The biggest misunderstandings: Are MMA fights just bloody beating orgies?

Martial arts usually means: full contact. This is no different with mixed martial arts. However, there are many prejudices surrounding the sport, which is booming in Germany. ntv clears up some of these together with an MMA professional.

Anyone who watches mixed martial arts likes violence and will see blood in a wild brawl. That’s a very stereotypical view of the sport that doesn’t apply if you’re into MMA. Rules, tactics and ultimately skills in several martial arts play a crucial role.

RTL+ will show the MMA event Oktagon 62 from Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on October 12th from 4:30 p.m., in which Christian Eckerlin and Christian Jungwirth will contest the main fight. There are also eleven more fights, an opening ceremony and a halftime show with a premium monthly subscription from 8.99 euros). Time to clear up some prejudices.

A fight without rules?

The assumption that two fighters are let loose on each other in a cage without any rules is wrong. In MMA there are actually a lot of rules. The rules already apply to the requirements for a fight. This applies to weight classes, groin guards, mouth guards and gloves weighing between four and six ounces (1 oz = approx. 28 grams). Punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes are allowed, but here too there is a framework.

“There is a set of rules that aims to avoid damage to health,” explains Berlin MMA fighter Niko Samsonidze in an interview with ntv/RTL. “That’s why, for example, blows to the back of the head are forbidden because they can have long-lasting consequences.” The back of the head should be protected by a 5 centimeter wide forbidden hit zone that extends over the top of the head along the spine. In addition, no headbutts, low blows, blows to the throat or stabs in the eye of the opponent are allowed. Scratching, biting, pinching, or attacking the joints of the fingers or toes is also prohibited. If such an action appears to be intentional, it can result in points being deducted or disqualification.

If the fight moves to the ground, the rules become stricter, including knee strikes. If a fighter is in the three-point stance, i.e. three of the four limbs touch the ground, he is not allowed to attack with knee strikes to the head. Grabbing your opponent’s gloves is prohibited. Reaching into the cage fence – for example to get upright – is prohibited! Samsonidze, who will face Daniel Torres at the historic MMA event in Frankfurt, explains that even the labels in the cage play a role. “According to the rules, insults and disrespectful behavior are not permitted and will also be warned or sanctioned.”

Wild brawl without a plan?

The image of two gladiators in an arena is often drawn as a parallel to mixed martial arts. Contrary to this image, cage fights are not about life and death. Even if the rhetoric in the run-up to many arguments may go in this direction. “If you take a closer look at the whole thing, you can see how much technology, how much training and how much tactics are behind it,” says Samsonidze. Every fighter has a plan because MMA is made up of all martial arts and many of the athletes have their origins in one or more disciplines. “Where do I have strengths and where does my opponent have weaknesses? We prepared for this in training. The more you deal with the matter, the more you realize how complex the sport is,” said the featherweight fighter from Berlin.

Whoever is on the ground is inferior?

In MMA fighting, the situation regularly arises in which one of the fighters ends up on the ground, lies on his back and defends himself against his opponent, who attacks him with punches. The position does not have to mean that one fighter is automatically inferior. “You are not defenseless when you are on the ground. There are also many ways to win the fight when you are defeated,” says Samsonidze, who himself has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Since many fighters’ strengths lie in wrestling or BJJ, they want the action to move to the ground. Sometimes there are fighters who fall to the ground noticeably easily after a hit in order to lure the opponent into this position. There, submission holds are usually the goal of a ground fighter in order to end the fight.

Always a bloody battle – always dangerous?

It is not uncommon for blood to flow in MMA fighting, and injuries also happen. After all, it is a martial arts such as boxing, wrestling, judo or jiu-jitsu. “Long-term, serious injuries are rather rare,” says Samsonidze. “And of course there is a black eye or a cut. But these are more superficial injuries.”

The referee is supposed to protect the fighters from serious injuries. He observed the body language and also the eyes of a fighter. Power of one of the fighters suggests that they cannot defend more intelligently, the fight is over. The referee braces himself and partially throws himself between the opponents, thus ending the fight. Intelligent defense means: A battered fighter protects himself from the opponent’s attacks, defends himself and tries to get out of the position he is currently in.

Ultimately, MMA is also less dangerous than boxing, where the athlete gets a ten second count after a knockdown. No matter how dazed a boxer is, whether he has a concussion, he has the opportunity to keep fighting as long as he can get his guard up. In addition, many punches are aimed at the head, whereas in MMA the entire body – with the exception of the forbidden zones already mentioned – is the target.

There is also a ring doctor who also examines the fighters in certain situations. For example, at the referee’s announcement or during the break, the doctor checked the effects of a cut. If it is too deep or very close to the eye, then the fight can also be broken off here.

MMA fighters are all brutal thugs?

“This is of course a prejudice that needs to be refuted. If you look at the different fighters who have trained and studied, they don’t fit the stereotype of 100 kilo muscle guys with tattoos.” There is also not a very clear career path as an MMA professional. Due to the relatively low salaries, many are dependent on marketing themselves, looking for sponsors or working a job. “Of course that makes the journey a lot harder and harder,” says Samsonidze, who studied and worked as a social worker. As a result, everyone had a different background – “that of course makes the guys more diverse and exciting.”

When it comes to violent confrontations on the street, professional martial artists are cautious. “I can’t speak for everyone, but the majority of fighters avoid getting into conflict situations.” On the one hand, of course, because they are aware of their abilities. On the other hand, because you don’t want to hurt yourself. “It’s also a question of ego. A martial artist doesn’t have to prove himself in such a fight. In many teams and gyms it is a kind of policy not to get involved in any fights.”