mma history Stories - Bloody Elbow
MMA Origins: Catch Wrestling Travels to Japan
My recent articles have covered the migration of Judo to Brazil, its transformation to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and its evolution in the face of challenges in Vale Tudo. But we are going to return to Europe to the discipline of catch wrestling, the grappling system that developed in the middle...
Happy Belated Birthday Rorion Gracie
In keeping with the Bloody Elbow tradition of belated birthday wishes, a day after Rorion Gracie's 60th Birthday is the ideal time to wish a true martial arts pioneer a happy birthday. Previous installments have included Helio Gracie (sadly on the occasion of his final birthday), Billy Robinson and...
MMA History for the Holidays
For Boxing Day, a celebration of Britain's feudal past, I thought I'd share my aging MMA History series. I wasn't as diligent as planned in 2011, didn't add any installments, but I swear I'll do more this year! Read a few you might learn something! I: UFC 1 Pancrase meets BJJ II: The Ur-Brazilian...
MMA Origins: Exploring Fight Sport's Ancient Roots
The sport of Mixed Martial Arts has exploded in the previous twenty years and has attracted countless new fans. And as the sport evolves it is very easy to lose sight of even the recent past of the sport much less its far reaching roots. So this series will bring will recount the history of Mixed...
The Ur-Brazilian MMA Feud: BJJ vs Luta Livre and the Style They Never Saw Coming
I found a better video from one of the events that I referenced in yesterday's history lesson so here's Fabio Gurgel vs Denilson Maia of the classic BJJ vs Luta Livre battles from the 1991 "Desafio - Jiu-Jitsu vs. Luta Livre" event: Again note that Gurgel wins by dominating position -- Maia gets...
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