Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.
Sanda, formerly Sanshou, is the official Chinese boxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the study and practices of traditional Chinese martial arts and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines boxing and full-contact kickboxing, which includes close range and rapid successive punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes.
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete directly, judging the best fighter pound for pound is subjective, and ratings vary.
Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a mixed martial arts promotion. It is considered one of the first true mixed martial arts competitions, with its Vale Tudo Japan events being essential to the rise of Pride Fighting Championships and the development of modern MMA. Many Japanese MMA fighters had their start at Shooto and the organization still holds both professional and amateur tournaments.
Richard Jay Franklin II is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Middleweight Champion. Franklin has been the Vice President of Singaporean combat sports promotion ONE Championship since May 2014. Rich attended William Henry Harrison High School in the city of Harrison, Ohio and was a mathematics teacher at Oak Hills High School in Bridgetown, Ohio before turning professional in MMA.
Matt Hume is an American former professional mixed martial artist, trainer, and businessman. He is the co-founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, WA. Hume and his AMC team have trained several champions and world-class fighters including Josh Barnett, Demetrious Johnson, Bibiano Fernandes, Tim Boetsch, Jeff Monson, Bob Sapp, Chris Leben, Hayato Sakurai, Akira Shoji, Matt Brown, Rich Franklin, and Caros Fodor. Hume has been the Senior Vice President of Competition for Singapore-based combat sports promotion ONE Championship since 2012.
Jorge Masvidal is an American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. Masvidal competed professionally for 20 years from 2003 until 2023, having fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator, Strikeforce, Shark Fights, and World Victory Road. He holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history at five seconds, and won the symbolic UFC "BMF" Championship belt.
Muslim Magomedovich Salikhov is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and Sanda fighter. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A multiple time Wushu Sanda world champion, Salikhov occupies a place alongside Hossein Ojaghi as one of only two non-Chinese athletes to have won the Wushu Sanda King's Cup.
Stipe Miocic is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two time UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of May 14, 2024, he is #6 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Sam Oropeza is a former American mixed martial artist, coach, manager, boxer, and politician who most notably competed in Bellator's middleweight and welterweight divisions. Oropeza had 16 professional MMA fights racking up a 13-3 record. Oropeza competed professionally as a boxer where he competed as a cruiserweight and was undefeated in 2 fights.
Richard Walsh is an Australian mixed martial artist. He previously competed in the Welterweight division of the UFC. He was also a semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: Canada vs. Australia.
Darrell Joseph Horcher is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2010, he formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator and the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he was the Lightweight Champion.
Mohsen Mohammadseifi is an Iranian Mixed Martial Artist and wushu athlete. He won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. He won the 1st place at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. He won 5 wushu world championships gold medals between 2011 and 2019. Mohammadseifi is currently competing in Brave Combat Federation. He has been appointed as the new head of the Wushu Board in the city of Zanjan, Iran.
Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer. As a mixed martial artist, he currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory Middleweight Championship title challenger. As of 23 January 2024, he is #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings, and as of 30 April 2024, he is #11 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Jeremy Kimball, is an American mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Kimball has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA and the RFA.
Damien Brown is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional since 2010, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Rizin FF, BRACE, and Cage Warriors.
Said Nurmagomedov is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently competing as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he formerly competed for Absolute Championship Berkut and World Fighting Championship Akhmat. He is a former AFC Bantamweight Champion.
Jamahal Hill is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. As of April 16, 2024, he is #3 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Thomas Paul Aspinall is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. As of 4 June 2024, he is #13 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
The Matrix Fight Night (MFN) is an Indian professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned and operated by Hindi film actor Tiger Shroff, his mother Ayesha Shroff and his sister Krishna Shroff. The promotion was founded in 2019.
