gracie won UFC 1, submitting all his opponents in the process.
MMA fighters use BJJ to control and submit their appoints during MMA fights. A variety of submissions are used including chokes, armbars and leglocks. Also, the better grappler can control their opponent on the ground, enabling them to throw strikes from top position.
As mentioned above, Royce Gracie put BJJ on the map after winning the UFC 1 tournament. Other notable BJJ specialists include Demian Maia and Shinya Aoki.
All high-level MMA fighters need to have an understanding of BJJ and how to defend sweeps and submissions. In the early days of MMA, BJJ specialists would easily submit their opponents as BJJ training was not as accessible as today. As submissions and positional dominance is vital in MMA, BJJ will always be a fundamental martial art in MMA.
Wrestling
Wrestling is one of the earliest forms of combat. The first references of wrestling were depicted in caves over 15000 years ago. Since then the sport has evolved alongside our civilizations.
Wrestlers use techniques such as clinch fighting, throws, joint locks and most importantly takedowns. There are many different wrestling rulesets including, freestyle, Grecco-Roman and Catch Wrestling.
Wrestling is one of the most dominant martial arts in MMA. There is no better foundation in MMA than wrestling as wrestlers can dictate where the fight takes place. Wresting training is notoriously hard. For that reason, wrestlers are extremely tough, both physically and mentally.
It’s hard to pinpoint the most famous wrestler in MMA. In recent years, UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has dominated the lightweight division by combining his grappling with brutal ground & pound. Also worth a mention is GSP. He was able to dictate where the fight took place, due to his elite MMA wrestling.
The ability of wrestlers to control where the fight takes place makes wrestling one of the most dominant martial arts in MMA. Elite Wrestlers can control a dominant position to punch or submit their opponents. Similarly to BJJ, wrestlers were dominant in the early UFC events, due to pure strikers inability to grapple.
Boxing
Boxing is a martial art in which two people throw punches at each other in a Boxing ring. For both safety and fairness, boxers are matched using a weight class system and fights take place for a pre-determined number of rounds.
Boxing has been around for centuries. Whilst people have fought in hand-to-hand combat since the dawn of human history, the earliest evidence of boxing dates back to over 5000 years ago. After the creation of Broughton’s rules in 1776, boxing started transitioning into the billion-dollar industry it is today.
In recent years MMA has exploded in popularity, and regularly competes with boxing for PPV buys.
Whilst lots of MMA fighters have strong boxing there are a few fighters whos boxing skills stand out. Connor MgGreggors impressive boxing lead him to become a two-division UFC champion. In terms of pure boxing, Cody Grardbrant is one of the most technical boxers in MMA and racked up an impressive 32-0 record as an amature.
Boxing is an extremely effective martial art in MMA. Boxing alone is not enough to become an MMA champion. The most effective boxers in MMA combine their high level striking with grappling to become well rounded martial artists.
