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The term 'mixed martial arts' was apparently coined by former Greco-Roman wrestler and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Jeff Blatnick (Source).

The roots of mixed martial arts can be traced to the Olympic Games of 648 B.C. and the Greek sport of Pankration, which blended the styles of boxing and wrestling.

But focussing on the nearer history of the sport, there are reports dating back approximately 85 years of exhibition matches in Brazilian circuses between two opponents, each with a background in martial arts (Time Magazine). The Brazilian term of 'Vale Tudo' which in Portuguese means 'anything goes' was first associated with these exhibition matches. It was also around this time that the Gracie challenge was known to be issued. The Gracie challenge refers to a challenge issued by some members of the Gracie family to have anyone come and fight them in a vale tudo match. The mass appeal of the term vale tudo however, did not catch on till around the 1959-1960 period when it was once again brought into use to describe fights between practitioners of differing martial arts in a Rio television show called Heróis do Ringue (Ring-Heroes). The matchfixers and hosts of the show included members of the Gracie family. Today, the Gracie's are known as the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is considered an integral part of the prototypical mixed martial artist.

During the 1970's there were reports of mixed martial arts matches known as Kakutougi in Japan being hosted by a promoter and mixed martial artist named Antonio Inoki. Kakutougi later evolved into the shoot style discipline of Japanese wrestling which ultiamtely led to the creation of one of the first first mixed martial arts organizations, known as Shooto, which was originally formed in 1985. As the popularity of Shooto grew, an organization known as the Prdie Fighting Championship was born in 1997.

Rorion Gracie, the eldest son of Helio Gracie, ultimately moved to the United States and introduced vale tudo to Americans by helping (along with Robert Meyrowitz, Art Davie and others) establsih the UFC in 1993. In November 1993, at UFC 1 Royce Gracie was crowned the champion by defeating three challengers in under 5 minutes. Royce would go on to win UFC 2 and UFC 4 utilzing his superior jiu-jitsu skills and fought to a draw at UFC 5 against Ken Shamrock.

In the early years of the UFC there were minimal rules imposed on the fighters. From what I have read and seen, as a direct result of the minimal rules, lack of time limits, judges and gloves the UFC grew to become somewhat of a barbarous spectacle (that was banned in 44 American states) rather than earn a name as a legitimate sport. The promotion was eventually taken off pay per view and quickly fell into debt.

A debt laden and struggling UFC was bought by the Zuffa, LLC in 2001. Under new President, Dana White, the UFC perservered to reivogorate its image into an organized and controlled combat sport. After many years of trying to grow the UFC brand and the sport of mixed martial arts, the 9th day of April 2005 can probably be called a turning point in the UFC's legacy. It was on this night that Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin went toe to toe for three of the most exciting rounds in a light heavyweight battle marking the finale of a Spike TV and UFC produced reality show called The Ultimate Fighter. The finale drew 2.6 million viewers making it the most watched fight in UFC history, at the time (UFC).

2006 took the UFC to more homes than ever before. The battle between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz is estimated to have drawn approximately 1,050,000 pay-per-view buys and grossed approximately $41.95 million in PPV revenue (MMA Weekly). Additionally, the Associated Press and the Wrestling Observer reported that Zuffa's pay-per-view revenue in 2006 exceeded $200 million and grossed more on pay per view than any other promotion in history (keep in mind that Zuffa, LLC is a private company and does not disclose it financials).

In 2007, Zuffa, LLC bought the Dream Stage Entertainment owned Pride Fighting Championships based out of Japan. The management of Pride ultimately created a new organization called Dream along with a company called Fighting and Entertainment Group. The acquisition gave the UFC all of the then fighters contracted under Pride.

Lastly, I would like to add that even though the UFC has done a great deal of legwork in promoting, elevating and legitimizing the status of mixed martial arts, it is but only a promotion company. The UFC as exciting as its events might seem does not comprise the sport of mixed martial arts, it is the practitioners of these arts that should be the heralded.

So what is Mixed Martial Arts?

According to the UFC, mixed martial arts (MMA) "is an intense and evolving combat sport in which competitors use interdisciplinary forms of fighting that include jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and others to their strategic and tactical advantage in a supervised match."

What is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)?

"The new Ultimate Fighting Championship is a series of international competitive mixed martial arts events televised several times yearly and available live or tape-delayed on pay-per-view and other formats, seen domestically and internationally."

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