The Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) which is the first and most popular Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion industry as well as other industries stands out as argueably the most savage and most brutal combat sports industry in modern history as fights are nearly as bloody as the ancient Roman gladiator duels and considering that the MMA combats are fist fights one can argue that it’s the bloodiest human to human combat sports.

UFC fight nights usually feature a number of matches between different opponents, and most matches are so bloody that the floor of the octagon ring is mopped of blood before the next fight.

But how did it all start ?….. Martial artists usually claim superiority of their respective moves, strikes, techniques and strategy to other martial arts and most spectators are often fascinated with the prospects of having one top champion in a particular martial arts fight a top champion from another discipline, for instance having a Karate black belt holder fight a Champion in boxing.

How it all started… Boxing Vs Wrestling 1976

The very first historical events that eventually led to the present day MMA was the match between Muhammad Ali (The reigning boxing Heavyweight champion at that time) and Antonio Inoki, a Japanese professional wrestler. The match was nicknamed “The war of the worlds” and was held in Nipon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on June 26, 1976.

The fight was held under some “special rules” which in fact turned out to be a precursor to the present day MMA rules, the wrestler was allowed to kick and lay on his back to avoid getting hit with Ali’s swift punches. The fight ended in a controversial draw. Both fighters were in their prime and at the peak of their respective careers.

Kickboxing Vs Mua Thai 1977

Next was the thrilling fights between kickboxers and Thai boxers that many believed changed the history of combat sports, the first documented Kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight that happened in 1977 between Benny Urquidez vs Narong Noi,

Then it was followed by a match between Rick Roufus the then World Kickboxing Champion vs Changpuek Kietsongrit a Mua Thai boxer who just moved out of Thailand to take Mua Thai to a world wide level.

Before then, Mua Thai was not popular outside Thailand.

Mua Thai also known as Thai boxing, unlike Kickboxing employs the use of elbows, knees and shins predominantly, as well as the normal punching and kicking. A special rules was also adopted for this fight. The match was very eventful, the Thai boxer was knocked down and also suffered a broken Jaw in the first round, the kickboxer was very precise with his punches, but as the fight progressed, the Thai boxer became progressively successful with his low kicks (kicks to the thighs, knees and legs) and the kick boxer couldn’t continue the fight after suffering serious damage to his leg.

Rufus was vulnerable to low kicks because traditional American kickboxing didn’t allow kicks below the belt (low kicks) which happen to be a major component of strikes in Thai boxing.

Series of other fantacy fights has been held, between Karate Champions and Thai boxers, Judo champions and Brazilian juijitsu under special rules.

Current UFC (founded in 1993) rules allows the use of elbows, knees, different types of chokes, slams, ground and pound and a lot of things not allowed in the traditional combat sports.