In This Guide
Mixed Martial Arts: These Web Sites Will Knock You Out
Bruce Lee played around with the idea of mixed martial arts (MMA) and fused elements of kung fu, street fighting, and American boxing to create his own style, called Jeet Kune Do. MMA has skyrocketed in popularity since then, and the more recent success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has spurred the formation of a number of different MMA leagues. As a result, the Internet is sprawling with MMA Web sites for news, commentary, blogs, forums, and equipment. This guide helps you make sense of it all and highlights the sport’s best online resources.
Expand All Guide SectionsRules and History of Mixed Martial Arts
Although the idea of MMA is not new, the popularity of the sport is certainly a recent phenomenon. MMA began to generate popularity in the 1990s but it wasn’t until the introduction of standardized rules that the sport shed its barbaric image and became a widespread phenomenon. The sites we’ve included in this section show you how MMA has evolved and how the rules have brought legitimacy to the once-underground sport.
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- Sites devoted to some aspect of the history of this sport are plentiful. But everyday people who have a passion for the sport create the great majority of these sites and as a result, you won’t always find the professional polish you may be used to seeing in many Web sites for other sports.
- Because MMA is a combination of the various martial arts, many of the Web sites you would encounter in a martial arts search contain information on MMA. For more information on martial arts, and potentially more resources on MMA, read the findingDulcinea Martial Arts Web Guide.
- Official League Web sites, listed in the next section, should each have a section detailing the specific rules for that league.
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For an introduction to MMA …
The Atlanta Martial Arts Directory
has this great introduction to MMA, detailing the different styles of MMA, the origins and history of the sport, and more.
CBS News’ 60 Minutes
covers the foundations of the sport and the controversy surrounding its violent image. This feature includes interviews with two of the sport’s founding fathers, Renzo Gracie and Pat Miletich, and an accompanying video.
SI.com
is the online home of Sports Illustrated magazine. An article called “The New Main Event” reveals the surging popularity of the UFC. The article focuses on the men behind the scenes—not the fighters, but those with the sharp business acumen who saw that MMA would be the next NASCAR. This is a lengthy article but well worth the read.
NPR
has this insightful story about the rising popularity of the sport. The article notes that there is much controversy surrounding MMA as many people still consider it to be nothing more than a spectacle that unleashes the brutal aspect of human nature. But UFC executives argue that it is probably safer than sports like boxing and is no less of a sport.
For the history of MMA …
International Fight League
The International Fight League traces the sport’s history back to the ancient Greeks and explains some of its basic moves. Click on the link for a specific martial art, like Jeet Kune Do, for a history of that martial art and, in some cases, some “notable practitioners.”
Grapplearts.com
provides an extensive overview of MMA history and the legal battles faced by the UFC. The text is a section from a college student’s thesis; Part 1 details with the evolution of MMA, while Parts 2 and 3 address constitutional issues that might not be useful for the average MMA fan.
For MMA rules …
The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board
created the unified rules of mixed martial arts that helped to legitimize the sport. These rules cover weight classes, equipment, size and shape of the fight area, and other aspects of the sport.
The International Fight League
explains some FAQs about the League and the rules of their team-oriented version of MMA. Scroll down to find the “Rules Guide” near the bottom of the page.
Mixed Martial Arts Competitions
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the king when it comes to MMA leagues, especially after it took over its main rival league, Pride. But there are plenty of other leagues worldwide, and the continued success of the UFC is only inspiring more. This section shows you what to expect from all the major MMA league official Web sites, and takes you directly to those sites.
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- We’ve provided the links to the most prominent MMA leagues. If you’re looking for smaller leagues and organizations, take a look at the “Official Events Sites” section on Sherdog.com (scroll down to find it).
- Like most sports leagues’ official Web sites, league sites for MMA are excellent resources for finding results, standings, schedules, and bios.
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship
official Web site lets you in on all the facts about the league: news, event schedules, tickets, pay-per-view times, and more. There’s also plenty of information available about UFC fighters, including lifetime results, interviews, and fighters’ blogs.
The International Fight League
is the “world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league.” It is made up of twelve teams, each with five fighters at different weight classes. Each match features five fights and the team with the most wins is the winner of the match. Their site features an event schedule, ticket information, league standings, fighter and team profiles, and team stores.
Pride Fighting Championships
has earned a huge following throughout the world but its future is uncertain after it was recently purchased by the UFC. Pride currently operates separately from the UFC but the two frequently hold events together. Its site has news, event information, and fighter profiles, though many of their fighters have since joined the UFC.
K-1
is a championship that began in Japan but is now worldwide. The K stands for all martial arts that start with the letter “K” (karate, kung fu, and kickboxing, for example) but the tournament includes many other forms of martial arts. Look to this site for news, profiles and pictures for the fighters, and information about upcoming events.
The Ultimate Fighter
is a popular Spike TV show in which fighters compete to win a UFC contract. The competition between fighters is intense and fans often treat The Ultimate Fighter like its own league. Here you can learn all about the contenders and talk about the show on the site’s forum.
News, Analysis, and Statistics for Mixed Martial Arts
With all the leagues and tournaments in existence today, it can be difficult to keep up with everything that is happening in the MMA community. Fortunately, many of the Web sites that specialize in MMA information try to cover a broad spectrum, and are not constrained to the UFC. This section of the guide points you to some of the best sites for the latest MMA developments, and sites that connect you to the greater MMA public.
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- Most MMA blogs have a running list of links to other recommended (and usually related) blogs in the margins of their page. These lists are called “blogrolls” and they’re a great way to discover new sites.
- Leagues’ official sites like those mentioned in the previous section of this guide can be good sources of information, but they’re not always entirely objective in their news coverage. The news sites in this section are third-party sites that don’t pull their punches.
- If you’re looking for a particular fighter’s match-by-match results over the length of his career, league sites are usually the best source.
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For MMA news …
Sherdog.com
is the definitive source for daily news and information on mixed martial arts. (Even ESPN.com takes much of its MMA content from Sherdog.com.) Use the “Fight Finder” feature on the left of the homepage to find everything you’d want to know about a particular fighter, including record, stats, and video interviews. The site also has polls, forums, and pictures.
MMAFighting.com
is another all-in-one stop for mixed martial arts updates with news, exclusive interviews, press releases, school listings, forums, results, and schedules of upcoming events. The site’s design is simple and no-frills but finding whatever you are looking for is a breeze.
ESPN.com
has a section for MMA that’s just as extensive as the site’s sections for other sports, with news, rumors, and video coverage. However, as we mentioned earlier, a good amount of the information here is from Sherdog.com.
For MMA blogs …
MMA HQ
is a blog devoted to those who love MMA, covering all the various leagues. It features entries written by a wide variety of fans, and it’s updated daily.
MMA Movement
is an interesting blog that comments on the latest news about the sport. Entries are frequent so you’re sure to find up-to-date information. The blog covers many topics, and includes many humorous posts, including the “Dear Don” section, in which fighter Don Frye dispenses life advice to inquiring readers.
MMA Ring Report
has several staff writers who report recent news about the different MMA leagues. Get your fill with information on the UFC, IFL, Pride, MFC, K-1, King of the Cage, Shootout, and TKO.
For MMA forums …
The MMA News Forums
is a large Internet community of MMA fans. The community is very active and posts are frequent, so you shouldn’t have much difficulty finding someone to respond to your comment.
MMA Forum
contains a lot of posts and several threads for the different leagues and tournaments, training techniques, and several others. If you ever get bored with MMA and want to chat about something else, scroll down for “Non Mixed Martial Arts Discussion” near the bottom (most of the talk there is about video games or technology).
Fantasy Mixed Martial Arts
With the rise of MMA’s popularity, fantasy MMA was sure to follow. Though fantasy MMA is still in its infancy, there are several Web sites dedicated to it, each with its own rules and format.
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- Unlike football, baseball, and basketball, fantasy Web sites for MMA are somewhat scarce, at least for now, and you won’t find fantasy MMA leagues from top sources like ESPN.com or CBSSports.com. As a result, even the best sites are somewhat obscure, and the games are not as professionally produced as big fantasy sports fans might be used to.
- Because there are so few fantasy MMA games, there is also little fantasy MMA analysis. The best way to prepare for fantasy MMA is to look at the fighters’ match-by-match results, located on league Web sites listed in the “Where can I find information on MMA leagues?” section.
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MMA Madness
allows you to draft eight fighters for your team to compete in both private and public leagues. Points are awarded based on how and when a fighter wins; a first-round knockout is worth more than a split-decision, for example. There’s also a bonus for fights in which a championship belt is on the line.
MMAPlayground.com
combines pick ’em and odds-based betting in its fantasy league. It allows you to take money accumulated by correct picks in the pick ’em game and use it to wager on other matches. Each season is made up of 10 major MMA events, which amounts to about three fantasy seasons a year.
FightLineUp.com
has a very simple fantasy MMA game: earn points for picking the winner of a fight, choosing how the fight was won, and deciding the correct round the fight finished in.
My Fantasy MMA
has games on an event-by-event basis. Predict the winner, method of victory, and round of victory for each fight on the card. The top players receive cash prizes or autographed photos.
Practicing Mixed Martial Arts
Do you have the urge to fight in an octagon with few rules and lots of painful submission moves? Want to see how the pros do that Half Nelson Neck Crank? This section can help you find the instruction needed to improve at the art of mixed martial arts.
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- The best way to improve at MMA is through a martial arts school or instructor. Some of the sites mentioned in this section have directories for finding classes. The others will give you tips on performing and perfecting different moves but keep in mind that some of the moves taught in these Web sites can be very dangerous and should be attempted only with professional supervision.
- If you want to improve at MMA, it usually entails brushing up on a few different styles of martial arts. Here we’ve listed sites with MMA instruction but the findingDulcinea Martial Arts Web Guide can also be of service.
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For MMA schools …
OnTheMat.com
has a searchable directory of schools. Simply choose your location from the dropdown menu and the site provides a list of MMA schools in your area. Improve your skills with some tips from the “Techniques Database,” which includes a few short video segments.
Fight Resource
also helps you find an MMA school in your area; scroll down to find the search box in the middle of the page, below an ad. Each school is listed with basic contact information like address, phone number, email address, and Web site. Keep in mind that all of the schools listed don’t specialize in MMA; many are schools for specific martial arts that are used in MMA.
For online instruction …
Grapplearts.com
should be able to show you some interesting moves. This is a pretty extensive site, with “Techniques & Positions” and “Training & Conditioning” sections. If you want to learn how to perform, say, the “Ten Finger Guillotine” (which does not look quite as bad as it sounds), simply check out that technique. There’s also a school database so you can get the training you need to become an MMA fighter.
MMA-Training.com
focuses on preparing for a fight by learning moves and maintaining a good conditioning routine. This site could use more graphics and photos to demonstrate how moves are executed but the writing does a fine job of explaining everything. The lack of pictures shouldn’t prevent you from learning how to do the Bicep Slicer, for example.
Bodybuilding.com
teaches MMA moves and suggests some workouts for MMA conditioning. The pictures are pretty clear but they could use more written instructions to accompany them.
For instructional DVDs …
World Martial Arts
is one of the prominent producers of MMA training DVDs. The site offers DVDs on many different types of martial arts and MMA, all taught by well-known instructors.
Island Entertainment Group
sells instructional DVDs to improve your MMA skills in Muay Thai, boxing, general MMA, and more. Brief clips from some of the videos are available on the site.
Buying Mixed Martial Arts Equipment and Memorabilia
Technically, all you need for MMA is your body. But if you want the learning curve to be a little less painful, you should buy some equipment. Whether you’re looking for boxing gloves, pads, dummies, or kimonos, we’ve found the Web sites that have what you need. Or if you have no desire to be in a chokehold and would rather show off your passion for the sport while you watch the professionals beat each other up, there are plenty of sites to find MMA apparel and memorabilia.
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- The online versions of brick-and-mortar stores often stock a significantly larger variety of goods than their physical counterparts. Because many offer options for free shipping, shopping for sports equipment on the Web can be both time- and cost-efficient.
- The first group of sites listed in this section sell similar equipment and apparel, and the differences among them are negligible. We’ve provided a few options so you have a thorough selection.
- For information on larger sports retailers that sell equipment and apparel for multiple sports, and for guidelines on buying sports memorabilia online, look to our findingDulcinea Sports Web Guide.
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For equipment and apparel …
SSFgear.com
, also known as Scientific Street Fighting, carries gear for MMA and other related martial arts. Look for products like gi/kimonos, gloves, and supplements. The site advertises that its gear has been worn by athletes from the UFC, Pride, and Shooto leagues, and Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter.
CheapBoxing.com
specializes in boxing and MMA equipment like punching bags, boxing gloves and gear, karate gear, headgear, even gear for women. Check the “Specials” page for great discounts. The Web site is easy enough to navigate, and the selection is extensive.
Combat Sports International
has a wide selection of MMA supplies. Buy small items such as boxing gloves and bigger items such as dummies: an impressive variety is available, including Legged Grappling Dummies, Thai-Clinch Training Dummies, and Throwing Dummies. If you’re loyal to a particular brand, try using the “Shop Brands” link on the left; rest your cursor on the link to expand the list of available brands.
MMAMuscle.com
is one of the few sites that specialize only in MMA equipment. You’ll find products similar to the ones offered on the previous sites but this site does offer a few things that are new and different; for example, it has a number of Cryogels for relieving pain and inflammation.
For memorabilia …
MMA Posters
specializes in posters but offers other collectibles as well. Though each item is described in great detail, this site is decidedly amateur: to order, you must send an e-mail to the site creator and ask if the requested items are available. If they are, you can pay using Paypal or a money order but credit cards are not accepted. What MMA Posters lacks in sophistication, though, it gains in sheer enthusiasm for the sport: the site also features a blog and a museum dedicated to MMA memorabilia.
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