I like Mixed Martial Arts
Later today I am going to post a review of a mixed martial arts fighting event that took place last night. I thought that may be a bit weird since I have never spoken about MMA on this blog before. The truth is that it has become my main sports interest, after Cal Football of course, in the past couple of years.
Mixed martial arts fighting is exactly that: a combat sport where the fighters are allowed to use the techniques from a wide variety of fighting styles and schools. Available techniques run the full gamut; punching, kicking, wrestling, submissions, grappling, etc. This is why MMA fights are so interesting to me versus, say, a boxing match. There is such a wide variety of techniques a fighter can use to inflict damage on their opponent or to end the fight that there is always a surprise waiting.
This also puts extremely high demands on the fighters; anyone fighting at the top level in their weight class needs to be extremely well-rounded in all areas of fighting. Otherwise, the star kick-boxer is bound to eventually end up on the ground with a ground whiz and get submitted in a choke hold or armbar.
Many of you have heard of or seen a UFC event; they have become extremely popular in the US after the debut of their Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. The UFC is one of what most people consider the two top mixed martial arts promotions in the world. The other one is PRIDE FC, based out of Japan. While these two don’t have a monopoly on the MMA talent in the world, between the two of them they have signed the lion’s share of top talent out there.
Anyway, PRIDE 33: The Second Coming happened in Las Vegas last night. It was only the second event put on in the USA by PRIDE. It was full of exciting fights and you’ll hear more about it very soon.