statue demonstrates the
pancratium, which being similar to modern MMA featured a strong grappling element. This statue is a Roman copy of a lost Greek original, circa 3rd century BCE. as depicted at the
Bayon temple|300x300px
Traditional styles of wrestling exist in most cultures;
wrestling can be considered a
cultural universal.
Boxing contests date back to ancient
Sumer in the 3rd millennium BCE and
ancient Egypt circa 1350 BCE. The
ancient Olympic Games included several combat-related sports:
armored foot races, boxing, wrestling, and
pankration, which was introduced in the
Olympic Games of 648 BCE. In
ancient China, combat sport appeared in the form of
lei tai. It was a no-holds barred combat sport that combined boxing and wrestling. There is evidence of similar combat sports in ancient Egypt,
India and
Japan. Through the
Middle Ages and
Renaissance, the
tournament was popular. Tournaments were competitions that featured several mock combat events, with
jousting as a main event. While the tournament was popular among
aristocrats, combat sports were practiced by all levels of society. The
German school of late medieval martial arts distinguished sportive combat (
schimpf) from serious combat (
ernst). In the
German Renaissance, sportive combat competitions were known as
Fechtschulen, corresponding to the
Prize Playing in
Tudor England. Out of these Prize Playing events developed the English
boxing (or
prizefighting) of the 18th century, which evolved into modern boxing with the introduction of the
Marquess of Queensberry rules in 1867.
Amateur boxing has been part of the modern Olympic Games since their introduction in 1904.
Professional boxing became popular in the United States
in the 1920s and experienced a "golden age"
after World War II.
Professional wrestling was once competitive
catch wrestling, a legitimate combat sport in the late 19th and early 20th century, however it has since evolved into athletic theater. The creation of
Brazilian jiu-Jitsu is attributed to the
Gracie family of Brazil in 1925 after Asian martial arts were introduced to Brazil.
Vale-tudo, wrestling,
Muay Thai kickboxing and luta livre gained popularity. Modern Muay Thai was developed in the 1920s to 1930s.
Sambo was introduced in the
Soviet Union. Modern
Taekwondo also emerged after the
Japanese occupation of Korea and became an Olympic sport in 2000.
Sanshou as part of
modern wushu was developed in the
People's Republic of China since the 1950s.
Kickboxing and
full contact karate were developed in the 1960s and became popular in Japan and the West during the 1980s and 1990s. Modern MMA developed out of the interconnected subcultures of
Vale Tudo and
shoot wrestling. It was introduced in Japan in the form of
Shooto in 1985, and in the United States as
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993. The
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were introduced in 2000, and the sport experienced peak popularity in the 2000s. During this period, multiple brands and promotions were established. The most well-known promotion for MMA is UFC. ,
José Aldo, and
Dana White at a press conference for
the fight between McGregor and Aldo. This shows the two fighters posing for media, increasing revenue and interest in the fight. == Popularity by gender ==