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  • Guy Savelli (1937 - 2020)
    Guy Savelli was a martial artist, teacher, and spiritual healer. He taught the spiritual and mental aspects of martial arts, especially Kuntao.
  • Photo by The BCV (Book Chapter Verse) Channel. CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royce_White,_2023.jpg
    Royce White
    Royce Alexander White (born April 10, 1991) is an American political candidate, mixed martial artist, and former collegiate and professional basketball player. He is the Republican nominee in the 2024 ...
  • Pat Miletich
    Patrick Jay Miletich (born March 9, 1968) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became t...
  • Alex Pereira
    Alex Sandro Silva Pereira (born 7 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Ch...
  • Stephan Bonnar (1977 - 2022)
    Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American professional wrestler and professional mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of h...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that allows both striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from other combat sports and martial arts. Techniques seen in MMA (Mixed martial arts) all come from TMA (Traditional Martial Arts). MMA is more geared towards sport and TMA is usually geared towards Self-defense or Sport and Self defense. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The term gained popularity when newfullcontact.com, then one of the largest websites covering the sport, hosted and republished the article. The question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate.

During the early 20th century, various mixed-style contests took place throughout Japan and the Pacific Rim. In 1980 CV Productions, Inc., created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, named Tough Guy Contest, later renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania. However, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport.

In 1993, the Gracie family brought vale tudo, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States by founding the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA promotion company.

Originally promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with relatively few rules. Later, individual fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, to comply with sport regulations and to broaden mainstream acceptance of the sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling.