History UsefulNotes / MixedMartialArts

* DefeatMeansFriendship: It's very common for fighters to embrace and congratulate each other after the bout is over, even after heated exchanges leading up to the fight. Former opponents have sometimes invited each other to train at each other's camps. Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar are frequently brought out to make appearances together, and though many thought he was joking about the possibility, Bonnar named his son Griffin Bonnar.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Downplayed. Most adversaries don't become friends, per se, but some of the most vitriolic, venomous feuds can lead to heated rivals sharing a moment of mutual respect after their bout, especially if the fight goes the distance. Notable [[AvertedTrope exceptions]] include Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones and Conor [=McGregor=] vs Khabib Nurmagomedov.

* FireForgedFriends: Downplayed. Most adversaries don't become friends, per se, but some of the most vitriolic, venomous feuds can lead to heated rivals sharing a moment of mutual respect after their bout, especially if the fight goes the distance.

* EyeScream: There is a running problem with fighters accidentally poking each others' eyes in competition, which is an illegal move.

* FriendlyEnemy: It's not unheard of for fighters to have a healthy respect towards each other even when scheduled to fight each other. For example, [[NiceGuy Georges St-Pierre]] said he liked Michael Bisping during the promotion for their fight for the middleweight title, including one occasion where the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYN94fzcJE4 two ran into each other in a bathroom and laughed about the media circus and Bisping's choice of car]].

** Jon Jones, as of late 2020, is 26-1 with 1 no contest, and the sole loss on his record came via disqualification as he blasted his opponent, Matt Hamill, with elbows from the top-mount position. He was the first fighter to defeat Daniel Cormier, and did so a second time before the decision was reversed after Jones tested positive for performance enhancers. With the only blemishes being a self-inflicted loss in a fight he thoroughly dominated and problems with illegal substances, Jones has proven himself essentially unbeatable for his entire career.
** Khabib Nurmagomedov retired undefeated at 29-0 without any no-contest marks on his record. Additionally, Khabib only lost ''two rounds'' (one to UsefulNotes/ConorMcGregor and the other in his final fight to Justin Gaethje, both fights he won by submission anyway) in his 12-year MMA career. Almost every single fight he was in saw Khabib inevitably take his opponents to the ground with his masterful wrestling and absolutely smash their face into the canvas.

* BadassBoast: At WVC 4, Marco Ruas, said, "If you grapple me, I punch and kick you. If you punch and kick me, I grapple you. There's no way out." At an age of specialists (strikers with some grappling, or grapplers with some striking) he was recognized for begin one of the very first competitors that was equally skilled with grappling and striking, and was able to seamlessly able to mix both.

** Former Women's UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Her management even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr3yOkbFAps released an 11-second video]] explaining how to pronounce her name. It's close to Yoanna Yen-Jay-Chick. She often goes by "Joanna Champion" to make it easier for fans.

** Holloway repeated his Lamas brawl with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, swinging with wild abandon for the final ten seconds of the fifth round. What makes this especially incredulous is that not only did Holloway survive the slugfest against Gaethje, regarded as one of the hardest hitting lightweights, ''but put his lights out cold in the final second'', leaving Gaethje slumped face-down on the canvas to the shock and awe of the crowd.

** Perhaps the most famous in MMA history is Mirko Cro Cop's [[BadassBoast description of the damage his head kicks can cause]]: "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery."

** Israel Adesanya prior to his title fight with Sean Strickland, which was seen as a "keep busy" fight for Adesanya while number 1 contender Dricus Du Plessis recovered from injury, as one of those title fights that historically always are shock upsets. He referred to the title fight between Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping and said he would make sure that didn't happen to him. Sure enough, Strickland pulled off a great upset, knocking Adesanya down in the first before winning a wide decision.

** ''Ultimate Fighting Championship'' was the first UFC game, released in 2000 for the Dreamcast, UsefulNotes/PlayStation, and Game Boy Color. The game was publisher Crave Entertainment's first big title and received fairly good reviews.

** In 2007 the UFC held an event that they tentatively named "UFC 76: Knockout", [[{{Irony}} in which there were no knockouts whatsoever]].

** After taking a nuclear left hand from Alex Pereira to lose the match by knockout, Sean Strickland chose to train alongside the Brazilian contender. After Strickland beat Israel Adesanya to become the Middleweight Champion, now-Light Heavyweight Pereira (who had previously suffered a devastating knockout loss against his historical rival Adesanya and had entertained the idea of a third fight at Middleweight to settle the score) dismissed the possibility of moving down, claiming that Strickland was his friend and that he had no interest in fighting him.

** Many were astounded at first by Dricus du Plessis's UFC career. The South African seemed plodding, awkward, and prone to gassing in almost all of his fights. But his rise through the rankings included a brutal beatdown and submission of Darren Till, a forced towel-throw against Derek Brunson, and most shockingly a TKO defeat of Robert Whittaker, who many considered to be the easy favorite and arguably the best middleweight behind Israel Adesanya. This culminated in du Plessis beating Sean Strickland in a close fight to win the Middleweight Championship. Even before coming to the UFC, du Plessis was known for his knockout win against KSW champion Roberto Soldic, considered of the best non-UFC fighters at the time.

** Many were astounded at first by Dricus du Plessis's UFC career. The South African seemed plodding, awkward, and prone to gassing in almost all of his fights. But his rise through the rankings included a brutal beatdown and submission of Darren Till, a forced towel-throw against Derek Brunson, and most shockingly a TKO defeat of Robert Whittaker, who many considered to be the easy favorite and arguably the best middleweight behind Israel Adesanya. du Plessis is currently slated to face Sean Strickland for the Middleweight Championship. Even before coming to the UFC, du Plessis was known for his knockout win against KSW champion Roberto Soldic, considered of the best non-UFC fighters at the time.

** Alexandru Lungu, a lumbering superheavyweight judoka who is 5'11 and 350+ pounds, has two recorded victories by "smother choke" and one for ''throwing his opponent out of the ring''.

** A grappler faces a grappler and neither have an advantage, so they stand and strike instead. Some of these fights end up as Fight of the Night winners because of the action. One of the most recent examples is Khamzat Chimaev facing Gilbert Burns in 2022; the Chimaev realized within a minute of the fight that wrestling Burns was dangerous because of his jiu-jitsu pedigree, and Burns could not take Chimaev down at all.

** Lightweight Tony Ferguson tragically appears to be undergoing this process. The former Interim Lightweight Champion was once known for his CrazyAwesome fighting style and 12-fight win streak, often brought up as the dream matchup for the dominant Khabib Nurmagomedov. Since a brutal beatdown from Justin Gaethje, Ferguson has been on a six-fight losing skid, suffering grievous submission attempts and being knocked out cold for the first time ever in his career.