History UsefulNotes / MixedMartialArts

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: The Light Heavyweight duel for the belt between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira. Jiri Prochazka, the former champion, is a dynamic striker who overwhelms opponents through flashy attacks and unorthodox stances. Former Middleweight champion Alex Pereira, in contrast, is a more grounded, technical striker who holds the honor of being the first two-division Glory kickboxing champion. Pereira the technician prevailed, cutting down Prochazka's agility with swift leg kicks before TKO'ing him by elbows.

** Wrestling/BrockLesnar could take a beating, but never learned to stay composed after getting punched in the face. He tended to wince away and crumple after a solid shot. When he lost most of his ungodly speed due to a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking illness]], he had to get out of the sport for good. He attempted to make a comeback at UFC 200 and while he won in the Octagon he lost in the drug testing lab, said victory was overturned and ruled a no-contest and [[CheatersNeverProsper Lesnar had to forfeit a large portion of his payoff for the fight]].

** Wrestling/BrockLesnar could take a beating, but never learned to stay composed after getting punched in the face. He tended to wince away and crumple after a solid shot. When he lost most of his ungodly speed due to a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking illness]], he had to get out of the sport for good. He attempted to make a comeback at UFC 200 and while he won in the Octagon he lost in the drug testing lab, and said victory was overturned and ruled a no-contest.

** Wrestling/BrockLesnar could take a beating, but never learned to stay composed after getting punched in the face. He tended to wince away and crumple after a solid shot. When he lost most of his ungodly speed due to a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking illness]], he had to get out of the sport for good.

There is no getting around the fact that MMA is a violent combat sport. Many fights have resulted in concussions, bloody gashes and broken bones. There have been three reported deaths at MMA events, though none in any major promotion. Critics decry the sport as barbaric savagery that will corrupt our youth and make society more violent. However, these critics apparently ignore the violence and potential for injuries in other sports such as American football and boxing. Early American football was almost outlawed by President Theodore Roosevelt for its perceived savage nature, yet its current form is considered a hallmark of the nation's culture. Ultimately, any strenuous physical contest carries some degree of danger, even benign sports such as running. To be fair to MMA, one must prove that the sport is more violent or dangerous than other mainstream sports by an unacceptable margin.

** Lightweight Tony Ferguson tragically appears to be undergoing this process. The former Interim Lightweight Champion was once known for his [[CrazyAwesome]] fighting style and 12-fight win streak, often brought up as the dream matchup for the dominant Khabib Nurmagomedov. Since a brutal beatdown from Justin Gaethje, Ferguson has been on a six-fight losing skid, suffering grievous submission attempts and being knocked out cold for the first time ever in his career.

** The more athletic heavyweight fighters fit this trope. Examples include Alistair Overeem, Wrestling/BrockLesnar, Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Seanbaby says that Lesnar in particular is prone to this, since "He is 300 pounds of muscle, and judging by the way he darts around, I don't think mass and inertia were properly explained to him."

** Alex "Poatan" Pereira to Israel Adesanya. Adesanya started as a kickboxing whiz, making a name for himself at the kickboxing circuit until he met Alex Pereira, breaking his 11-fight streak. One year later, Adesanya and Pereira met again, but this time for the Glory of Heroes Middleweight Championship, where Adesanya was knocked out by a destructive left hook. His defeat was so devastating that Adesanya made the full switch to Mixed Martial Arts, where he would amass an impressive 23 victories, with only one loss while attempting to fight at Light Heavyweight. In an interview, when asked about Pereira, Adesanya said ''"At the end of the day no one knows the fuck he is and he's gonna be that guy when I'm world champion. When I'm a legend he's going to be at some pub talking some shit about I beat that guy one time trying to get his dick sucked from a crack-whore or some shit"''. In response, Alex Pereira made his own transition to MMA around 2020 where he quickly proceed to make short work of the division and was matched against Adesanya, who he proceed to defeat Adesanya yet again. It finally took Adesanya his fourth fight in a rematch to defeat Pereira, knocking him out. Though ultimately, Alex Pereira got the last laugh over his rival by not only defeating Jan Blachowicz in his Light Heavyweight debut, but also winning the Light Heavyweight belt and becoming a two-division champion, both things Adesenya could not do in his career.

** Alex "Poatan" Pereira to Israel Adesanya. Adesanya started as a kickboxing whiz, making a name for himself at the kickboxing circuit until he met Alex Pereira, breaking his 11-fight streak. One year later, Adesanya and Pereira met again, but this time for the Glory of Heroes Middleweight Championship, where Adesanya was knocked out by a destructive left hook. His defeat was so devastating that Adesanya made the full switch to Mixed Martial Arts, where he would amass an impressive 23 victories, with only one loss while attempting to fight at Light Heavyweight. In an interview, when asked about Pereira, Adesanya said ''"At the end of the day no one knows the fuck he is and he's gonna be that guy when I'm world champion. When I'm a legend he's going to be at some pub talking some shit about I beat that guy one time trying to get his dick sucked from a crack-whore or some shit"''. In response, Alex Pereira made his own transition to MMA around 2020 where he quickly proceed to make short work of the division and was matched against Adesanya, who he proceed to defeat Adesanya yet again. It finally took Adesanya his fourth fight in a rematch to defeat Pereira, knocking him out.

** Vale Tudo ("Anything goes") in Brazil were mixed martial arts exhibitions with almost no rules (there was a lot of variation and inconsistency in the rules). This served the Gracies greatly in a pratical reason as it allowed fighters from different martial arts to fight and they could use their trademark submission style that other martial artists could cosider it "unfair", while for marketing reasons they could prove as unbeatable in an actual street fight with no rules.

*** One prominent example of how far mixed martial arts has evolved in recent memory is the match between Charles Jourdain and Kron Gracie (yes, ''those'' [[{{UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu}} Gracies]]). Jourdain, a much more modern and well-rounded fighter, handily out struck Gracie and nullified any attempts at submissions. Gracie in turn seemed an artifact of MMA's earliest days with his brazen attempts at pulling guard, butt scooting, and minimal striking.

** In the leadup to his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor [[RefugeInAudacity threw a lifting trolly through Khabib's teams' bus window and injuring some of his friends in the process, insulted his religion and called his wife a "towel" to his face multiple times at press conferences]]. [[LaserGuidedKarma In retaliation, once Khabib got Conor on the ground in round 4, he decided a rear-naked choke was too nice and began crucible choking Conor]] ''[[FacialHorror by the jaw and was seconds away from breaking it]]'' when Conor's tapping got the referee to pull the still enranged Khabib off of him. [[OneManArmy Whereupon a taunt from Conor's corner then made Khabib jump the fence and fight Conor's coaches next]]. While both parties arguably went too far especially in the aftermath, the ratio of fuck around to find out was ''really'' something The Notorious should've kept track of.

*** One prominent example of how far mixed martial arts has evolved in recent memory is the match between Charles Jourdain and Kron Gracie. (Yes, ''those'' [[{{UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu}} Gracies]]) Jourdain, a much more modern and well-rounded fighter, handily out struck Gracie and nullified any attempts at submissions. Kron Gracie in turn seemed an artifact of MMA's earliest days with his brazen attempts at pulling guard, butt scooting, and minimal striking.

** Sean "Tarzan" Strickland is an awkward defensive striker who does a lot of things technically incorrect, but through years of non stop hard sparring, has learned how to be hard to hit as well as outwrestle or hold down, and who's offensive arsenal has been described as just a jab and a straight. A typical winning performance from Strickland usually involves him casually walking his opponent down and peppering them with jabs and straights as they throw everything they can to try and get through his weird defence and get him to back up until they gas. With this awkward style he was able to flummox then Middleweight champion and kickboxing standout Israel Adesanya to a wide decision in a striking only fight to win the title.

** Sean "Tarzan" Strickland is an awkward defensive striker who does a lot of things technically incorrect, but through years of non stop hard sparring, has learned how to be hard to hit, and who's offensive arsenal has been described as just a jab and a straight. With this awkward style he was able to flummox then Middleweight champion and kickboxing standout Israel Adesanya to a wide decision in a striking only fight to win the title.