The origins of MMA lie in the Ancient Greek art of Pankration which blended what we now separate into Boxing and Wrestling. Although Pankration had its own roots in war it was also an Olympic sport.
The simple notion of mixing different martial arts is not itself new and is and has been a feature of both Western and Asian arts throughout history. Many of the modern martial arts described on this site, such as karate, judo and TaeKwonDo, and even some of the staples of MMA itself, most notably Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, are the end result of a blending of different styles tempered with experience. Where Mixed Martial Arts perhaps differ is that in contemporary society the study of any combative method is much easier, allowing for greater variation, and the emphasis that is placed on covering all the distances of unarmed combat. An awareness of the importance of this latter fact is often attributed to Bruce Lee who, through his concept of Jeet Kune Do, studied the different ranges of combat. While Karate, for example, is a blend of different arts, these arts are for the most part striking arts (such as White Crane and Whooping Crane kung fu blended with indigenous te techniques). Judo, by comparison, is a hybrid of various Ju Jutsu schools, but these again tended to specialize in throwing and grappling movements. A characteristic then of MMA is its intent to be effective at the kicking, punching, clinching and grappling ranges. The term is not commonly used to refer to, say, a blend of Karate and Muay Thai (both of which are for the most part confined to the kicking and punching ranges).
MMA and the UFC
A key factor in the development of Mixed Martial Arts was the activities of the Gracie family, originators of Gracie (or Brazilian) Jiu Jitsu. While no-holds barred fighting had taken place underground in Europe it was the Gracie fighters who had been dominating Vale Tudo events in Brazil. Vale Tudo was (and is) Brazil's version of no-holds barred fighting. The BJJ of the Gracie's had enjoyed immense success in such competitions and the family felt confident enough to organize the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in the US in 1993. This initial foray into full contact no-holds barred fighting was not yet Mixed Martial Arts. It was more style vs style, with the Gracie's keen to demonstrate that their style was the superior one. Royce Gracie, the family representative, swept away all competition despite his size disadvantage.
The sport at that time was not really a sport as such. There were very few rules and the early UFC tournaments were about fighting, pure and simple. There were no rounds and no weight classes, for example. After some initial interest all but the hardcore fans became less enthusiastic as many matches involved the fighters grappling on the ground with little apparent action for minutes on end. Contrary to expectations, the strikers were not dominant in the sport and it was the BJJ and wrestling experts who claimed victory after victory. While it vindicated the claims of the Gracie family, it was not good entertainment.
As the original business model went into decline the UFC was bought by Zuffa, a company owned by the Fertitta's, at the suggestion and encouragement of their friend, Dana White, who would go on to become UFC President of the new company and direct the growth of the UFC thereafter. Under new management, more stringent rules were introduced that made competition safer and gave some advantage back to the strikers (the referee would stop a fight and stand the fighters back up if there wasn't enough action while grappling and the end of a round also forced the fighters to stand and resume combat at the beginning of the next round). With these new rules it became apparent that to succeed the fighter could not specialize in just one area, or range, of combat, and so the arts began to be mixed, thus creating MMA.
Nowadays full blown MMA gyms are emerging, which combine all the core arts and teach Mixed Martial Arts as a complete package, whereas before fighters would find themselves rushing from one training facility to another to get a well-rounded education in the different styles. Mixed Martial Arts has also found appeal at an amateur level for self-defense and physical health reasons. It is also fair to say that MMA has in turn impacted many of the traditional arts from which it emerged, at least in the West. Karate students will engage in ground and pound practice for example, working on their striking from grappling range or from the clinch. Though their core style itself has not changed as such, they have begun to examine the applicability of techniques from different ranges (which in fact is how Karate was meant to be interpreted in any case, at least according to the 'Bible', the Bubishi).
