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...
Win, lose or draw, Wanderlei Silva is one of the all-time greats
Watching a barely conscious Wanderlei Silva trying to grapple with Josh Rosenthal, my heart sank. I had this twisted feeling in my stomach. It was a mixture of anger, disappointment, pity, and sadness. And to be honest, I've been having that feeling a lot the past five years. Last night at UFC 132:...
UFC 128 Fight Card: Shogun Rua's First Three MMA Fights in Brazil
What better to make you get pumped for the upcoming UFC 128 card headlined by Mauricio Rua vs. Jon Jones, than viewing footage from the classic fights of these competitors? You've seen the young Jon Jones' rise and development in the UFC, and if you were paying attention, you also would've seen his...
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 2010, only adding two 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...
Book Review: The MMA Encyclopedia
The MMA Encyclopedia is hands down, no contest the best single volume reference work yet written on Mixed Martial Arts, Pride and the UFC. It's a very fun read too. Co-written by Bloody Elbow's own Jonathan Snowden and Kendall Shields with photographs by Peter Lockley, The MMA Encyclopedia is the...
Book Review: The Way of the Warrior
Chris Crudelli's The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Styles from Around the World is a lavishly illustrated, encyclopedia of martial arts styles around the world. It's the perfect coffee table book for anyone with even a casual interest in the various branches martial arts from all...
MMA History XXII: Catch Wrestling and Kazushi Sakuraba's Early PRIDE Run
I'm returning to the MMA History mines with a very fun era: the unlikely rise of a Japanese professional wrestler as the greatest Mixed Martial Artist Japan has ever produced. I'm talking about Kazushi Sakuraba of course. In previous installments, we've already looked at the emergence of Sakuraba...
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