Are UFC and MMA the same thing?

When it comes to the world of UFC and MMA, newcomers may be confused about the terms and their respective meanings. Basically, there’s a lot to take in but it’s actually quite simple when you learn what is what. As a result of confusion, sometimes you will hear people say “I train UFC”, which literally doesn’t make any sense. With this in mind, it’s worth continuing to avoid any embarrassing misunderstandings.

To cut a long story short, the UFC and MMA are different and not the same organization. MMA stands for ‘mixed martial arts’ and means a combination of fighting styles, whereas UFC stands for ‘Ultimate fighting championship’. This means that the UFC is a stand alone fighting promotion within the realm of MMA…if that makes sense? Read one for more.

Is UFC and MMA the same thing?

As mentioned above, MMA is a way of fighting – whereas UFC is a company that puts on MMA shows. Therefore, you could say that UFC is a show that puts on MMA shows, but the two are very different. It’s kind of like asking if Wimbledon and tennis are the same thing. Whilst tennis is the sport, Wimbledon is merely a promotion that holds tennis events.

This means that there are also different MMA promotions. For instance, the biggest rival to UFC is Bellator that has many similarities and also shows MMA, but is also a completely different company.

To go further, the UFC began in November 1993 – but MMA was around since before then. In Japan, ‘Shooto’ fighting which is a variant of MMA was being practiced since the 80s. Going further back, even the great boxer Muhammed Ali fought Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976.

Here, the fight was scored as a draw and took place in a boxing ring. For most of the fight, Inoki sat down and kicked the legs of Ali over 100 times. Since then, MMA has come a long way but it’s an example of how MMA certainly existed before the UFC. You could even say that most street fights involve MMA as you get someone who can wrestle a bit and also knows kickboxing. This style would literally be a mix of martial arts, hence the name.

What type of MMA is UFC?

This is a good question, and if you’ve asked it then it shows that you’ve started to think about MMA as a separate entity to UFC. In short, UFC typically has 3 rounds that are five minutes in lengths. However, title fights have 5 rounds of five minute bouts. During these rounds, fighters will begin at either side of the octagon. Fighters can win by knockout, submission and split or unanimous decision. Also, fighters can lose and get disqualified for breaking the rules.

The rules of UFC are that eye gouges, groin strikes, strikes to the back of the head, headbutts, hair pulling and soccer kicks and knees to a downed opponent are illegal. Depending on the severity of the offense, fights can be called off completely, or fighters can get points deducted, depending on the circumstance and the interpretation of the referee. Similarly, fighters cannot hold on to the fence either.

Elsewhere, other differences between other promotions are the gloves. Some MMA gloves allow for greater flexibility in the fingers, whilst others are curved like boxing gloves. In recent times, some promotions are also completely bare knuckle which completely changes the dynamic of fighting yet again.

As well as this, when a round ends – fighters will reset from either side of the cage. Even if one fighter is in a dominant position, these are the rules. Speaking of rules, back in the day things were very different. Many of the previously mentioned illegal moves were completely legal for the first few UFC events which meant it was seen as more brutal but realistic. These days, due to the success of the UFC, many other promotions mimic the UFC’s rules, or at least follow them closely.

Is UFC the best MMA?

According to most people, the UFC is the best form of MMA and is the best company going. The reason for this is that it is the biggest, and best known around the world. Because of this, it can also pay certain big name fighters over $1 million per fight. In other promotions, this is simply unheard of for the most part. Similarly, most of the UFC stars are celebrities and this shows the draw of the UFC.

This isn’t just about money though either. Overall, most believe that the UFC is the toughest promotion to fight in and is very difficult. The reason for this is that previous ONE and Bellator champions have joined the UFC and have have significant losses in the promotion.

Therefore, one champion from elsewhere can look very average in the UFC. Perhaps the best example of this was wrestler Ben Askren. Askren was the champion in both ONE and Bellator and was unbeaten in MMA at 18-0 before entering the UFC. In the UFC he won one and lost two fights and was brutally knocked out by Jorge Masvidal, proving that the UFC was a tough place to fight.

The UFC is also the most established MMA promotion these days and has a global audience. Generally speaking, many of the other promotions lack the mainstream presence that UFC has when it comes to mass appeal.

What is the difference between UFC and ONE?

The UFC was founded by Dana White who is still the current president of the organization whereas ONE is run by Thai businessman Chatri Sityodtong who is the chairman of the company. Due to their regional locations, most of the UFC fights are based in the USA, whilst ONE is often featured in Singapore and other Asian locations.

With regards to size and history, the UFC was founded back in 1993, whilst was was created in 2011. The UFC has a very different business model and often does PPV events, whilst ONE is often showed for free on Youtube and generates money from sponsors and advertisement streams.

In terms of actual rule set differences though, there are two that stand out. Firstly, ONE has a rounded cage whereas the UFC uses an octagon. This shapes the fights differently, as supposedly you can use the cage angles and corners in UFC to defend certain grappling attacks easier, whereas the circle makes this harder in ONE. It should also be added that Bellator also uses a circle cage, albeit most promotions use an octagon like the UFC.

The second main difference in rules is the striking. In UFC, you cannot knee a downed opponent in the head and this can instantly end the fight in a no contest score. This means that if you get hit whilst on your knees and with a hand on the floor, the fight can end due to health and safety. However, in ONE this rule simply doesn’t exist. Therefore, you can get a knee to the head as a downed opponent and there’s no rules against this. This may be a subtle difference but it has big consequences for fighters and the tactics they use as a result.

Is UFC bigger than Bellator?

Moving on to Bellator, most people see this as the biggest MMA promotion after UFC. Founded in 2008, it is still a skilled promotion but in terms of pull, the UFC remains the top dog. This can be seen by the behavior of most fighters. Many will try to get to the UFC, whereas older fighters may go to Bellator for one last paycheque.

Don’t let this fool you though, Bellator has some incredible mixed martial artists. However, like ONE it simply isn’t on the level on UFC. Perhaps the biggest rival to the UFC in terms of power was Japan’s PRIDE which was formed back in 1997. This had some huge stars and rules of its own. However, the company was eventually purchased by UFC in 2007 after the company ran into financial difficulties. Due to this, various MMA fighters in PRIDE moved over to the UFC which was clearly the dominant promotion at that point as a result.

What styles of fighting are used in MMA and UFC?

Whilst any martial art is welcomed in MMA (as long as it’s legal) – there are some that are far more common than others. These days, most professionals practice at least three forms of martial arts which helps them become rounded fighters. These are Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling and striking. Usually, MMA striking involves a combination of boxing, kickboxing and/or Muay Thai.

However, this doesn’t mean that other martial arts aren’t included. Although not as common, other arts such as sambo, karate, judo, and taekwondo are also used at times. Really though, whatever you can make work for you is the ideal martial art as this can be the difference between winning and losing. Remember though, as MMA is purely hand to hand combat, any martial arts that use weapons are not allowed in the cage.

Can MMA kill?

In theory, MMA can kill and sadly this has happened in smaller company’s. However, to date there have never been any recorded deaths in the UFC. Regarding MMA deaths, most of these happen due to bad weight cuts. As it’s important to stay hydrated and healthy when fighting, some fighters go to extreme lengths to lose weight and compromise their health and safety as a result. Once, UFC fighter Darren Till even claimed that he’d gone temporarily blind due to one particularly bad weight cut.

As a result, if you are severely dehydrated then get hit with a huge knock out, then theoretically it could kill you. In terms of deaths though, for the most part MMA ones are on a par with those in boxing. Because of this, it’s safe to say that MMA deaths are fairly rare. At the same time, you should also respect that MMA is a combat sport. It does involve fighting and taking blows to the head can and does sometimes result in death. Perhaps the wider issue with MMA is the prospect of long term CTE brain damage. Sadly, this happens to some fighters due to repeated blows to the head which is not ideal either.

Conclusion

To summarize, MMA and UFC are two separate entities that are also involved with one and other. Put another way, you could have MMA without the UFC, but you could not have the UFC without MMA. Having said this, a lot of credit needs to be given to the UFC. The reason for this is that it helped grow MMA massively and where many other companies have failed, the UFC has proven to be highly profitable and successful.

It should also be added that if ever you’re struggling to distinguish the two, remember that MMA stands for mixed martial arts, which means most fighting styles are welcome. Separately, UFC stands for Ultimate fighting championship which is merely a company that operates within the realms of MMA.

If you want to learn more about the history of the UFC, then this book is a great place to start.