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Billionaires' bout -

Are they joking? Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are apparently "dead serious" about their willingness to battle each other in a cage fight.

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Mark Zuckerberg -

The Facebook co-founder and Meta Platforms boss is trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and on paper at least would have the edge on Musk if it ever came to blows.

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Elon Musk -

Elon Musk has no experience in martial arts. On the other hand, he has considerable height advantage. The Twitter boss, who's also CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, stands 1.87 m (6ft 1in) as opposed to Zuckerberg's 1.71 m (5ft 7in).

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Weighing in on the idea -

Furthermore, the tech tycoons are mismatched in bulk. Zuckerberg weighs in at 70 kg (154 lbs) while Musk is around 85 kg (187 lbs).

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The origins of cage fighting -

But what exactly does it take to walk away as victor in a cage fight, and how did this extreme and often brutal sport evolve?

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Chinese martial arts -

An ancient form of bare-knuckle, no-holds-barred martial arms first appeared in China during the Quin dynasty, around 221 BCE. This competition took place in the lei tai, an elevated fighting arena without railings.

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Sanshou -

The lei tai is still used today, in Sanshou (pictured) and Kuoshu, both of which are forms of competitive Chinese martial arts practiced around the world.

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Pankration -

In classical antiquity, the ancient Greeks practiced a sport called pankration. This was an unarmed combat sport that made its debut at the Olympic Games in 648 BCE. Competitors were often depicted on terracotta drinking cups.

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Early representations of the sport -

In fact, some of the most detailed representations of the sport are to be found on Panathenaic amphora. The athletes' boxing and wrestling techniques, moves such as kicking, joint-locks, and chokes on the ground, are similar to those employed in modern mixed martial arts (MMA).

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Bare-knuckle boxing -

Bare-knuckle boxing originated in England in the late 18th century. By the following century, it had become a popular spectator sport, eventually governed by strict London Prize Ring Rules and held within a square "ring" enclosed by ropes.

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Savate -

The mid-19th century witnessed the emergence of savate, later know as French boxing. It combined elements of English boxing with graceful but painful kicking techniques.

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Savate meets bare-knuckle boxing -

In 1852, a contest was held in France between French savateurs and English bare-knuckle boxers. One of the bouts pitched French fighter and acrobat Rambaud (alias la Résistance) against an Englishman called Dickinson. Rambaud won by flooring his opponent with kicks.

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Influence of Charles Lecour -

But it's the French boxer Charles Lecour who's credited with merging savate with English boxing to a fighting style he eventually named as French boxing. Soon afterwards he introduced boxing gloves to the sport, making it somewhat safer for contestants perhaps, but still enabling them to deliver a sucker punch.

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Catch wrestling -

Catch wrestling also appeared in the late 19th century. A classical hybrid grappling style and combat originally known as catch-as-catch-can, catch wrestling went on to significantly influence MMA. Pictured is Irish wrestler George "Con" O'Kelly, who won gold in the catch-as-catch-can competition at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

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Bartitsu -

In 1898, Edward William Barton-Wright returned to England after spending three years in Japan and announced the formation of a new art of self defense he called bartitsu. This fighting technique combined elements of boxing, jujitsu, cane fighting, and savate, and is considered one of the earliest examples of mixed martial arts. Interestingly, it was author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who immortalized the style, misspelling it as "baritsu" in his 1903 Sherlock Holmes story 'The Adventure of the Empty House.'

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Muay Thai -

And it was in the late 1900s that martial arts began to see the combining of Asian and European fighting styles. Exponents of Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, a discipline that uses fists, elbows, knees, and shins, began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches around the world. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century. 

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Kajukenbo -

The first American mixed martial arts is generally credited as being kajukenbo. Formed in Hawaii in the 1940s, it was created by combining kenpo, jujitsu, Chinese and American boxing, and Tang Soo Do.

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Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie -

A few years later in 1951, a groundbreaking challenge took place at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro when the founder of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Hélio Gracie (pictured in 1995) grappled judoka master Masahiko Kimura. The result of the fight was a victory for Kimura by technical submission.

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Gene LeBell -

By the early 1960s, mixed martial arts had captured the imagination of fight fans across the world. In 1963, the American catch wrestler and judoka Gene LeBell (pictured in 2010) fought professional boxer Milo Savage. LeBell won in what was the first televised bout of mixed-style fighting in North America.

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Bruce Lee -

Bruce Lee further popularized the concept of hybrid martial arts in the West with his own unique fighting style called Jeet Kune Do. Lee, who later found global fame in cinema, is often cited as the "father of mixed martial arts."

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Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki -

One of the most eagerly awaited bouts between a professional boxer and a professional wrestler was that between boxer Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, which took place on June 26, 1976 at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. After a 15-round stalemate the fight was declared a draw. The clash played another important role in the evolution of mixed martial arts.

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'Tough Guy Contest' -

Regulated mixed martial arts competitions were first introduced in the United States in 1980. The popular 'Tough Guy Contest' effectively established the first MMA league.

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MMA in Japan -

In 1993, Japanese professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki (pictured) and Minoru Suzuki founded Pancrase, a mixed martial arts promotion company based in Tokyo.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship -

In the United States meanwhile, during the same year, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion company was founded. The first (UFC 1) mixed martial arts tournament was held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, in 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.

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Royce Gracie -

Brazilian Royce Gracie, one of the nine sons of jiu-jitsu grandmaster Hélio Gracie, won the inaugural UFC 1 and is one of the most influential figures in the history of MMA.

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Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz -

One of the most legendary MMA encounters was the bout between UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former champ Tito Ortiz in December 2006. The event rivaled the pay-per-view sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time and helped MMA reach a new peak of popularity in North America.

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Women's mixed martial arts -

While MMA is predominantly a male-oriented sport, it does have female athletes. Female competition in Japan is well established. In the US, Invicta Fighting Championships is dedicated to promoting women's MMA. Popular female fighters and personalities include Ronda Rousey (pictured), Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate, and Gina Carano.

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Weight divisions -

There are a total of eight UFC weight divisions in the current format for male fighters, and four divisions for female competitors.

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A business that packs a punch! -

Today, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of the most viewed fighting events around the world. According to AS, UFC was worth an estimated US$5 billion in 2022. An average UFC event can generate 300,000 to over two million viewers globally based on the pay-per-view buys. 

Sources: (Sky News) (ESPN) (AS)

See also: Celebrities who get a kick out of martial arts.

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