mixed martial arts(also MMA - from the English. Mixed Martial Arts) - martial arts (often incorrectly called "fights without rules"), which are a combination of many techniques, schools and martial arts. MMA...
is a full-contact fight using striking techniques and wrestling both in the standing position (clinch) and on the floor (ground floor). The term "Mixed Martial Arts" was coined in 1995 by Rick Blume, president of Battlecade, one of the early MMA organizations and subsequently found steady use in non-English speaking countries.
The origins of MMA go back to BC: even the ancient Greeks competed in pankration at the first Olympic Games, but until the 1990s, MMA could not boast of significant popularity in the world. Only with the formation and development of such organizations as the "Ultimate Fighting Championship" (English "Absolute Fighting Championship"), "Pride Fighting Championships" (English Fighting Championship "Pride"), etc., the popularity of MMA has increased dramatically, which was also facilitated by fall of professional boxing entertainment.
Pankration is the oldest unarmed fighting style reminiscent of modern MMA. The ancient Greeks introduced this discipline in Olympic Games in 648 BC. The Greek pankration then transformed into the more cruel Etruscan and ancient Roman "pankratium". Fights in this style were demonstrated in the Colosseum, and statues of outstanding fighters were subsequently installed in Rome and other Italian cities.
Some public displays of combat took place at the end of the 19th century. They represented various styles of wrestling, including jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and other styles. Mixed-style competitions (for example, boxer versus wrestler) were very popular in Europe and many countries of the Far East at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In England, even a martial art called bartitsu arose, combining European and Asian teachings. The mention of bartitsu, in particular, is found in the famous English writer Arthur Conan Doyle, who attributed the possession of "deadly baritsu wrestling" to his anti-hero - Professor Moriarty. Moriarty uses his knowledge in this area in a hand-to-hand fight against Sherlock Holmes, a representative of the English boxing school, on the edge of the Reichenbach Falls.
After the First World War, wrestling revived in two main streams. The first - it was a real competition, called "shootwrestling" (English shootwrestling); in the second case, the fights turned into choreographed shows that eventually led to professional wrestling, now popular in many countries, in particular the United States, Japan and Mexico.
In the late 60s, the concept of combining elements of different martial arts was popularized by Bruce Lee. The philosophy developed by Bruce Lee was called Jeet Kune Do, and one of its main principles was the ability of a fighter to successfully adapt to any style. Lee's teachings and especially his films have influenced MMA to such an extent that in 2004 UFC President Dana White called Lee "the father of MMA". It should also be noted that, in addition to Jeet Kune Do, from more ancient times in Japan there were already mixed martial arts, such as kaju kembo and Goju Ryu karate.
The ancestor of MMA also existed in the USSR: it was sambo - a system developed in 1938 as a result of the synthesis of many types of martial arts, thanks to order No. 633 "On the development of freestyle wrestling." Of all the sports martial arts that exist today, Sambo most closely resembles MMA in terms of the arsenal of techniques used. Here it is necessary to clarify that sambo is divided into two main areas: sports and combat. If in the first case the main task is to demonstrate the throwing technique or the technique of painful holds, then combat sambo is much closer to MMA in its essence, since the fighter’s ability to most effectively and quickly deprive the enemy of the opportunity to resist is of paramount importance in it. Partially in connection with this, the combat section of sambo until 1991 was available only to law enforcement agencies.
In addition, in the armed forces of the USSR, since 1979, ARB competitions have been held, the rules of which are very similar to the rules of mixed martial arts.
Modern MMA
Modern mixed martial arts has its roots in two events: vale tudo competitions in Brazil and Japanese shoot wrestling. Vale Tudo has its origins in the third decade of the 20th century, when Brazilian jiu-jitsu representatives Carlos Gracie and Helio Gracie invited anyone to compete with them in wrestling. This was the so-called "Gracie Challenge", which was later supported by Gracie's descendants.
In Japan in the 70s of the XX century, professional wrestler Kanji "Antonio" Inoki (Japanese: 猪木寛至), organized a number of fights according to mixed rules. In particular, on June 26, 1976, Inoki met with the famous boxer Mohammed Ali. Initially, the fight was planned according to mixed rules in the full sense, however, two days later, a restriction was introduced that significantly affected the outcome of the meeting: Inoki was allowed to kick only if he stood with one knee on the floor. As a result, Ali landed six punches, and Inoki spent almost the entire fight on the floor, keeping Ali away from him with low kicks. The fight ended in a draw, although the damage to Ali's legs nearly jeopardized his boxing career. As a result of the unspectacular fight, the opinion spread that fights under mixed rules are impossible due to the lack of adaptation of the rules, and for a long time they were not carried out. However, Inoki continued to organize mixed martial arts from time to time, which did not receive wide recognition, however, it was they who in 1986 led to the formation of the first mixed martial arts organization, known as "Shuto" (English Shooto). Inoki himself had nothing to do with Shuto: the organization was founded by his former “colleague in the wrestling ring” - Satoru Sayama.
Fight under the rules of MMA under the auspices of the UFC in 2010.
In the future, the fate of MMA developed in different countries in different ways. In the United States, MMA's popularity began to rise in 1993, when California businessman Art Davey and Brazilian jiu-jitsu school principal Rorion Gracie organized the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held in Denver, Colorado. The eight-player tournament, which had a prize pool of $50,000 for the winner, included representatives from boxing, savate, sumo, karate, and wrestling. To the surprise of the 2,800 spectators present in the hall, and another 86,000 who bought paid broadcast on cable television, the Brazilian athlete Royce Gracie became the winner of the tournament, significantly inferior to all his opponents in height and weight and won thanks to suffocating and painful techniques, little known at that time. Subsequently, Gracie won two more UFC tournament than widely popularized Brazilian jiu-jitsu - one of the key components in the training of many MMA fighters in our time.
In Japan, in 1997, interest in mixed martial arts led to the creation of a large MMA organization, the Pride Fighting Championships. As the sport developed, other organizations began to appear: Strikeforce, EliteXC, Bellator, Bodog, Affliction, WEC, Dream, M-1 Global, however, in the face of fierce competition, some of them collapsed, while others were forced to be content with a small popularity and relatively low level of fighters.
In Russia and the CIS countries, due to the collapse of the USSR, the development of MMA was more chaotic and mainly manifested itself in the form of individual tournaments or simply fights without a tournament grid, which began to be held from the mid-1990s. Due to the lack of structures governing the rules, medical support and conditions for the fights, the level of competition depended solely on the willingness of sponsors to invest in fights, which often led to fights being held in inadequate conditions. A significant improvement was noted with the appearance in Russia of the Japanese organization RINGS, where such fighters as Volk-Khan, Andrey Kopylov, Mikhail Ilyukhin and Nikolai Zuev have proven themselves well. RINGS also gave rise to Fedor Emelianenko, later a multiple MMA world champion according to various organizations.
To date, the development of MMA in Russia is still not moving as fast as, for example, in the United States, where interest in UFC fights increased significantly with the purchase of the promotion by Station Casinos owners, the Fertitta brothers, in 2001, and the appointment of former boxing promoter Dana White as president of the company, which led to a massive craze for the sport, even in those states where MMA at that time was officially banned (for example, New York). This is due, first of all, to changes in the rules that made the fights more spectacular, White's aggressive policy aimed at popularizing the sport (more precisely, the UFC organization itself), and the evolution of fighting equipment. In December 2006, the UFC's popularity peaked when Chuck Liddell's fight against Tito Ortiz garnered pay-TV box office equals to the highest-grossing fights in boxing history. In 2007, the Fertitta brothers bought out the main competitor, the Japanese "Pride", as a result of which the UFC became the largest organization in the world of MMA and, thanks to the arrival best fighters Pride has succeeded in boosting the popularity of the sport in the US even further, as evidenced by the increase in pay-per-view sales.
In Russia, however, the situation is radically different, mainly due to very poor funding and lack of adequate media coverage of the sport. In other countries (for example, in the USA, Japan, Korea, England, Australia, Germany, Holland, Poland, France, Spain, Brazil, Czech Republic, and many others), MMA is also a developing and very popular sport.
Despite the reputation of a "blood sport" sometimes propagated by the media, in the history of modern MMA since 1993, injuries and serious consequences after fights hundreds of times less than in professional boxing. A study conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins University concluded that the injury rate in MMA, in general, is similar to the levels of other sports that use percussion technique. However, due to the rules that allow submissions and chokes, the number of knockouts in MMA is lower than in boxing, suggesting a reduced risk of brain injury. Since in boxing there is an accented blow - the head is the liver, the head is the liver, and in MMA the fighter conducts a shock series in order (in most cases) to distract his opponent, make a pass to the legs, knock him down and hold a painful or suffocating reception.
excerpts
MMA (mixed martial arts, Fights without rules) is a sports competition in which representatives of various martial arts participate ( hand-to-hand combat, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, pankration, sambo, jiu-jitsu, boxing, muay thai, etc.). Here the fights are held in full contact with the use of a minimum of protective equipment. Thus, athletes of the same weight category, using completely different techniques and strategies for conducting a duel.
In MMA, punches, kicks, knees, including chokes and submissions are allowed. Only those actions are prohibited that do not comply with sports etiquette and may harm the health of the participants (hit to the back of the head, groin, eyes, spine, throat, breaking fingers).
MMA is a sport with high moral principles and ethical standards of an athlete's behavior. There is a judge in the ring who monitors the observance of the moral and ethical standards of the fight by the fighters, the absence of prohibited strikes and the condition of the athletes. Here you will see uncompromising and very spectacular fights between the best athletes world that represent different kinds martial arts.
The fight is held in 2 rounds of 5 minutes each (break between rounds is 1 minute) plus an additional round of 5 minutes in case of an equal fight. (championship fights are 5 rounds of 5 minutes each).
The fight can be stopped ahead of time in case of a knockout, refusal of a second, if one of the athletes surrendered, as well as at the request of a doctor or referee.
MMA (mixed martial arts) - gives athletes the opportunity to continue doing what they love and earn money after the end of their amateur career in sports. After all, each athlete receives a sum of money for the fight, depending on his rating, the more victories, the higher the fee.
Well, 2015 has come to an end, we can sum up the results and finally determine the cohort of the strongest MMA organizations of the year.
For a spectator, fan, fan, each organization is primarily a roster of its fighters, and promotion should not be a theater of one actor or champion, its level is perceived only by the aggregate level of all fighters.
The most extensive and objective MMA rating in terms of the number of fighters is the fightmatrix.com rating. The position in the rating of a fighter is determined by the number of points (Points) he has earned. Given the great depth of the rating - up to 600 fighters in the weight category, the position of a fighter in the rating is determined primarily by the level of his opposition, and not by a beautiful record, when victories over fighters with a large number points earn significant increases in the fighter's piggy bank, and a series of victories over outright underdogs can lead to points loss. When moving from one weight category to another, points are not lost, but are recalculated with a certain coefficient and allow you to determine the position in the rank of the new weight. If a fighter has not competed for 450 days, his rating is terminated until the next fight.
So, adding up the points of the fighters of each of the leagues, we get their rating by the total level.
The first fifteen numbers of the list of promotions in 2015 look like this:
For clarity, the first ten in the form of a diagram:
To be able to see the differences without the background of the undisputed leader:
Visually, the total levels of the fighters of the ten strongest organizations, divided by weight categories:
Nine without the background of the undisputed leader:
Clearly the level of the best fighters of the 10 strongest organizations in weight categories:
Organization leaders without a background of UFC champions:
Visually the average level of fighters of 10 leading organizations in weight categories:
The general picture of the distribution of the level of promotion fighters by "boxes with a mustache":
The essence of the boxes here is this, the entire number of fighters is divided into four parts: from the edge of the lower mustache to the bottom of the box 25%, from the bottom of the box to the median (red line inside the box) another 25%, from the median to the top of the box another 25%, well, from the top of the box to the edge of the upper mustache, 25% of the best fighters are distributed.
More clearly on nine leagues:
In total, leaving aside personal preferences and idle speculation, looking at single-digit numbers in the bottom line, we get.
The undisputed leader of the UFC, the top three are the American organizations UFC, Bellator and WSOF.
Two Russian organizations ACB and M-1 are in the top five, and they go head to head, M-1 has a higher average level of fighters, and ACB has more tournaments and rated fighters, so at the time of December 13, M-1 in terms of aggregate level (sum points) was slightly ahead of ACB, but before the end of the year, ACB managed to hold two more tournaments, and several M-1 fighters played on the side, so they did not get into the M-1 sum. Heavyweight M-1 in terms of total and average levels is rightfully in second place after the UFC.
In total, there are five American UFC, Bellator, WSOF, RFA and Titan FC, three European ACB, M-1 and KSW and two Asian One FC and Pancrase organizations in the top ten.
The newborn Japanese Rizin FF has already reached the top ten in just two tournament days.
However, from the visual results obtained, each reader will be able to draw many more conclusions of their own.
For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that only the ratings of fighters were taken into account, the ratings of women in MMA were not generalized, the Strawweight category (52 kg) was also not taken into account, as it was small and absent in the UFC.
In the section on the question Organization of fights without rules, asked by the author workable the best answer is Medics. Compliance with safety rules and a fighter card. Each fighter must have a card that he will sign. It is also an agreement that in case of injuries - they have no claims.
Among you Prof. are there athletes? You should know such things.
Answer from Jan A.[guru]
... this is an occupation for gopniks.
Answer from European[guru]
Article 4 No. 128-FZ of 08.08.01 “On Licensing certain types activities” licensed activities include those types, the implementation of which may entail damage to the rights, legitimate interests, health of citizens, defense and security of the state, cultural heritage of peoples Russian Federation. Part 1 Art. 17 requires obtaining a license in case of organization and maintenance of sweepstakes and gambling establishments. In the absence of a license: if it is proved that there is no profit for the organizers of art. 19, 20 of the RF Code of Administrative Offenses; if there is a profit for the organizers: art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Answer from Vitalik Sertsenko[guru]
Nothing is needed. I did a fight club and there the potsyki fought in the hangar in the ring and everything was like top. even the cops came to bet
Answer from Sneakers[guru]
the son of a coach (black belt in karate) was beaten off by the kidneys.
I think you need to call the insurance company
Forbes magazine in 2015 estimated the fortune of Ziyavudin Magomedov at $ 800 million. He owns the Summa group, which owns 25% of the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, 49.99% of the Fesco transport group, the Transengineering engineering company, the gas producing Yakutsk fuel and energy company, and 50% minus one share of the United Grain Company. In a number of Summa's assets, for example, in NCSP and in the engineering business, Magomed Magomedov, Ziyavudin's brother, has a stake.
Eurasia Fight Nights(FN) clearly stands out from the rest of Magomedov's assets. The businessman became its owner a few months ago. The club was founded in 2010 absolute champion world kickboxing team Batu Khasikov, vice-president of the Moscow Federation of Mixed Martial Arts MMA Kamil Gadzhiev and captain of the KVN team "RUDN National Team" Sangadzhi Tarbaev. Later, the club's co-owners included Sergei Arsenyev, managing director of the Moscow office of Goldman Sachs investment bank, and designer Sergei Shanovich.
What is mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (eng. Mixed Martial Arts, MMA) is a type of martial arts, which is a symbiosis of different martial techniques and schools and answers the question of interest to many: “If a boxer and a wrestler meet, who will win?”
Fights in MMA are conducted in full contact, fighters can use both shock and wrestling techniques. A standard fight lasts three rounds of five minutes each with breaks of one minute, title fight- five rounds. Fights are held in a "cage" - on a platform measuring 8x8 m with a fence that does not allow the fighters to leave the ring.
On initial stage MMA tournaments were sometimes promoted as "fighting without rules", which was an advertising slogan and is not true. According to the report of the American Association of Ring Doctors (ARP) published in 2015, in professional boxing over the past 25 years, an average of 4.8 athletes per year have died in the ring, in the UFC (the main American MMA organization) - 0.28 athletes per year for 15 years.
Russia recognized mixed martial arts as an official sport in 2012.
What the Fight Nights club was like as a business before the deal with Magomedov is unclear. According to Kamil Hajiyev, the annual turnover of FN is 350 million rubles. and even before the deal with Magomedov, the business reached self-sufficiency. But it is impossible to verify his words. In the SPARK-Interfax database, the financial indicators of Fight Knights LLC, whose founders are Khasikov and Gadzhiev, are completely identical in 2013 and 2014: revenue - 9.517 million rubles, net loss - 18.7 million rubles. Other companies associated with Fight Nights through the founders - Fight Nights Jim, Fight Nights Global, Fight Nights Entertainment, Eurasia Sport and Summa Sport - do not publish financial statements. In addition, most of them were created in 2013-2014.
What exactly Magomedov bought is also unclear: how the deal is legally executed, neither Magomedov himself nor his representatives comment. Taking into account previous investments in the club, this is sponsorship club fighters, assistance in organizing events and advertising - the deal amounted to "several tens of millions of dollars," Kamil Gadzhiev told RBC, whose words were confirmed by Magomedov's representative.
"Summa" is the first in the list of "general partners" on the club's website. The group, for example, sponsored the opening sports club FN in Makhachkala: Magomedov personally attended the Fight Nights Dagestan tournament. The businessman himself says that he works out several times a week, often at the Fight Nights Moscow club.
Combat profit
In addition to the club on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, FN has three more - in Elista, Makhachkala and Bryansk. The Moscow club hosts training not only in mixed martial arts, but also in boxing, cross-fit and even yoga and Pilates. In the company's online store, you can order clothes and sports accessories with FN logos and autographs of stars with delivery. But the main business of Fight Nights is the organization of mixed martial arts fights: in 2014, FN fighters participated in five fights, in 2015 - in nine (including in St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kaspiysk). Fight Nights also held its own club championship in Moscow.
The main income, according to Hajiyev, the club brings ticket sales, television broadcasts and advertising. Tickets for the final event of FN "Battle 20" in Luzhniki on December 11 cost from 1 thousand to 70 thousand rubles. To seats in the stalls at a price of 5 thousand rubles. “two master classes with the champion” were also attached. According to Hajiyev, previous events of this level managed to attract 6-7 thousand spectators, that is, FN will be able to earn about 15-20 million rubles on tickets. But the costs per organization this will not cover the event - it costs no less than 30 million rubles, Gadzhiev admits.
At the fight organized by Fight Nights, Russian Mikhail Mokhnatkin and Brazilian Ednaldo Oliveira on October 23 in St. Petersburg ice palace 6,000 tickets were sold, Hajiyev says. Ticket revenue is unlikely to cover 30% of total expenses, the rest should theoretically be covered by television broadcasts and advertising. In addition to broadcasts on Match TV, all top FN fights are broadcast on the Internet for a fee, on the UFC Fight Pass channel, joint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the cost of viewing is an average of $10 per evening. Under what conditions the channel broadcasts the fights, Match TV does not comment.
The world's largest MMA promoter, the American UFC, holds about 40 fights a year not only in North and Latin America, but also in Europe, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. For viewers, this is not cheap entertainment: for example, Aldo vs. McGregor on December 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, at the time of writing this material, you could buy tickets ranging from $505 to $6,900. At the same time, the UFC cannot boast of high business profitability.
UFC above all
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a promotional company from the United States, the world's largest organizer of MMA fights. Initially, it was an experimental, one-time championship. But the success of the first tournament in Denver in 1993 inspired businessman Art Davey and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher Rorion Gracie to create their own company. In 2001, the company was purchased for $2 million by the Fertitta brothers, owners of the Station Casinos chain of casinos. Boxing promoter Dana White (pictured) became the general producer and president of the UFC.
The Fertitta brothers bought and merged with the UFC most of the world's competitors, including the Pride Fighting Championships. According to various estimates, the annual turnover of Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, ranges from $250 million to $350 million. According to Forbes magazine, this is 90% of the world's MMA revenue.
According to S&P, up to 75% of the company's income comes from the sale of television rights. According to a Zuffa report for 2014, the company's revenue was $554 million. According to S&P, the company's EBITDA has been declining since 2010, due to high costs for the acquisition of competitors and foreign events. Zuffa's debt is about $450 million. In early 2015, S&P predicted a further 40% decrease in EBITDA and downgraded Zuffa's rating to BB-.
If the world's largest mixed martial arts promoter is not doing very well, what can Fight Nights, a club that is so small compared to the UFC, count on? Magomedov's investment will "help expand the business" of FN, Gadzhiev says. In addition to raising the level of events and broadcasting, FN wants to focus on marketing and audience building. This means more advertising, including outdoor advertising. Hajiyev believes that "she shows herself well in the regions."
But for true commercial success sports events viewers are needed not only at the stadiums, but also at the screens, then the audience becomes interesting to large advertisers, and TV channels are ready to pay for the rights to broadcast. The UFC television audience reaches 800 million people a year - you can watch fights not only on TV, but also on the Internet (a monthly subscription costs € 7.99). In 2011, the UFC signed a seven-year broadcast contract with Fox Sports. Its amount, according to The Telegraph, is $700 million.
Ziyavudin Magomedov: “Growing up on the streets of Makhachkala is a sport in itself” (Photo: Yuri Chichikov, Anna Sergeeva for RBC)
Stars and money
In Russia, the top fights of the UFC began to be broadcast in the fall by Match TV, before that they were shown by the Russia 2 channel. “The UFC format is certainly in demand, MMA has its own steadily growing audience in our country,” says a Match TV representative. The fight between six-time UFC champion Ronda Rousey and title contender Holly Holm on November 16 was watched by 5.8% of male viewers aged 25-59 on Match TV. “The numbers have clearly demonstrated the potential of such a product,” the channel’s representative notes, but he does not want to talk about the possible prospects for broadcasting Fight Nights fights.
FN's main Russian competitor is the promotional company M-1 Global. Its founder and largest co-owner, Vadim Finkelstein, said in an interview with RBC that he was not at all sure that the broadcast of mixed martial arts on Russian TV is an income item, and not additional costs. According to him, TV channels either do not pay for the rights to broadcast at all, or pay very little. And for the audience, the image of mixed martial arts is blurred, due to the fact that MMA itself in Russia does not have a clear sports structure and almost everyone can open their own federation. “The viewer no longer remembers his characters and is not ready to pay for viewing,” Finkelstein notes.
But FN believes that world-class events involving Russian athletes will be of interest to viewers and federal channels. “Ideally, the regions will cheer for their fighters, the audience there is very open and interested. Yes, advertising will be needed, but they will be our stars, ”says Gadzhiev.
It takes an average of three years and $1-2 million to promote one athlete to the level of a media person that the audience will “go to”, Gadzhiev says. For a major event, there must be at least four such fighters. Tournament bracket FN doesn't, so the top event is one or two headliner celebrity fights, a few mid-level fights, and a variety show with singers, artists, and dance. It will be difficult to beat them back by selling broadcast rights alone, says an analyst at a major sports advertising agency. “If some federal channel buys this broadcast, then even for a top fight more than 3 million rubles. no one will pay,” he said.
Combat economy
$5 million- record fee in the UFC, according to Dana White (recipient unknown)
$180 000 - Holly Holm's fee for the victory over Ronda Rousey, November 2015
$24 500 - average UFC fighter fee per fight
$50 — the price of a paid subscription to the broadcast of the top battle
Sources: The Economist, UFC
The only chance to even recoup the cost of organizing the show is to sell sponsorship and advertising packages. In this sense, MMA has good prospects, says Anton Efimov, managing director of the OMD Fuse advertising agency: “Their main target audience is men who watch them on television, and men with high incomes are the core of the audience attending competitions, and this is a stable marketing platform. for brands that want to build an association with strength and courage.” With this in mind, the cost of an advertising package at such a show can be from 10 million rubles. and higher within one evening, Efimov counts. But there’s another problem, he notes: “In martial arts there is no fixed schedule, like in football or hockey, and it’s very difficult to map partnerships even for a year.”
A representative of another major advertising agency does not even share this modest optimism: “In Russia, even football broadcasts do not always have an audience large enough to advertise there. And MMA is unlikely to attract serious money. In his opinion, FN, UFC and other similar organizations do not open their financial statements because it will become obvious to everyone - "there are no incomes, there are only turnovers." The only chance for the promoter in this sense is a large sponsorship contract, in which the advertiser will be interested not only in the size of the audience, but also in the image component of the sport itself, the representative of the advertising agency adds.
In 2015, the UFC signed the largest sponsorship contract in its 21-year history: Reebok will pay $70 million over six years for the right to become the official supplier of equipment. This year's sponsors list includes Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Bud Light beer, Toyo tires, etc. Ideally, Fight Nights should sign a similar contract, but for now, FN is considering the previous stage of UFC development - launching its own reality show.
The Ultimate Fighter was launched on American TV in 2005. In the first episodes of the show, 16 fighters from two teams compete with each other, viewers can follow their training and details Everyday life. The losers are eliminated, and in the season finale, the two fighters battle it out for The Ultimate Fighter title and a major UFC contract. The start of the new season in September 2015 was watched by 745 thousand viewers. The show allowed the UFC not only to expand its television audience, but also to change it, said UFC head Dana White: “When we bought this company, our main audience was men from 18 to 34 years old. After the release of The Ultimate Fighter<…>women make up 45% of our viewers.”
“If we really want to gain a critical audience mass, our fights should become a family spectacle, including for women,” Gadzhiev agrees. FN has no specific launch dates for the show yet. The representative of "Match TV" declined to comment on this idea.
Training of fighters of the Moscow club Fight Nights (Photo: Yuri Chichikov, Anna Sergeeva for RBC)
"Images of Heroes"
home Russian star mixed martial arts Fedor Emelianenko was never able to agree on performances in the UFC. But in the American organization there are fighters from Russia, for example, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Rustam Khabilov. Training fighters of this level is also a type of income that FN co-owners are counting on.
“We are no longer only a promotion company, but also a base, a kind of sports incubator for top fighters, which trains world-class MMA stars,” says Gadzhiev. So far, FN does not supply fighters to the UFC, but the same Minakov, who won the MMA championship belt in the American version of Bellator, is the first candidate. “In the UFC, our lightweight Ali Bagautinov is in the leading roles. I think that in a couple of years our other athletes, such as Volodya Mineev and Sergey Pavlovich, could perform successfully in the UFC, and they will strive for this, ”says Magomedov.
The last Emperor
The most titled Russian mixed martial arts fighter is 39-year-old resident of Stary Oskol Fedor Emelianenko, nicknamed the Last Emperor. On account of his titles are four-time MMA heavyweight champion according to Pride FC, two-time according to RINGS and according to WAMMA. Attempts to negotiate Fedor's appearance in the UFC were unsuccessful.
In the summer of 2015, Emelianenko announced his return to the ring after a three-year pause: the first fight will take place on December 31 in Japan, it will be held by the local MMA organization Rizin Fighting Federation. Fedor's opponent will be 28-year-old Jaideep Singh.
Fedor Emelianenko fights
34 victories (ten by knockout, 18 by voluntary surrender)
4 defeats (three by knockout, one by voluntary surrender)
So, meet! The first of its kind "Encyclopedia of the amateur MMA". All terms are taken by me from everyday life. I explain them to you as I do to myself. Therefore (I hope) they will be clear to you as well.
BASICS
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)- Mixed Martial Arts. A sport that became widespread in the United States in the 90s of the last (that is, the 20th) century. MMA is fundamentally different from other types of martial arts in that fighters have the right to use a huge arsenal of various techniques and techniques that were previously inaccessible within the framework of any one style. Wrestlers, boxers, kickboxers, masters of jiu-jitsu, karate and sumo participated in the first tournaments.
Maybe I got a little excited about the last one. Although in Japan what just didn't happen! Over time, MMA has evolved into fights in which participants use a variety of techniques in order to win - they fight, kick and punch each other, hold painful and suffocating techniques. Modern MMA is boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, karate and muay thai all in one sport.
Cell- a symbol of MMA and a specific place for fighting only for this sport. Despite the horror in which the cage leads the uninitiated inhabitants, it is not at all intended to close the fighters who "fight to the death" in it. The thing is that the cage is more convenient than the ring. A fighter cannot fall out of the cage and get injured, the fight does not need to be stopped to turn the fighters fighting on the ground, head to the center.
In addition, the cage provides a lot of advantages and additional techniques - the fighter can lean on the cage with his back to get up from the stalls, and you can also push off from it and perform the famous showtime kick! Cells come in different shapes - round and with corners. The branded cage with 8 corners is called the Octagon.
Fights without rules(boy. "Baibezpravil, cho") - the erroneous name for MMA, which is used by the yellow media and "real boys" from the Russian outback. It has nothing to do with mixed martial arts, in which there are rules. The unified rules of MMA prohibit a number of actions, among them - headbutts, grapples to the face, pokes in the eyes, strikes to the groin, biting the opponent with the teeth, strikes with a sharp point of the elbow (the so-called strikes 12-6), kicks to the opponent who is three points on the floor of the cage, including "soccer-kick" - a football kick to the head of a defeated opponent.
Unfortunately, Russian media they don’t bother themselves with such nonsense as the correct names of something there yet. Therefore, almost every fighter appearing in the news reports of our media is at least a "World champion in fighting without rules".
Basic wrestler/drummer- although the times when representatives of the same style met in a cage are long gone, in MMA the “base” of an athlete is still of great importance. Namely, from what sport he came to mixed martial arts.
Freestyle wrestlers are the most successful in MMA, represented by 7 out of 10 champions of the No. 1 MMA organization. Russian MMA fighters, as a rule, come to this sport from combat sambo. Many of our fighters, one way or another, were champions in this martial art before they came to MMA.
PERSONS
Fedor(Fyodor Emelianenko) - to put it simply, our everything! The main (and still the only) Russian MMA fighter who achieved best results V mixed martial arts. Fedor remained undefeated for almost 10 years. Actually, it was thanks to the “Fedor Emelianenko phenomenon” that mixed martial arts in our country received the strongest impetus for their development. Fedor may not be understood, but it is impossible not to love him. Currently, Fedor is the President of the MMA Union of Russia and works as an adviser to the Minister of Sports.
(Dana White, schools. Dana White) - President of the main MMA organization on this planet. A person who causes tons of hatred. Effective manager. Evil troll. Suffering from a God complex. The character is never Nordic, not even close to sustained. He considers himself the chief of all chiefs. If Fedor was considered by many to be the angel of MMA, then White, without a doubt, is the “devil” of this sport.
Mirko Cro Cop(Mirko "Cro Cop" Filippovic) is a Croatian MMA fighter who has a spectacular punching style based on kickboxing. Before joining MMA, Mirko worked as a police officer, hence his nickname - Croatian Cop or Cro Cop for short. Despite the fact that Mirko has never been an MMA champion, he remains one of the main symbols of this sport.
Cro Cop's famous head kick (hi-kick) is widely known: "The right foot is the hospital, the left is the graveyard." Currently, Cro Cop continues to perform in various kickboxing and MMA tournaments, although his time has certainly passed.
Joe Rogan(Joe Rogan) is an American comedian and television host, commentator and author of his own radio show. Rogan is loved by novice MMA fans and hated by old ones. Because, unlike the newcomers, they remember how Rogan forced Georges St. Pierre to tell in live about his phobia, and six months later he used this confession to throw mud at the same St. Pierre, on the air of one of his next programs.
An adherent of the cult "Eat the ones you killed yourself", Joe Rogan uses his free time to hunt defenseless animals, and then proudly pose against their background. Moreover, Rogan prefers to kill with a bow and arrows. That is, you understand that the animal that Rogan hunts does not die immediately, but dies in agony until it is pierced by 5 or 6 (or even more) arrows fired by Rogan.
Two-faced and hypocritical person. Successful marketer. Born showman. However, if you are a beginner, then you will most likely love Rogan. Because he is charismatic. We love these characters no matter what.
Alexander Shlemenko - former champion the second most important active MMA organization in the world. Middleweight Former veganist. HSE adherent. Omich. "Real boy". Russian Hope. Shlemenko doesn't say much, but when he does, he sounds very convincing. Trains himself. An excellent striker and a slightly less excellent wrestler.
Known for his stubbornness and integrity. From this year, finally, he is going to devote more time to practicing wrestling skills. On Valentine's Day Shlemenko will beat dangerous puncher Melvin Manhoef. In any case, we really hope that everything will be exactly like this, and not vice versa.
John Jones(Jon "Bones" Jones, full name Jonathan Jones) - champion and outstanding MMA fighter light heavyweight. Contradictory personality. The object of hatred and love of millions of MMA fans. Known for his addiction to elbow strikes, eye poke, and cocaine. However, he can hardly be blamed for the latter.
He made many defenses of his title, it is considered the greatest fighter on the planet. Despite the outstanding results, it has become a kind of MMA meme, after a recent story with a failed doping test and addiction to drugs. Nevertheless, Jones, without a doubt, remains one of the biggest figures in this sport.
(or simply Khabib) is the main hope of the Russian MMA from Dagestan. An undefeated lightweight who has been missing a title fight for a year now. Some even suspect an Illuminati conspiracy. Basic wrestler, drives a tinted Priora fret.
Khabib's relationship with PR is not very smooth so far. Good, good interviews interspersed with ridiculous statements on Twitter and “purely boyish” photos on Instagram. However, it is Khabib Nurmagomedov who is now most likely to become the first Russian champion in the UFC.
ORGANIZATIONS
UFC(Utimate Fighting Championship, sounds like "yu eff si") - the name is usually not translated, but if you really want it, then - the Absolute Fighting Championship. The main and most powerful MMA organization today. Unrestrictedly controlled by Dana White (see above), who turns the fighters as he wants. However, this is where 99% dream to go. Russian fighters MMA, with the exception of Sergey Kharitonov. He is not interested in such trifles.
Bellator(Bellator) is the #2 MMA organization in the world. It was there that Alexander Shlemenko was the champion before he lost the title to Brandon Halsey last year. It is still not known for certain which syllable should be stressed in the word "Bellator". So do what you want. In an attempt to compete with the UFC, Bellator has signed YouTube's storm, Kimbo Slice, with whom they intend to take over the MMA market in 2015. [offscreen laugh]
M-1(M-1 Global, schools. "Emodin") - the main Russian MMA organization, in which Fedor once performed. Adolescents often mix up the sport - MMA and the name of the organization M-1. Despite the sarcasm of many fans, mixed with hidden anti-Semitism towards the President of the organization Vadim Finkelstein, M-1 remains the flagship of Russian MMA. Recently, several very promising champions have appeared in the organization - Marcin Tybura, Stefan Pütz, and girls with signs (octagon girls) are just a feast for the eyes.
THE BATTLE
Round- one round in a fight according to the rules of MMA lasts 5 minutes. This is not dull boxing with its three-minutes, and not kickboxing. But if you think that 5 minutes is too long, then know that the first MMA fights often lasted half an hour, or even no time limit at all. Championship fights and the main fights of the evening in the UFC last not three, but as many as five rounds of five minutes each.
Weighing(Weigh-in, school. "Hanger") - the procedure for determining the weight of fighters, which takes place 1 day before the fight. This is usually done so that fighters can meet the limits of their chosen weight class. Used to legitimize the system called "weight cutting". For example, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who performs in the weight category up to 70kg, is cutting weight from 85kg. Do you still not know how to lose weight?
By the time of the weigh-in, the fighters usually approach in an exhausted and dehydrated state, and immediately after the procedure, they begin to eat off and, most importantly, drink. Of course, water, glucose, rehydron and protein shakes. No alcohol. The cut-off procedure allows a big fighter to keep within the limits of more than light weight and thus gain an advantage over their rivals in battle. The same Joe Rogan, who kills bears with arrows, has been against the race for a long time.
Duel of looks(Staredown, schools. "Sterdown") - the moment when two fighters look into each other's eyes and are silent. Used to warm up the situation before the fight. Sometimes there are incidents, but usually the fighters look at each other so often that the duel no longer seems to them some kind of tense moment.
Transfer to the ground(Takedown, Takedown) - one of the MMA techniques that allows you to transfer the fight from the rack (where the fighters usually exchange blows) - to the stalls (on the floor of the cage) in order to continue the fight in the fight or exchange blows with the enemy below. There are 9,000+ takedown techniques, but one of the most famous is the double leg takedown. The most beautiful takedowns look very impressive. No less impressive than knockouts.
Knockout(Knock out, KO, KTFO) - a consequence of a blow, which leads to the fact that the opponent is in a partially or completely unconscious state. There is a preliminary version of a knockout called "knockdown" - this is when the opponent fell, but was not cut down. Unlike boxing, in MMA no one stops the fight when the opponent is knocked down. Only when knocked out. Why all these stops, counting to 10 and wasting time? Perhaps, knockouts in MMA are one of the most spectacular phenomena that can only be in this sport.
Despite external brutality, in general, the level of deaths in mixed martial arts is several hundred times lower than in boxing. Yes, there are many injuries, but thanks to a variety of MMA techniques, the target for strikes here is not only the opponent’s head. In MMA, you can hold a hold, a body kick, a throw. In boxing, the main focus is on punches to the head. That is why for MMA, as opposed to boxing. until a bloody trail of crippled and paralyzed fighters stretches.
Pain / choke hold and victory with it(Submission, surrender of the enemy, schools. "Submission") - the same as a knockout, only when they do not beat, but hurt or choke. There are thousands of tricks that lead to surrender. Among the most famous are the “triangle” choke, elbow lever, “kimura”, Achilles tendon strangulation, guillotine choke, choke from behind.
The most famous masters of painful and suffocating techniques are representatives of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu school - Frank Mir, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. True, recently more and more beautiful tricks have been demonstrated not only by representatives of this species, but also by many other fighters. MMA is evolving, and now even a basic kickboxer in this sport can pull off a beautiful reception.
(Octagon-girl) - girls who take out plates with round numbers. Perhaps this is the most enjoyable part of MMA. Octagon girls are not just symbols of this sport, but also objects of worship from millions of MMA fans. Girls, who, as a rule, lead a parallel career as photo models, are present at all key events of their organizations, participate in shows and TV programs.
The most famous octagon girls - Ariannie Celesti, Luciana Andrade, Britney Palmer, become the "faces" of their brand. By the beauty and showiness of the octagon girl, fans often judge the entire organization as a whole. You can criticize it or consider it sexist, but this is our sport - real men love fights, beautiful girls and spectacular show.
You can - all at once!
Join us, love MMA. This is the most beautiful sport in the world!