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Former WWE champion Dave Bautista gets new opponent

Former WWE champion Dave Bautista has a new opponent heading into Saturday’s CESMMA event in Providence.

The promotion announced tonight at Vince Lucero (20-22) has stepped in on short notice after Rashid Evans pulled out of the fight last week. The 40-year-old Lucero is 0-9-1 in his last 10 fights, though he has fought multiple UFC veterans including Tim Slyvia, Roy Nelson, Eddie Sanchez, Lavar Johnson, Brad Imes, Tim Hague.

The 43-year-old makes his MMA debut on Saturday at the Dunkin Donuts Center follwing in the footsteps of other former pro wrestlers like Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.

The Top 10 best MMA fights of the rest of 2012...

There are plenty of exciting fights to look forward to before 2013. Here’s a look at our top 10 (barring injuries):

10. Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le (UFC on Fuel TV 6, Nov. 10 in Macau)
This one isn’t as much about the fight as it is about the significance of the event – the UFC’s first in China. Neither of these guys is currently in their prime, but they always give crowd-pleasing performances. Le, a native of Vietnam, should have a massive Asian following.

9. Eddie Alvarez vs. Patricky Freire (Bellator 76, Oct. 12 in Windsor, Ontario)
Alvarez might have dropped the Bellator title last year to Michael Chandler, but he’s still one of the top 15 lightweights in the world. This also could be his last Bellator fight with his contract expiring – don’t be surprised if he’s in the UFC in 2013. Explosive knockout artist Freire will be a game opponent.

8. Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, UFC flyweight title (UFC 152, Sept. 22 in Toronto)
Don’t blink. These are two of the fastest guys in MMA and both challenged for the bantamweight title before the UFC created its flyweight division. This bout will determine the company’s first-ever flyweight champion and these are legitimately the top two guys in the world at 125.

7. Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson (TUF 16 finale, Dec. 15 in Las Vegas)
There’s very little chance this one leaves the first round. Carwin and Nelson love to slug it out and after coaching against one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” they probably won’t be too friendly. It’ll be nice to see Carwin, a former heavyweight top contender, back in the cage.

6. Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir (Strikeforce: Mir vs. Cormier, Oct. 27 in TBA)
This might be a Strikeforce fight, but it has UFC implications. Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion, takes on Strikeforce champ Cormier in somewhat of a crossover matchup. But Cormier will be in the UFC right after this fight courtesy of Strikeforce's heavyweight division being disbanded and a win here puts him on path for a title shot in 2013.

5. BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
The trash talk has already been fun between the two, but things will really heat up when they enter the Octagon. Think of this as something of a passing of the torch fight. Penn, in the twilight of his career, will put up a strong challenge against the young lion, but the multi-faceted MacDonald is nearing superstardom in the welterweight division.

4. Benson Henderson (c) vs. Nate Diaz, UFC lightweight title (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
This could easily be a Fight of the Year candidate if it goes how it’s supposed to. Neither of these guys gives an inch – both Henderson and Diaz are perpetually moving forward. A win here, against a superior standup fighter in Diaz, would put Henderson’s name among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

3. Jose Aldo (c) vs. Frankie Edgar, UFC featherweight title (UFC 153, Oct. 13 in Rio)
Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Aldo was supposed to defend his title against Erik Koch, but Koch had to pull out with an injury and his loss is the fans’ gain. Edgar was the UFC lightweight champion for more than a year and his last two losses were by the slimmest of margins. Aldo, meanwhile, is a buzzsaw – one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This is, indeed, a superfight.

2. Georges St. Pierre (c) vs. Carlos Condit, UFC welterweight unification (UFC 154, Nov. 17 in Montreal)
It seems like it’s been forever since St. Pierre has fought. One of the best MMA fighters of all time has not competed in more than a year and a half due to injuries, including a torn ACL. He returns to face red-hot Carlos Condit, who is coming off a win over Nick Diaz in January. St. Pierre, a dominant champ, has never faced anyone with the combination of speed, athleticism and technique that Condit has.

1. Junior dos Santos (c) vs. Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight title (UFC 155, Dec. 29 in Las Vegas)

This time, we’ll get the incredible battle of wills that we were promised last year. Velasquez lost his title to dos Santos last November in just over a minute via stunning knockout. To make matters worse, it was the UFC’s first show on Fox and the company took undeserved criticism for the quick, flash KO.

Who knew that dos Santos-Velasquez wouldn’t be a war? This one will make up for it, closing the year on a huge high note – the two best heavyweights in the world trading in the center of the cage. Only one will be standing at the end. (New York Post)

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Dave Bautista

American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and actor best known for his time in WWE. In WWE, he became a six-time world champion, winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times, and the WWE Championship two times. He is the longest-reigning World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. In addition to these championships, Batista has won the World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena) and the WWE Tag Team Championship once (with Rey Mysterio). Batista was also the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble match. in 2011 Dave crossed over into the acting world to co star with Russell Crowe in the Universal Pictures film "The Man With The Iron Fists".

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Dave Batista Leaves WWE; Joins Strike Force MMA - June 2010

Batista Will Spark Sports Betting On Mixed Martial Arts Signing - June 2010

Sports Betting Interest Jumps With Batista - June 2010

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WWE Superstar Batista To Enter MMA World; Want A Bet? by Greg Tingle - 22nd June 2010

With news that more professional wrestlers aka "sports entertainers" (term thanks to WWE owner Vince McMahon) are set to enter the mixed martial arts world, seems sports betting fans and wrestling fans will have more more to get excited about. Enter Dave Batista, whose next? Media Man and Gambling911 with this body slamming, clothes liner, no taping report...

Brock Lensar may have been the first former WWE superstar to make his considerable mark on the MMA world (via UFC) but he won't be the last. Enter Dave Batista, fresh off a scripted loss to WWE's who Media Man spys say is heading to StrikeForce...competitor of sorts to the UFC.

Gambling911 and Media Man have been scouring the planet to see who may take odds - bets on Batista's upcoming Strikeforce debut, before year end we understand. Comon' PartyGaming - PartyBets, Gamebookers, BetUS, Betfair, Centrebet, Paddy Power and SBG Global.

Public Challenge To Sports Betting Companies!...

We issue a public challenge to offer betting options on Batista and other pro wrestlers going to the mixed martial arts world!

Wrestling Legend Ric Flair Speaks On UFC (MMA) And WWE Fans...

"MMA doesn’t affect wrestling at all. I’m not saying wrestling fans don’t watch MMA, but it is two different audiences. My take on MMA is that those guys are phenomenal athletes and extraordinarily tough and committed but the people that are crazy about them got nothing going on themselves. I actually think most of the male public that is crazy for that are living vicariously for something they can never be. Wrestling is more entertainment-based. MMA is what it is, those guys are out there trying to kill each other. And the guys that are sitting at home going "Wow" could never find that within themselves on the first day of their life. When Lesnar fights, I like watching Brock… and I recognize a lot of names … you’ve got to have so much respect for what those guys put themselves through but it is a limited time frame [they've got]. It’s hard to develop a star in that business that’s going to have any longevity. In wrestling a guy that develops a name for himself can do it fifteen years."

Gambling911 fans or anti fans. Does Flair's quote piss you off, or do you like his tell it like it is attitude? Tell us in the forum, and we can't wait for Hollywood's crazed comedian nutter Tony Clifton, to offer his 2 cents worth again. Shame about what happened to the late Andy Kaufman (former inter gender pro wrestling champion of the world!!!). Trust us, Andy was not the UFC type... ask Jerry 'The King' Lawler.

'The Nature Boy' has enjoyed previous Gambling911 coverage thanks to his gambling and gaming entrepreneur exploits... namely being former NC Education Lottery front man, and the current man of the moment for the South Carolina Lottery. Woooooo! as Flair would say.

Media Man Profiles

Dave Batista

Brock Lesnar

Ric Flair (front man for lotteries in the Carolina's region)

Roddy Piper

Kevin Nash (once upon a time known as Vinnie Vegas)

Hulk Hogan (face of The Hulk A Mania slot machine)

Other Pro Wrestling Stars Predicted By Media Man To Be Able To Cut It In The MMA World...

Bill Goldberg, mainly known only as Goldberg. Bill is also a motorsport enthusiast, enjoying BullRun, monster trucks and Harley-Davidson bikes.

Antonia Inoki (but just for 1 or 2 matches, due to his age) Details full credit Wikipedia

On June 26, 1976 Antonio Inoki had a scheduled match in Tokyo with Muhammad Ali. Inoki initially promised Ali a worked match to get him to fight in Japan, but when the deal materialized Ali's camp feared that Inoki would turn the fight into a shoot, which many believe was Inoki's intention. Ali visited a professional wrestling match involving Inoki and witnessed Inoki's grappling ability. The rules of the match were announced several months in advance. Two days before the match, however, several new rules were added which severely limited the moves that each man could perform. A rule change that had a major outcome on this match was that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground. In the match, Ali landed a total of six punches to Inoki, and Inoki kept to his back in a defensive position almost the full duration of the match of 15 rounds, hitting Ali with a low kick repeatedly. The bout ended in a draw, 3-3. Ali left without a press conference and suffered damage to his legs as a result of Inoki's repeated leg kicks.

Bob Backlund (as above)

'Judo' Gene LeBell, actually, better to pass... Gene is 77 years of age.

John Layfield aka Bradshaw (a low level match, as Bradshaw is a brawler and had a gorgeous and intelligent wife who likely wouldn't risk anything else)

Pro Wrestlers Who Won't Be Going To MMA This Lifetime...

John Cena, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Rey Mysterio Jr, Bret Hart...

Hornswoggle (Dylan Postl aka Little Bastard is a midget wrestler and character. Say so more).

Vince McMahon (too old and busy running WWE), Hulk Hogan (who Flair has gone on record with... "Hogan is in constant pain").

Steve Austin aka 'Stone Cold' (Austin has had many injuries and the closest you will see him in MMA is in action movie 'Damage', in a cage match!)

Family Of Wrestling Stars In MMA...

Colton Toombs (son of legendary wrestler and pop icon, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper). As a teenager Roddy won a Golden Gloves boxing championship and was also awarded a karate black belt by Gene LeBell.

Former Pro Wrestlers Who Were Once Successful In UFC...

Dan "The Beast' Severn and Ken Shamrock

Too Old Or Dead...

Terry Funk, legit legend and tough guy brawler, still with us, bless the lord

Jerry "The King" Lawler, as above

Bruiser Brody - Frank Donald Goodish - dead - a fight - self defense or murdered in the locker room of a Bayamón - San Juan, Puerto Rico locker room at the hands of Jose Huertas Gonzalez, AKA Invader I. Brody reminds fans of David 'Tank' Abbott, the fighter who achieved fame in the UFC early years.

Karl Gotch - Karl Istaz (August 3, 1924 - July 28, 2007) was a professional wrestler and trainer born in Hamburg, Germany, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. The German suplex is named after Gotch. Gotch had a behind-the-scenes feud with "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, starting when Gotch asked for a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Rogers wanted to avoid getting into the ring with a wrestler he feared would 'shoot' on him and legitimately "steal" his championship. This led to a locker room fist fight between the two, ending when Gotch broke Rogers' hand; incapacitating Rogers for several weeks. These events only served to alienate Gotch from the American promoters, who already felt there was no place for his style in the world of American pro wrestling!

PS: WWE NXT former Superstar Bryan Danielson's chances of competing in UFC? "Slim and none, or about 1 million to one", whispered a Media Man insider.

PS: Vince McMahon, no, hardly any of your guys will leave WWE for MMA as they just don't have the skills or the desire to fight in a no holds barred environment, so no need to worry. Pro wrestling ain't MMA, and god knows many MMA fighters would boar pro wrestling audiences to death. If WWE can ever get Lesnar back, even for 1 match or as a special ref or something, they would do well. Shane McMahon met with UFC top brass Dana White last year, but what's his status now? Punters, tell us what you know in the forum.

UFC President Dana White On Potentially Signing Bobby Lashley (December 2008)...

"I don't know how many people can cross over and do what Lesnar has done. I don't think there's very many out there."

Current Status Of Bobby Lashley: In Strikeforce

What Is Strikeforce?

Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, operators of the HP Pavilion and the San Jose Sharks. Its live events and fights are currently shown on Showtime in the US and on Super Channel in Canada. The promotion debuted on CBS on November 7, 2009 with Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.

UFC Update Etc...

Brock Lesnar VS Frank Mir expected to break a number of records including ticketing, PPV media buys and sports betting. The upcoming fight is expected to to the the stuff of legend. Tune in to UFC 116 on July 3, 2010. The match up is to be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

Shane Carwin, who won the interim heavyweight championship by defeating Frank Mir at UFC 111, will face current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. The two were originally set to face each other at UFC 106, before Shane Carwin won the interim heavyweight championship, but Brock Lesnar pulled out of the fight due to an illness that kept him from training.

UFC Prez Dana White went on record that the promotion plans to make a down under Australia tour and annual occurrence, due to the massive success of UFC 110 in Sydney.

Media Man thinks that either James Packer 50% owned Betfair or competitor, Centrebet, would do well to become an official sponsor of UFC, even if only for the Australian - Asia Pacific region.

Wrap Up...

We keenly await a reply from sports betting companies on odds re pro wrestlers entering the mixed martial arts world, be it UFC, Strikeforce or other.

Loyal readers, don't hold back in the world famous Gambling911 forums

*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment and Wrestling News Media

*Media Man is the former manager and agent for Australian MMA fighter Mick Cutajar

Disclaimer:

Media Man has online b2b agreements with the WWE Shop and UFC Shop. Media Man has nothing but respect for the awesome athletes in the WWE, UFC and other martial arts companies. The above article is a tongue in cheek number, intended to both educate and entertain. The disclaimers are there for the haters in the forum, and for those who hate a. WWE b. UFC and other MMA c. The writer!

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Dave Batista

David Michael Bautista, Jr. (born January 18, 1969), better known as Dave Batista or by the ring name Batista, is an American professional wrestler. Batista is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestling on its SmackDown! brand.

Batista is a three-time World Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble match.

Early life

Bautista is of Filipino and Greek heritage. His year of birth was disputed for several years. His website originally listed him as being born in 1969, while several contradictory news reports claimed that he was actually born in 1966. In March 2006, Batista stated in an interview that he was born in 1969. He confirms the same in his autobiography "Batista Unleashed".

World Wrestling Entertainment

Debut (2002)

He began his WWE career on the May 9, 2002 episode of SmackDown! as Deacon Bautista, a heel enforcer for Reverend D-Von on the SmackDown! franchise. Batista made his WWE in-ring debut in a tag match teaming with D-Von against Randy Orton and Faarooq with Batista pinning Orton after using his spinebuster. Over several weeks, Orton tried to beat D-Von and Bautista with different partners, but ultimately lost each time to Bautista's spinebuster. Bautista suffered his first loss in a match against Rikishi after D-Von accidentally struck him with a punch, allowing Rikishi to take advantage and pin Bautista for the win. Bautista and D-Von started to argue over the forthcoming weeks, with Bautista eventually turning on D-Von. After splitting with D-Von, he signed with RAW and was re-branded as Dave Batista (or simply Batista). He aligned himself with Ric Flair and feuded with Kane, whom he defeated in his pay-per-view debut at Armageddon 2002.

Evolution (2003-2004)

Personal life

Batista's father, David Michael Bautista, is Filipino and his mother, Donna Raye Bautista, a lesbian, is Greek. His grandparents were also from the Philippines as his grandfather served in the military, worked as a taxi driver, barber, and other odd jobs to feed the family. Batista says he is not ashamed to admit he came from a poor family. He has publicly admitted to having a hard life where, as before he was age nine, three murders occurred at his front lawn. As young as age 13, he was stealing automobiles. By age 17, Batista was considered estranged from his parents and on his own, despite admitting later that "I am proud of my parents. They are good, honest, hard-working folks. They taught me the values of working hard." Batista became a regular bouncer for clubs until he was arrested after a fight that left two badly injured patrons, one of which could be found lying in the street. After a trial, Batista was sentenced to a years' probation. Batista was also a lifeguard before he had dreams of becoming a bodybuilder. He credits bodybuilding as possibly saving his life.

Batista was married to a woman named Glenda in the early 1990s and had two daughters with her, Keilani (born in 1990) and Athena (born in 1992) before divorcing. Batista married his second wife Angie on October 13, 1998, however they divorced in 2006. Before the age of 40, Batista had already become a grandfather of two grandsons: Jacob & Aiden by Keilani, his first daughter. During his marriage with Angie, Batista became an avid collector of vintage metal lunchboxes. He admits his favorite is the 1967 Green Hornet lunch box, as it has Bruce Lee on it. This collection started when he bought Angie an ET lunchbox and she did not want to break it, so he bought a second one. Batista revealed that he and Angie were separated in the August 2006 edition of WWE Magazine. He later revealed, in his autobiography, a relationship with WWE Diva Melina after the divorce from his wife in 2006, which led to a brief angle on SmackDown! during a feud with MNM. Shortly after, he dated 2006 Diva Search contestant Rebecca DiPietro before resuming a relationship with Melina.

On October 16, 2007 his autobiography "Batista Unleashed", a WWE Book, was released. In an interview about the book, Batista claims "I didn't want to tell my story unless it was honest," and that "you have to go through three sets of lawyers: Simon & Schuster lawyers, WWE lawyers, my lawyers. Everything now being the way it is, you can be sued for the simplest thing." One source of controversy was the mentioning of Chris Benoit, who was almost completely removed due to controversy. Batista responded saying "I loved the guy. I despise what he did, but that doesn't erase him from my life. I fought to keep him in there and glad they did." When asked about his ex-wife, Angie, he says "[we] have really become close again, which we really haven't been in years. I really learned a lot about her, and she learned a lot about me from reading the book. She actually saw things from a different perspective from reading the book. So that was definitely therapeutic."

He has numerous tattoos, including a large Chinese dragon on his back, red Kanji lettering on his upper left biceps which says "Angel" in tribute to his former wife Angie, a signature design on his upper right biceps, and a small Sun on his stomach which encircles his belly button. He recently added a tattoo on his arm of the flags of the Philippines and Greece merged into one.

Other media

In addition to wrestling, Bautista has been in several commercials and on several magazine covers. He was shown breakdancing in a commercial promoting WWE SummerSlam 2004 where he did his take on a "floor routine", a routine that arguably mocked the floor routines shown at the Olympic Games. He was also on the cover of the April 2005 Flex Magazine.

Moreover, Bautista has acted and has guest starred in several television shows as both himself and in-character as Batista. He guest starred in the eighth episode of Season 6 of the American drama, action/adventure television series Smallville; he plays an extraterrestrial alien named Aldar that escaped from the Phantom Zone, who sucks the bones out of people for nourishment. Along with John Cena and Ashley Massaro, Bautista appeared representing WWE on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in January 2007, giving the kids of the family whose house was renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23.

On November 5, 2007, he appeared on an episode of Family Feud with several other WWE superstars (Credit: Wikipedia).

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UFC News MMA

UFC 113 BetUS News

UFC 113 will be quickly upon us this weekend May 8th, 2010. I thought I’d send out a quick reminder and an highlight some of the matches. I’m not sure about you, but I seem to have to constantly reminded of these dates or these events will just pass me by. Anyways, the last event for WEC 48 was really cool and featured some great bouts. I hope UFC 113 will do the same.

The big fight of the night is the re-match Machida vs. Rua for the Light Heavyweight Championship belt. I see things going a little better this time around for Machida. Last fight he got beat up a bit but retained the belt on a split decision. This time he knows he’ll have to be the aggressor and Rua will get caught with his chin out. My pick Machida KO 3rd round.

The fight between Koscheck vs. Daley should be fight of the night and all stand up. Koscheck the more experienced and superior wrestler has indicated he’ll stand and bang with Daley. The brash, cocky Daley has secured a staggering 78% of his 23 wins by knockout. "If he wants to stand-up, that's easy", says Daley. "If you're gonna stand up with me, you're gonna get knocked out--I've said it time and time again." These guys don’t like each other now and Koscheck is going to hate him later after he get’s KO’d. My pick Daley KO 2rd round.

Another potential KO bout is the Kimbo vs Mitrione. Kimbo should be vastly improved skill wise from his showing against Houston Alexander over 6 months ago. He’s got the right work ethic and training now and should be a force at this weight class. Mitrione was one of the better athletes on the TUF 10 season and should be as he did play in the NFL. He only got one of two fights under him so I don’t give him much of a chance. My pick Kimbo KO 2rd round.

One last bout which could also vie for fight of the night is the Stout vs. Stephens one. Stout is one of the fiercest brawlers in the UFC and among all the Canadian fighters on this card he’s the one with the most skill. Stout made his pro debut at the age of 19 and has since racked up a slew of victories.
Stout will surely be a crowd favorite as he defends his home turf against human pitbull Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stevens at UFC 113 in Montreal. If both fighters' past performances are any indication, then this fight could be worth the price of admission all by itself!

UFC 113 match-ups

Main Card

Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley
Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens
Heavyweight bout: Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione
Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Alan Belcher

Preliminary Card

Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor
Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Johny Hendricks
Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Joey Beltran
Welterweight bout: Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Mike Guymon
Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter

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Bodog

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport. The mixture of traditional martial arts has led to a wide variety of fighting techniques being used by modern MMA competitors, including both striking and grappling.

Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in popular culture in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Based on finding the most effective martial arts for real, unarmed combat situations, competitors of various arts were pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for safety. In the following decade, MMA promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport.[citation needed] Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity while promoters have seen financial success to rival other combat sports, including boxing.

Overview

The techniques utilized in mixed martial arts competition generally fall into two categories: striking techniques (such as kicks, knees and punches) and grappling techniques (such as clinch holds, pinning holds, submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws). As mixed martial arts has no international sanctioning body, rules may vary between promotions. While the legality of some techniques (such as elbow strikes, headbutts and spinal locks) may vary, there is a near universal ban on techniques such as biting, strikes to the groin, eye-gouging, fish-hooking and small joint manipulation.

Victory in a match is normally gained either by the judges' decision after an allotted amount of time has elapsed, a stoppage by the referee (for example if a competitor can not defend himself intelligently) or the fight doctor (due to an injury), a submission, by a competitor's cornerman throwing in the towel, or by knockout.

It was thought that Olympic recognition would be forthcoming for the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, under the banner of pankration. However, the International Olympic Committee was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new medal sports and pankration was excluded.

Pre-modern

One of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed combat sports with minimal rules was Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C.[7] Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other cities to honour remarkable pankratiasts.

No-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles including various catch wrestling styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe. The first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan, then heavyweight world boxing champion, entered the ring with his trainer, Greco-Roman wrestling champion William Muldoon, and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. Reportedly, Roeber suffered a fractured cheekbone in this bout, but was able to get Fitzsimmons down on the mat, where he applied an armlock and made the boxer submit. In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds.

Another early example of mixed martial arts combat was the martial art of Bartitsu, founded in London in 1899, which was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles,[9] and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.

Mixed style contests such as boxing vs. jujutsu were popular entertainment throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s.[1][2][3] In Japan these contests were known as Merikan, from the Japanese slang for "American [fighting]". Merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission.

Professional wrestling died out after World War I and was reborn in two streams: "shoot", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show," which evolved into modern sports entertainment professional wrestling.

Modern

he history of modern MMA competition can be traced to mixed style contests throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s; the Gracie family's vale tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil starting in the 1920s; and early mixed martial arts matches hosted by Antonio Inoki in Japan in the 1970s. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity in the United States in 1993, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie handily won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, submitting three challengers in just five minutes, sparking a revolution in the martial arts. Meanwhile in Japan the continued interest in the sport resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 1997.

The movement that led to the creation of the UFC and PRIDE was rooted in two interconnected subcultures. First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by the Japanese shoot wrestling shows. Vale tudo began in the 1920s with the "Gracie challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family. In Japan in the 1970s, a series of mixed martial arts matches were hosted by Antonio Inoki, inspiring the shoot-style movement in Japanese professional wrestling, which eventually led to the formation of the first mixed martial arts organizations, such as Shooto, which was formed in 1985. The concept of combining the elements of multiple martial arts was pioneered and popularized by Bruce Lee in the late 1960's to early 1970's. Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style." His innovative concepts were recognized in 2004 by UFC President Dana White when he called Lee the "father of mixed martial arts."

The United States Army began to sanction Mixed Martial arts when the US Army Combatives School held the first annual All Army Combatives Championships in Nov 2005.

The sport reached a new peak of popularity in North America in the December 2006 rematch between then UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champion Tito Ortiz, rivaling the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time, and helping the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history. In 2007, Zuffa LLC, the owners of the UFC MMA promotion, bought Japanese rival MMA brand PRIDE, merging the contracted fighters under one promotion and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football. (CreditL Wikipedia).

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