Your beau is out of sight yet again, and once more out of coverage area. After checking the calendar, it hits you, and you realize where he has run off to. It’s an early Sunday morning, and you’re sure that he’s holed up in a sports bar somewhere, watching the latest UFC bout. If you feel like the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)—yes, the sport with those sweaty, half-naked men in a fenced box—is stealing quality time away from your relationship and talking it out with your partner doesn't improve things, then the old adage applies here: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
Let FN give you a short introduction to this interesting combat sport so you’ll know what the fuss is about.
THE BASICS: MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Unlike boxers, who are only allowed to hit above the belt and who use their fists alone, UFC fighters practice mixed martial arts, in which they can use a blend of:
- punches,
- kicks,
- elbow or knee strikes,
- takedowns (bringing an opponent down to the floor from a standing position), and
- grappling moves (techniques and maneuvers that involve a close hand-to-hand combat used to dominate an opponent).
The fight can also continue onto the mat (floor) where a fighter can struggle to dominate the other with a series of strikes often called "ground and pound."
CONTROLLED VIOLENCE: RULES AND REGULATIONS
The UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts sports association (kind of like basketball’s NBA). It organizes and promotes these fights among the best professional mixed martial artists from all over the world. The sport allows those trained in jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, muay thai, and other forms of martial arts to mix and match techniques in order to beat each other to a pulp, as some people might put it.
But these aren't just barroom brawls or street fights, the UFC has a set of rules mandated by an athletic commission. These rules are listed on UFC.com and include the required use of pre-approved gloves, no strikes to the spine or the back of the head, and more. These are in place to protect the fighters as they battle it out in the octagon.
Like boxing, the UFC maintains different weight divisions, which are used to organize matches. The UFC, as of this writing, maintains five, which HowStuffWorks.com, identifies as: lightweight (145 to 155 lbs.), welterweight (155 to 170 lbs.), middleweight (170 to 185 lbs.), light heavyweight (185 to 205 lbs.), and heavyweight (205 to 265 lbs.).
FIGHT NIGHT: HOW THE UFC WORKS
A typical UFC fight will have up to three rounds, with each round lasting five minutes. Championship bouts (in which a title belt is at stake), however, goes up to five rounds.
A fighter can win by submission, during which his opponent taps out on the mat or the other fighter’s body or simply tells the referee that he can no longer continue the fight (usually during a painful choke). A win can also happen when one of the fighters has taken a bad enough beating that the referee calls a stop to the fight--often in cases when a tap out is beyond the fighter's capabilities. The most obvious way to prove a win a knock out. But if none of these happen and the fighters finish the rounds the decision will be up to the judges.
