Mixed martial arts is a combination of several contact sports, including Thai boxing, kickboxing, wresting and jui-jitsu and thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, MMA is a number one spectator sport on all media channels. If you have yet to watch a UFC event, this should be a priority, as the atmosphere, even online, is really charged.
Here are a few random MMA facts that most people don’t know.
- Worst UFC record – This award goes to a fighter by the name of John Alessio, who retired at 0-5. He lost all his fights across several stints with the UFC and this is one award that no one wants.
- Travis Fulton – This guy had more than 300 fights to his name (247-49-10), making him the busiest heavyweight in the history of the sport. Nicknamed ‘The Ironman’, Travis submitted more than 150 of his opponents during his illustrious career.
- First fight of the night bonus – This went to Terry Etim at UFC 70, which was held in London and while several fighters received bonuses on that night, Terry Etim was the first as his fight was first on the card. Many fighters come to train MMA in Bangkok Thailand, as Muay Thai is one of the major influences in the sport.
- Joe Rogan black belt in Jui-Jitsu – Most people love Joe’s commentary on UFC and it might surprise you to learn that Joe Rogan has a black belt in Jui-Jitsu, a green belt in Judo and a second degree in Tae Kwan Do.
- Herb Dean was a fighter – We’ve all seen Herb refereeing major UFC title fights, but you probably didn’t know that Herb Dean was a professional MMA fighter. He called it a day at 2-3 in 2007 and using his knowledge of the sport, he embarked on a career as an MMA referee.
- UFC Gold – It might surprise you to learn that all UFC Championship belts are actually gold plated.
- UFC 1 – The very first UFC promotion was UFC 1, which was held in Denver Colorado on November 12th 1993 and the first bout ended after30 seconds with a 1st round submission by Royce Gracie over Gerard Gordeau.
- Double Take – This is weird to say the least; a UFC fighter by the name of Brian Bowles defeated Damacio Page with a guillotine choke at 3:30 of the very first round. Nothing strange about that you might think, however Bowles fought Page at a later date and yes, he won with a guillotine choke at 3:30 of round 1.
If you fancy yourself as an MMA fighter, search online for a local MMA gym and take a drive down there in the early evening and check out the action.
