Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, as it is known, is a brutal contact sport where two fighters battle it out in the octagon and if you are already a fan, here are a few facts about the sport that you probably didn’t know.
- Referee Herb Dean was a pro MMA fighter – The well-known UFC referee Herb Dean had a short pro fighting career, which ended 2-3 in 2007. Shortly after that, Herb decided to put on the latex gloves and become the third man in the cage and this turned out to a good move for MMA and Herb Dean soon became the ‘gold standard’ of MMA refereeing.
- Travis Fulton had more than 300 professional fights – Nicknamed ‘The iron man’, this burly heavyweight finished his career with a record of 255-54, with an amazing 150 wins coming by way of submission.
- Tito Ortiz is a mayor – One of the early stars in MMA, Tito Ortiz became a politician when he ran for the position of mayor in Huntingdon Beach, California in 2020. Otiz was the UFC light heavyweight champion for 3 years between 2000-2003 and he fought the likes of Chuck Liddel and Randy Couture. If you would like to emulate Tito, there is an affordable MMA center in Pattanakarn (called เอ็มเอ็มเอ เซ็นเตอร์ กรุงเทพ in Thai) where you can learn the basics.
- The only MMA win via a smother – Giant heavyweight Emmanual Yarborough tipped the scales at 700lb and once literally laid on his opponent, smothering him completely, which rendered him unconscious! You can find the video on YouTube (it isn’t pleasant!).
- Joe Rogan is a Jui Jitsu black belt – Ever wondered how Joe knows so much about the sport of MMA? He has a black belt in Jui Jitsu, a second-degree black belt in tae kwon do and a green belt in judo. Joe hosts a very popular podcast, is also a great stand-up comedian, as well as being UFC’s number one commentator.
- UFC announcer Bruce Buffer is boxing announcer Michael Buffer’s brother – If you think that’s strange, they didn’t grow up together and met up in later life, to discover they were brothers. Moreover, Bruce is a wow businessman and he promoted his brother’s talents, helping him to achieve legendary status with his line ‘Let’s get ready to rumble’. Of course, Bruce has his own unique style and the UFC wouldn’t be the same without his amazing talent as fight announcer.
The more you learn about MMA, the more interesting it becomes and if you fancy having a go, there will be an MMA gym near you!
