Later, Carlos’ frail,younger brother Helio would refine these techniques to focus more on the application of leverage instead of strength. And from their the legacy of the “Gracie” name was born along with that of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

But is that really it?

Or is their more to the story than what most of us have learned? Though the seasoned MMA historian will surely already know the path I’m taking and may find this read as no big surprise, the casual fan or the one with little understanding of Mixed Martial Arts history may find this article a worthy read. If nothing else one may come to a richer understanding of what helps make the sport so widely accepted around the world. Though books have partially been dedicated in pursuit of the MMA’s second history,this article should be looked at best as a crash course.

To answer the question we’re going across the globe and focusing our interest on the land of the rising sun. Home of the Samurai and the spirit of Budo. This place is known to us as Japan.

But our history lesson is going to fast forward past the creation of  “BJJ” and center on none other than the history of pro-wrestling and its evolution in Japan. Though one may think the discussion of pro-wrestling and MMA goes no further than the likes of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley, one may be surprised to learn the wrestling’s history has intertwined with that of Mixed Martial Arts for decades inside Japan. As a matter of fact, MMA within Japan did not solely rise in response to the creation and eyebrow raising nature of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but was actually created independent of it!

The birth of the sport in American and Brazil is actually not as closely tied to Japan as one may think.

They are related but by no means the same.

Let us start with discussing the nature of pro-wrestling as seen by the Japanese.

Wrestling in Japan in many ways is the same beast as its American counter part but with different cultural eyes. But from the mid 80′s to early 90′s wrestling in Japan started to drift apart from what was being celebrated by American fans. While in the west we where treating ourselves sheerly to the spectacle of it all and loved being engrossed by the polished bodies and soap opera like presentation,Japanese wrestlers and fans started shifting their interest to something more realistic.

With its vibrant culture littered with many martial arts underpinnings the question was always begged  ‘which style was superior”?

Though the “all out” aspect of sports combat that would soon make the UFC famous was not implemented into the Japanese spectacle,they created a hybrid that married together the predeterminism of pro wrestling, yet implemented authentic martial arts action into the mix.

The fights themselves were scripted but every bone breaking hold, every jaw busting punch was given to the fullest degree. This was “stiff” wrestling.

This revolutionary change in sports entertainment first manifest itself in the “UWF” (Universal Wrestling Federation).

Despite the change in attitude to combat and entertainment, to some Japanese pro-wrestlers the change was still not fast enough.

So in 1993 wrestling superstars Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki took it a step further when they created an organization known as Pancrase. A predecessor to the UFC,Pancrase (all in powers) took the stiff style of the UWF to new heights with undetermined bouts with a pro-wrestling bent to it.

In short, Pancreas was real fighting with a respectable list of rules. Namely,shoot fighting.

Though it wasn’t as “all out” as the soon to form UFC, it was none the less the first real fight promotion of the modern era.

In the coming years the swelling popularity of Japans wrestling stars would usher in the first true golden age of the sport with the conception of Pride fighting.

However, before we go any further let us first step back to MMaAs more well known history.

The one involving the Gracie family. After having conquered America and Brazil with their redefined version of Jew-Jujitsu the family  finally found itself in the country which had surved as a corner stone to the martial arts. In Japan it was Rickson Gracie who became the target of Japanese shoot fighters and pro-wrestlers. The man who Royce Gracie claimed was 10x better than him. So we end up with a very interesting dynamic. The Japanese had prided themselves on their martial artist,wrestlers and shoot fighters. However, it was a Brazilian family who had reworked and edited a Japanese style and transformed it into something much greater than it initially was in many respects.

This was considered something of a great offense in the eyes of many Japanese fighters and they where  ready to take on the Gracie family. One of the biggest differences between MMA in America and MMA in Japan was that their was no pre-developed history state side to make the sport a heavier influence than what it originally was. America had boxing but this was something different and was  difficult for the establishment to grasp.

But in Japan their was already a rich history of contact fighting that one could trace back for years.

Where the sport had suddenly just exploded in America, Japan was already steadily gravitating towards it before the Gracie’s had even created the UFC. This was the catalyst for what made the Pride era of Mixed Martial Arts so amazing. Their was two histories of virtually the same achievement coming together for the first time since Helio Gracie had challenged the likes of Kimura.

This is what made Pride fighting the monster it was. It was originally nothing more than solely a chance for a Japanese wrestling superstar to take on the Gracie who brought vale tudo to Japan. Everything else Pride fighting would later be known for was a direct result of that fight.

Of two histories of combat coming together. With this being said we must not underestimate the dramatic impact pro-wrestling had on Japanese MMA.

And this influence has also passed into America. Were UFC heavy weight Champion Brock Lesnar has surpassed the success of any entertainment star that crossed into MMA, via Japan.

This is why pro-wrestling matters in the current affairs of modern MMA. For when we look back on the sports history we see it has always been their.  Even if it’s not so easy to with our modern eyes.

For more on the subject check out the book “Total MMA”

Who you got?

Mark Coleman leaves behind a career with a landscape of highs and lows

but could “The Hammer” have anything left to show us?

By: Lance Young- MMASlayer.com Contributing Writer

Lancerine10@hotmail.com

The date is July 12, 1996.

A former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former amateur Olympic wrestler, Mark Coleman is preparing his first step in cementing his legacy in what will become the fastest growing sport in the world within the following years. His first opponent, a tough Israeli Krav Maga expert who just so happened to be decorated in world titles from various martial arts disciplines including; Muay Thai and Shidokan.

Needless to say,the bout lasted only a little under the three minute mark.

Within those three minutes, UFC fans bared witness to the genesis of the coined term, “ground and pound”.

“The Hammer”, as he would learned to be called went on that same night to defeat future MMA legends Gary Goodridge, who has maintained through history one of the most devastating wins when he massacred fellow fighter, Paul Herrera with an unanswered series of fast and brutal elbows and Don Frye.  A man who up until facing Coleman was riding high on a 6-0 win streak within the UFC.

The three brutal victories made Mark Coleman the UFC 10 tournament winner and ensured his future within the sport.  Perhaps,within the context of adapting a complete fighting system which incorporated wrestling into the mix the only man who rivaled Coleman in successfully integrating strikes to complement their extensive ground work was the former mentioned Frye.

Who “The Hammer” convincingly bullied inside the octagon for nearly 12 minutes.

Coleman had a formula that had yet to be seen by any previous fighter who stepped inside the cage.

Royce Gracie had made a name for himself and the Gracie clan by displaying in front of crowds of non-believers that his families patent blend of Jiu-Jitsu could overcome much larger, stronger adversaries. Yet, Royce’s lack of stand up skills and lack of wrestling would later prove to show a weak spot in the armor.

Dan Severn, A decorated master of Greco Roman wrestling, proved he had the ground control needed to defeat anyone he stepped up against,yet lacked a solid stand up regime and was at best, a novice in the art of submissions.

Though Coleman was certainly in no way shape or form without his own faults, he proved to fair better at implementing his weaknesses with his biggest strength. In short, he equaled Severn in the department of ground control, yet was able to add a methodically placed series of strikes to enhance the value of his wrestling. Something Severn was never able to accomplish.

He also displayed an unbelievable amount of raw strength to supplement his wrestling. Which would prove to give ground technicians of Brazilian Ju-Jitsu great difficulty. Especially when wrestlers learned proper defense of the submission game.

Oddly enough, as Coleman’s career began to skyrocket and put him on the map as possibly the most lethal man in all of MMA his stock plummeted dramatically. A devastating 3 consecutive losses inside the UFC after a series of unbroken victories left Coleman back at square one, and considering just were he really stood in this fast evolving sport.

Instead of assessing the mess, Coleman found himself in the upstart PRIDE organization just a couple of months after a lackluster decision loss to Pedro Rizzo at UFC 18.

Sadly, the bout which saw Coleman facing Japans top Pro-Wrestling star, Nobuhiko Takada was nothing short of a fast payday for the first and former UFC heavy-weight champion. In which he let Takada “get one over on him” so to speak. Though the bout has been considered possibly the lowest mark on Coleman’s record it proved to not be without its merit. Pride’s success, in part depended on the promotion having a Japanese star to which the Japanese audience could identify with. Takada’s landmark victory kept his image one of relevance and ensured the Japanese audience would show further interest in PRIDE. Though Takada’s popularity and respect as a fighter slowly drifted from the sports consciousness, his friend and pro-wrestling protege, Kazushi Sakuraba, would become the rightful king to Japans MMA throne.

But Coleman would move on to prove that what has become his mid-career ushered a renaissance for the Ohio state native. After the infamous Takada fight Coleman would go on to string together 7 straight victories and win the legendary PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix. Were he gained a very notable win in the finals over a tough Russian kick boxer by the name of Igor Vovchanchyn. With the exception of a draw and one no contest, the fight was Vovchanchyn’s first loss in 5 years. In which he had racked up 30 wins. The beginning to Coleman’s career Twilight was soon to follow which proved to be a consistent mixture of ups and downs. Though he lost to the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria, Mirko Crocop, and Fedor Emelianeko, they themselves had reached the pinnacle of their MMA game and many rising stars were adopting Coleman’s trademark ground and pound into their own pedigree. Something Mark Coleman would have to be proud of.

Though this time wasn’t without merit. He won a very cut and dry rematch with Don Frye in which “The Hammer” employed his ground and pound to a violent degree which hadn’t been seen in years.

He also gained a huge victory over possibly the greatest light heavy-weight to ever grace the PRIDE ring in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

After the fall of PRIDE,Coleman found himself back in his old stomping grounds of the UFC.

A return home which had many fans skeptical of what the aging wrestler could significantly bring to a promotion which had drastically changed since he had departed.

Though he fell victim to “Shogun” in a highly anticipated rematch, he went on to convincingly defeat and bloody up former “Ultimate Fighter” TV star Stephan Bonnar.

A fight which most critics had completely counted Coleman out of all together.

The upset proved the old timer still had some fire power left in him and the brass at Zuffa raised their eyebrows to a fight possibility which was years in the making.

Mark Coleman had started his long and highly decorated MMA career at UFC 10 back in 1996.

Now he was coming back to headline the main event bout at UFC 109 “Relentless”, after being shelved to the under card in his fight with Stephan Bonnar.

His opponent was none other than the legendary Randy Couture.

A man who in many respects was cut from the very same cloth as Coleman.

The fight did not live up to its hype, nor its anticipation. Much to the disappointment of UFC and Mixed Martial Arts enthusiast around the world. Couture breezed through Coleman to win in the second round, via submission just over the opening minute. The loss was a hard one for Mark Coleman to swallow. Though he made the post-fight comment he would be back, his words lacked the confidence one would hope to have picked up.

Prior to UFC 109 Randy Couture made the comment that Mark Coleman “has not changed his fighting style in 13 years.”

Though the quote was one Couture made in an effort to bring about a negative aspect to Coleman’s overall game I would argue this is quiet the opposite. In fact, I would make the case that this is most definitely a back handed compliment. Whether Couture meant for it to be interpreted in that fashion can only be answered by him.

But in the fast paced and quickly evolving landscape which is MMA, one cannot afford to be stagnant in style for too long. Less he be overshadowed by a quickly adapting talent pool.

In this sense Mark Coleman is an anomaly within the sport.

Within that rapidly changing 13 years he created a corner stone fighting style with his pioneering ground and pound. If that was not enough, with this style alone he mainted dominance worldwide. Gaining victories over a who’s who of the sport.

Though Coleman showed he was vulnerable to fall off the saddle during his quest to gold,he also showed the tenacity and intergraty to get back up and prove not only to himself but to the world he wasn’t out of the picture just yet. If that’s not the heart of a champion, then I’m not sure what is.

You may be thinking I’m coming to the naive romanticizing conclusion we can’t count Coleman out yet.

If this is true you would only be half right.

In no way, shape, or form do I believe Mark Coleman will ever return to his glory days as a UFC champion.

But everyone from Tito Ortiz, to Mark Kerr and Fedor Emelianeko owe a debt of gratitude for what Coleman has brought to the sport.

Now we come to this strange paradox with the status of Mark Coleman.

He went from headlining the co-main event at UFC 93,to being placed on the back burner at UFC 100,.Only reaching under card prevliges,to then headlining UFC 109 only to then be cut by the promotion. A very bizarre roller coaster of name recognition for sure. One Only Mark Coleman has seemed to obtain for such a caliber of fighter.

What’s next for the godfather of ground and pound?

Retirement?

Or possibly a loosely stitched string of random fights in jump start promotions?

Let me offer my opinion.

How about Dana White and company offer Coleman one more mid-level bout before cutting him out of the picture completely. We are talking about a 44 year old wrestler who humbled Stephan Bonnar through three rounds of a one side beat down. It’s true that he did indeed give us a very poor showing against Couture but then again this seems to be the nature of Coleman’s performance history.

Here’s hoping Mark Coleman gets the respected stage exit he deserves.

Here are two articles written by Lance.

Interview with former PRIDE FC commentator ”The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros.

Interview with Cam McKid.

Look for upcoming articles from Lance in the next couple of weeks.

Feb 24, 2010 | by MattE |

http://www.caged-in.com/?p=1697

By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

Munster native Stephan Bonnar plans to contest the result of his loss at UFC 110 in Sydney, he told Caged In on Tuesday.

Stephan Bonnar connects with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in Sydney. (Photo courtesy of UFC)

In the third round of his light heavyweight bout against Krzysztof Soszynski, Bonnar and “The Polish Experiment” accidentally clashed heads. The result was a cut on Bonnar’s forehead that was deep enough for the doctor to stop the fight.

Soszynski was awarded a TKO victory, which Bonnar believes should be overturned. It was Bonnar’s third straight loss, dropping him to 5-6 in the UFC and 11-7 overall.

“It’s only fair to get this overturned to a no contest or draw,” Bonnar said. “In the rules, if after two rounds a fighter suffers a cut from an illegal blow, they go to the scorecard. The judges had it one round a piece, which would have made it a draw.”

Bonnar said the fight’s referee, John Sharp, missed the head butt and claimed the cut came from a legal strike.

“Right after (it) happened, I pointed to my head and told him, ‘Head butt,’” Bonnar said. “Why he didn’t look up at the replay, which they showed about 30 times, I have no idea.”

After the decision was announced, Bonnar pulled his arm away from Sharp, clearly disappointed in the official result. Soszynski, after the fight, went to Bonnar and even lifted him up to show his respect. Bonnar said both he and Soszynski want a rematch.

“Krzysztof acknowledged the cut was from a head butt and would like to finish the fight as well,” Bonnar said. “He was a good sport and a class act. We gave each other credit for a great fight. He knew the clash of heads opened the cut, and like myself would like a rematch. It just shows what kind of sportsman he is. He earned my respect as well.”

Bonnar, who first came to international MMA prominence for his fight with Forrest Griffin to close out the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, said UFC president Dana White spoke to him after the bout.

“He just told me it was a great fight and sorry I got screwed like that,” Bonnar said.

Bonnar said this situation is a first for him.

“I have never been wronged so bad in a situation that was so obvious,” he said. “I still can’t understand the referee. Yes, I will appeal this decision. I just want what is fair. How do 20,000, people including my opponent and the commentators, see that a clash of heads occurred and the referee not see it? I feel like I’m in a pro wrestling match, where one of the wrestlers hits his opponent over the head with a chair when the referee’s back’s turned. Everyone in the arena sees what happened but the ref, then the ref gets down and gives the three-count and gives the guy the win. It really feels like that.”

Craig Waller, executive officer for Combat Sports Authority, the New South Wales-based commission that oversaw UFC 110, said Tuesday that Bonnar had not yet filed anything to contest the result, but did say a draw would be possible.

“A technical points draw would be the only result if a protest was received and upheld,” Waller said.

Bonnar said he expects to remain in Australia for another week before returning to his home in Las Vegas.

Does Bonnar have a legitimate case?

By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor  Monday, February 15, 2010

http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2010/02/15/sports/doc4b78cf93f3d75306612783.txt

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymRQMiaS-mE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5sbXEmTBJ8

Two title bouts — including Faber vs. Aldo — will highlight April 24 card

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/boxing/2030860,CST-SPT-fite05.article

World Extreme Cagefighting announced this week its first pay-per-view event.

Owned by Zuffa, the same parent company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the WEC has always aired for free on Versus.

» Click to enlarge image

Urijah Faber (left, battling Jens Pulver) will take on Jose Aldo in the WEC’s first pay-per-view April 24.
(WEC)

The organization has loaded up the April 24 card with two championship fights to entice fans into shelling out $44.95 to purchase WEC 48. The hugely popular Urijah Faber — fighting in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. — will try to regain the featherweight title against champion Jose Aldo, a powerful Brazilian who has earned ”Knockout of the Night” honors in three of his last four fights.

WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson will defend his belt against Donald Cerrone, and former featherweight champ Mike Brown faces Manny Gamburyan in another featured bout.

It will be an interesting gamble for the WEC — lucrative if it can pay off. But it also comes during a stretch of four Zuffa pay-per-views in eight weeks. Even if fight fans pool their funds, that’s a lot of money to fork over. And if you throw the UFC’s first event on Versus (March 21), a UFC Fight Night (March 31) and Strikeforce’s return on CBS (possibly April 17), the spring will bring plenty of excitement for MMA fans.

UFC’s Super Bowl card

Traditionally, Super Bowl weekend always bring exciting fight cards from the UFC. While there isn’t a title fight at UFC 109, it is filled with solid fights.

In the main event, 46-year-old Randy Couture takes on 45-year-old Mark Coleman. It marks the first time that two current UFC hall of famers have fought each other. Couture joked the Las Vegas event should be switched from Mandalay Bay to Caesars Palace and promote the fight as the ”Geezers at Caesars.” Both fighters say that, barring major injury, this is not their final fight.

”I think win or lose, Mark and I both have a lot to contribute to the sport, and I don’t think this is a make or break fight,” Couture said. ”We both have a lot of competitive spirit left in us — so I know every time Mark and I fight, they’re going to judge us, they’re going to say, ‘Oh, he’s slowing down; oh, we maybe should think about retiring.’ I’ve been dealing with that six or eight years now, so that’s nothing new.”

The co-main event will feature middleweights Nate Marquardt against Chael Sonnen. Also, welterweight Mike Swick faces Paulo Thiago on the main card.

Before the pay-per-view broadcast begins at 9 p.m., Spike will air a pair of lightweight preliminaries at 8. Scheduled to air are Mac Danzig vs. Justin Buchholz and Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres.

Herschel Walker reax

Reaction to Herschel Walker’s successful debut was mixed. Many hard-core MMA fans were underwhelmed by the former Heisman Trophy winner’s third-round stoppage. I’m not sure what those critics were expecting. Walker repeatedly called himself a ”green fighter” and admitted he was a work-in-progress.

He used his athleticism to overwhelm Greg Nagy, and displayed excellent takedown defense. But you could see his inexperience when he couldn’t quite finish the fight quicker than he did. He said this week he wants to continue to fight, possibly even as early as Strikeforce’s event in April.

The locals

Chicago’s Rory Markham will be back at the Octagon on the preliminary card at UFC 111 on March 27. The Pat Miletich-trained fighter will face former TUF champion Nate Diaz, who will be moving up a weight class to the 170-pound welterweight division. He was slated to fight Martin Kampmann at UFC 108, but a knee injury forced him to withdraw.

Counter programming

On Sunday, if the Big Game fails to live up to its hype, the WEC provides a marathon to satisfy anyone’s MMA fix. Starting at 6 p.m., Versus will have five hours featuring Faber’s most memorable matches — including both of his losses to Brown, wins against Jens Pulver and his most recent fight against Raphael Assuncao.

Will you purchase the WEC PPV?

It was announced today by video game company THQ that UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will grace the cover of UFC Undisputed 2010 .

Has Brock done enough to have earned the cover?

The NSAC has released the fighter payouts for UFC 109. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional “locker room” bonuses, pay-per-view revenue sharing, or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

Randy Couture led the pack with $250,000. He didn’t receive a win bonus, but it’s pretty well-known that he receives a cut of the pay-per-view revenue. Matt Serra wasn’t too far behind taking home a total of $210,000 with his win and knockout bonuses.  Also, Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt broke into the six-figures with their bonuses.

Payouts

Courtesy of MMA Junkie:

• Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
  Mark Coleman: $60,000
• Chael Sonnen: $64,000 ($32k + $32k win bonus)
  Nate Marquardt: $45,000
• Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15k + $15k)
  Mike Swick: $43,000
• Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31k + $31k)
  Dan Miller: $15,000
• Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75k + $75k)
  Frank Trigg: $30,000
• Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20k + $20k)
  Justin Buchholz: $8,000
• Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14k + $14k)
  Ronys Torres: $4,000
• Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12k + $12k)
  Phillipe Nover: $10,000
• Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5k + $5k)
  Brian Stann: $17,000
• Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
  Tim Hague: $7000
• Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
  Rolles Gracie: $15,000

Bonuses

$60,000 bonus to each fighter.

• Knockout of the Night – Matt Serra
• Submission of the Night – Paulo Thiago
• Fight of the Night – Chael Sonnen & Nate Marquardt

Total Payout

A disclosed total of $1,184,000, including all bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.

Did Randy Couture fight better than he was paid?