UFC was the bomb tonight!!!

[Sin City]

everybody in the ufc is garbage with their hands the only people imo that have a good stand up game is b.j penn and josh koschek

Some dude once told me.. hahahaa Mayweather could never beat any UFC fighter even without the wrestling since the Philly Shell doesn't work without gloves.. as if the only way Mayweather knew how to fight was with the Philly Shell.

mother****ers act as if a boxer if they were to see a kick coming their way they wouldn't duck or move and just stand there and get hit.

[Domain]

I prefer boxing to MMA but I'm kind of embarassed at some of the boxing fans' ignorance when it comes to this made-up rivalry, which is actually helping boxing because it keeps the sport's name out there where otherwise it would be largely ignored by the mainstream sports media.

But the whole "rest of the world ain't picking up on it" thing may be technically accurate, because we're kind of late over here...

MMA has also been around since ancient times, though its current presentation is innovative...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts

History

[edit] Pre-modern


One of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed combat sports with minimal rules was Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C.[5] Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other cities to honour remarkable pankratiasts.

No-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles including various catch wrestling styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. The first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan, then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, Greco-Roman wrestling champion William Muldoon, and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. Reportedly, Roeber suffered a fractured cheekbone in this bout, but was able to get Fitzsimmons down on the mat, where he applied an armlock and made the boxer submit. In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds.[6]

Another early example of mixed martial arts combat was the martial art of Bartitsu, founded in London in 1899, which was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles,[7] and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.[7]

Mixed style contests such as boxing vs. jujutsu were popular entertainment throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s.[8] In Japan these contests were known as merikan, from the Japanese slang for "American [fighting]". Merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission.[citation needed]

Professional wrestling died out after World War I and was reborn in two streams: "shoot", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show," which evolved into modern professional wrestling.[6]

Not a US sport:

Modern


The history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s; the Gracie family's vale tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil starting in the 1920s; and early mixed martial arts matches hosted by Antonio Inoki in Japan in the 1970s. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity in the United States in 1993, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie handily won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in just five minutes,[10] sparking a revolution in the martial arts.[11] Meanwhile in Japan the continued interest in the sport resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 1997.[12]

The movement that led to the creation of the UFC and PRIDE was rooted in two interconnected subcultures. First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by the Japanese shoot wrestling shows. Vale tudo began in the 1920s with the "Gracie challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family.[5] In Japan in the 1970s, a series of mixed martial arts matches were hosted by Antonio Inoki, inspiring the shoot-style movement in Japanese professional wrestling, which eventually led to the formation of the first mixed martial arts organizations, such as Shooto, which was formed in 1985.
Chuck Liddell (right) and Tito Ortiz broke PPV records with their rematch at UFC 66.
Chuck Liddell (right) and Tito Ortiz broke PPV records with their rematch at UFC 66.

The concept of combining the elements of multiple martial arts was pioneered and popularized by Bruce Lee in the late 1960's to early 1970's. Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style." His innovative concepts were recognized in 2004 by UFC President Dana White when he called Lee the "father of mixed martial arts."[13] Recognition of it's effectiveness as a test came as the United States Army began to sanction mixed martial arts with the first annual All Army Combatives Championships held by the US Army Combatives School in November 2005.

The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the December 2006 rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz, rivaling the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time,[4] and helping the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history. In 2007, Zuffa LLC, the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand PRIDE, merging the contracted fighters under one promotion[14] and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football.[15]



Ricky Hatton drew 55K tonight. K-1 started drawing that in 2006:

http://k-1sport.de/en/history/history.php

I've heard some doubts about the first stat, just as in the WMIII attendance figure that WWF reported, but look at these numbers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_league_attendances#Mixed_Martial_Arts

Mixed Martial Arts

* The record for any professional fight event is the PRIDE and K-1 co-hosted Shockwave/Dynamite match held on 28 August 2002, taking in 91,107 paid spectators held in the Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.[31]
* PRIDE Fighting Championship: Although the Shockwave/Dymanite event mentioned above is the highest of all time, the highest spectator attendance for an individually hosted PRIDE event is the PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 with an attendance figure of 67,450 on 9 November 2003 at Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.
* K-1: Although the Shockwave/Dymanite event mentioned above is the highest of all time, the highest spectator attendance for an individually hosted K-1 event is the World Grand Prix Final 1998, held on 13 December 1998 in Tokyo Dome with 63,800 spectators.[32]
* Ultimate Fighting Championship: UFC 83:Georges St. Pierre defeated Matt Serra with a second-round TKO before a raucous, sold-out crowd of 21,390 at the Bell Centre,Montreal Quebec Canada http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24222950/

This is true PRIDE and K1 draw like 60 thousand a show....and its MMA! Boxing isnt as big as it is...my Filipino friend also said that in the philipines they are training MMA as well now.

even in Mexico the MMA is becoming popular...UFC said next year they will have a MMA TUF in mexico...

Boxings mistake is The promoters! its all there ****ing fualts especially don king taking control of the heavyweights and never lettting them unify the damn belt...if this never happen ufc would of never exploded like it did.

[El Chicano]

You obviously have no knowledge of boxing history or of boxing itself.
Boxing has been around since ancient times and hasn't died for a reason.
UFC can play to the ADD crowed of America where kids see a cage and fancy lighting and automatically get drawn in.
You are ****ing ******ed to think that because Boxing isn't getting good ratings in America it will die globally
America isn't the only country that boxes or watches boxing..
Yeah, cus Americans don't watch soccer its dead around the world.. please.
Y'all may be ood and awed by the UFC trend but the majority of the world ain't picking up on it.

...And you obviously are ignorant to the fact that various martial arts have been around centuries before boxing. What point are you trying to make when you state that boxing has been around since "Ancient Times". I wouldn't call 1867 ancient times, anything before that was merely fist fighting, which is not boxing. ******

[El Chicano]

Some dude once told me.. hahahaa Mayweather could never beat any UFC fighter even without the wrestling since the Philly Shell doesn't work without gloves.. as if the only way Mayweather knew how to fight was with the Philly Shell.

mother****ers act as if a boxer if they were to see a kick coming their way they wouldn't duck or move and just stand there and get hit.

Boxers with no Wrestling background would not stop a strong double or single leg attack, I guarantee it. It's a whole different fight on your back.

[Domain]

Some dude once told me.. hahahaa Mayweather could never beat any UFC fighter even without the wrestling since the Philly Shell doesn't work without gloves.. as if the only way Mayweather knew how to fight was with the Philly Shell.

mother****ers act as if a boxer if they were to see a kick coming their way they wouldn't duck or move and just stand there and get hit.

if mayweather can be as elusive as Lyoto MAchida was last night then he can last...Machida has been called a runner but to me his fights are amazing to watch he can hit you and not be hit he is a karate guy with amazing take down defense...watch his fight against tito ortiz...he is sorta like the mayweather of mma because people dont appreciate his countering style but he is a true step above all the guys with his elusive style.

[El Chicano]

two ****** hugging each other on the floor? no thanks.

Sounds like you aint got no money for the PPV, maybe you can see it on Youtube.

[Sin City]

...And you obviously are ignorant to the fact that various martial arts have been around centuries before boxing. What point are you trying to make when you state that boxing has been around since "Ancient Times". I wouldn't call 1867 ancient times, anything before that was merely fist fighting, which is not boxing. ******

you just yourself since Boxing is THEE art of fist fighting


****ing dumb!! go sit in the corner man..

[WLAD OWNS]

everybody in the ufc is garbage with their hands the only people imo that have a good stand up game is b.j penn and josh koschek

Are you kidding me?.....Josh Koscheck has mediocre standup even for MMA, he's a wrestler, not a striker.

BJ Penn does have good standup though.

Fedor and Aleksander Emelianenko have the best standup in MMA.

[El Chicano]

you just yourself since Boxing is THEE art of fist fighting


****ing dumb!! go sit in the corner man..

What are you? 8?

[Domain]

The funny thing is you guys feel intimidated by UFC...and gettin mad at us...but the thing is everyone in this thread who enjoys ufc also enjoys boxing and wouldnt give boxing up for the world...Because we happen to be fans of both...is that wrong?

WE love BOTH!