Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) / Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
It’s the fight that millions watched and the fight that actually turned out to be a savior for Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). It was fifteen minutes of unabashed ferocity. Two men clashed foot to face, hand to hand, each punch and kick thrown in rage.
They fought on until their skins were stained red with bruises and scratches and blood covered the carpet of the arena. The stadium was packed to capacity, the noise from the crowd was deafening as the final bell rang. Inside the middle of the octagon ring, the two fighters who were all battered and bruised shared a big hug.
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar were the two fighters who punched and kicked during the finale of The Ultimate Fighter. Considered the most pivotal fight in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) history, it launched the UFC into the hearts and minds of sports’ most coveted viewers.
It was the first fight after which people became more knowledgeable about what MMA is, before that people were not very aware of MMA. That was the fight that really started the MMA boom.
Mixed Martial Arts can best be represented as the bloody love child of boxing and professional wrestling. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is as complex and technical as ballet, and as bloody as two men beating each other to death in a cage. MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world. Over the last five years, MMA has gone from being an underground sport to a mainstream sport.
On April 24, at the Rogers Center, more than 55 thousand fans were there to watch the match between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields at UFC 129. It was in the largest city in Canada and even last March during the debut of MMA in Vancouver, tickets sold out in minutes. .
In the United States of America, according to the Association of Boxing Commissions, professional MMA is allowed in most states. However, in states like Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, MMA is still considered illegal and legislation is still pending.
In Sweden, mixed martial arts competitions are legal. They are run under the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation (SMMAF), which was formed in 2007 and later in 2008 began to oversee mixed martial arts events.
Canada is the center of mixed martial arts. In most of its provinces, MMA competitions are legal. However, Mixed Martial Arts is still not as widespread as it should be, but now it is growing and evolving to gain a foothold worldwide.