Combat Sports 🇺🇸United States20th century

Mixed Martial Arts

Full-contact combat sport combining striking (boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai) with grappling (wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo) — most bouts fought in an octagonal cage over 3-5 rounds of 5 minutes.

📐octagon (or ring)⏱~25 min🌤indoor

Photo · Wikipedia

What is Mixed Martial Arts?

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that permits a wide range of striking and grappling techniques from many martial arts. Fighters may punch, kick, elbow, knee, wrestle, throw and grapple; the goal is to win by knockout, submission, or judges' decision. The modern format was popularised by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), founded in 1993 as an open-style tournament with minimal rules. The Unified Rules of MMA (2000) standardised the sport worldwide with weight classes, rounds, judging criteria and a list of illegal techniques. Bouts are typically fought inside a chain-link octagon or ring with 3 five-minute rounds (5 rounds for championship or main events). The UFC is the dominant global promotion, with rivals like ONE Championship (Asia), Bellator (US), PFL (US) and Rizin (Japan).

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Win by knockout, technical knockout, submission, or judges' decision at the end of the scheduled rounds.

Match structure

Fighters enter the cage and are called to the centre for pre-fight instructions and glove touch. Referee starts the fight. Rounds run five minutes each; a knockdown does not stop the fight (referee monitors for ability to intelligently defend). Between rounds, fighters return to their corner for 60 seconds. If the fight goes the distance, 3 judges score each round and total scores determine the winner.

Rules

Basic rules

Legal strikes standing
Punches, elbows, knees, and kicks to the head and body of a standing opponent. No strikes to the groin, back of the head, spine, or throat.
Grappling and takedowns
Fighters may wrestle for takedowns, control positions (mount, back, side control), and submit via joint locks or chokes.
Ground and pound
Once opponent is grounded, strikes to the head and body remain legal — but knees and kicks to the head of a grounded opponent are illegal in the Unified Rules.
Submissions
Chokes and joint locks (armbar, triangle, rear naked choke, kimura) end the fight when the losing fighter taps or the referee stops for unconsciousness.
Rounds and scoring
10-point must system per round: winner gets 10, loser 9 or fewer. Judges score damage, striking, grappling and aggression per round.
Knockdowns
A fighter knocked down may continue if they can 'intelligently defend' — referee may waive on standing 8.
Cage / ring restart
Referee stands fighters up if there is a stalemate on the ground with no significant action.

Advanced rules

Illegal techniques (Unified Rules)
Head-butts, eye-gouging, biting, hair-pulling, groin strikes, downward elbows (12-to-6), knees/kicks to a grounded opponent's head, and stomps to a grounded opponent are all illegal.
Point deductions
Referee may deduct 1-2 points for repeated fouls; three fouls typically = DQ.
Fence grabbing
Grabbing the cage fence for advantage draws a warning first, then point deduction.
Timing of finishes
The referee — not the doctor or corner — stops the fight; corners may throw in a towel to concede a TKO.
Instant replay
Some athletic commissions review knockouts caused by potentially illegal strikes; can change the result to no contest or DQ.

Scoring

10-point must system judged by three officials each round.

Action	Points
Winning a round	10 (winner) / 9 or fewer (loser)
Knockdown against loser	Typically causes 10-8 round
Point deduction (foul)	-1 or -2
Knockout	Instant win
Submission	Instant win

Win condition · KO, TKO (referee/doctor stoppage), submission (tap or unconscious), disqualification, forfeit, or judges' decision.

Playing area

Called

octagon (or ring)

Dimensions

UFC Octagon: 30 ft (9.1 m) across, 6 ft (1.83 m) tall fence with padded top rail. Alternative regulation cage or ring formats used by some promotions.

Octagonal chain-link cage with a padded canvas floor, corner posts and vinyl-covered padded top rail; some promotions (One, Bellator) use rings.

Equipment

MMA gloves
4-6 oz open-finger gloves with padded knuckles and wrist support; allow grappling.
Mouthguard
Custom-fitted to protect teeth and reduce concussion risk; mandatory.
Fight shorts
Board-shorts or vale-tudo shorts; no pockets or metal fixtures.
Sports bra / rash guard (women)
Sports bra mandatory for women; rash guard optional.
Groin protector / cup
Mandatory for male fighters; optional for female.
Hand wraps
Cotton wraps under the gloves; inspected by commission staff before the fight.
Foot padding
Feet must be bare; no shoes or boots allowed.

Officiating

The referee ensures fighter safety and enforces rules. Three judges score each round independently. Rulesets are set by state athletic commissions (US) or national federations elsewhere.

Referee (in cage)
Three judges (cageside)
Timekeeper
Ringside physician
Athletic commission representatives

Strategies

Wrestle-boxer
Punch to set up takedowns; grind on top with ground-and-pound (Khabib, GSP).
Striker with takedown defence
Stay standing; pick apart the opponent from range (Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira).
BJJ specialist
Actively pull guard or scramble to submission attempts (Demian Maia, Charles Oliveira).
Muay Thai clinch
Use knees and elbows in the clinch; separate to reset (Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira).

Terminology

KO / TKO: Knockout / technical knockout — the two ways strikes end a fight.
Submission: Opponent taps or is rendered unconscious via choke or joint lock.
Tap: Physical or verbal signal that the fighter concedes the submission.
Ground-and-pound: Striking a grounded opponent from top position.
Takedown defence (TDD): Sprawling, framing and technique to prevent being taken down.
Sprawl: Kick-back defensive move against a leg attack.
Guard: Bottom position where the grounded fighter uses their legs to control the opponent — full guard, half guard, butterfly guard.
Mount: Top control position sitting across the opponent's chest — very dominant.
Rear-naked choke (RNC): Choke applied from behind, one of MMA's most common submissions.
Armbar: Joint-lock hyperextending the elbow.
12-to-6 elbow: Illegal elbow strike traveling straight down from top to bottom.
Fence-grab: Illegal grabbing of the cage fence to prevent a takedown; typically a warning then point deduction.

Major competitions

UFC Championships (Fights)
monthly PPVs · worldwide (dominant promotion) · since 1993
ONE Championship
monthly · Asia · since 2011
Bellator MMA
monthly · United States · since 2008
Professional Fighters League (PFL)
annual tournament · worldwide · since 2017
IMMAF Amateur MMA World Championships
annual · worldwide (amateur) · since 2014

Where it is played

Governing bodies

Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUFC
Founded 1993 · Las Vegas, USA
Official site ↗
Nevada State Athletic CommissionNSAC
Founded 1941 · Las Vegas, USA
International Mixed Martial Arts FederationIMMAF
Founded 2012 · Stockholm, Sweden
Official site ↗
Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative SportsABC
Founded 1990 · Nashville, USA

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Jon Jones
Georges St-Pierre
Anderson Silva
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Amanda Nunes
Conor McGregor
Israel Adesanya
Ronda Rousey
Demetrious Johnson
Alex Pereira
Fedor Emelianenko
Valentina Shevchenko

Records

Longest UFC unbeaten streak
Khabib Nurmagomedov — 29-0 (13-0 in UFC) (2020)
Most UFC title defences (women)
Amanda Nunes / Valentina Shevchenko — 5 (2023)
Most UFC championship reigns
Amanda Nunes — 2 divisions simultaneously (bantamweight + featherweight) (2022)
Fastest UFC title-fight knockout
Jorge Masvidal — 5 seconds (flying knee vs Ben Askren) (2019)

Learn this sport

beginner

1
Choose a base martial art
Start with boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, or BJJ — most MMA fighters have one strong base.
2
Learn to fall and shoot
Wrestling shots and breakfalls for safe transitioning to the ground.
3
Basic BJJ positions
Guard, mount, side control, back — and how to escape each from the bottom.
4
Basic combinations
Jab-cross-hook-low-kick — a standard MMA striking combo.

intermediate

1
Cross-train
Add BJJ if you're a wrestler; add wrestling if you're a striker; the best MMA fighters are complete.
2
Clinch work
Muay Thai clinch (double collar tie, knees) and Greco clinch (over-under, throws).
3
Full sparring
Rounds with all techniques allowed at reduced intensity.
4
Cage strategy
Use the cage for leverage in takedowns and clinch; escape when pressed against it.

advanced

1
Fight IQ
Recognise opponent patterns and habitual openings — study film.
2
Weight management
Cut weight healthily for your class — hydration, sodium, carb loading protocols.
3
Camp planning
8-12 week camp cycles with strength, technique, sparring and rest phases.

Frequently asked

How is MMA different from cage fighting?+

'Cage fighting' is a colloquial name for MMA — same regulated sport, most bouts contested in a chain-link octagon.

Is MMA safer than boxing?+

Concussion risk per bout is comparable, but studies show boxing has higher risk of cumulative brain trauma because fighters take more punches over a longer career.

How many weight classes are there?+

The UFC contests 12 (8 men's, 4 women's), from strawweight (up to 115 lb) to heavyweight (up to 265 lb).

What are the illegal techniques?+

Eye pokes, groin strikes, biting, hair-pulling, downward (12-to-6) elbows, knees/kicks to a grounded opponent's head, and strikes to the back of the head or spine.

Is MMA at the Olympics?+

No — IMMAF pursues Olympic recognition but MMA is not currently on the Olympic programme.

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — Mixed martial arts— Wikipedia
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts (ABC)— Association of Boxing Commissions
UFC Rules— UFC

Last verified 2026-08-24.community