I'll keep this simple bc I usually write several long paragraphs for this question.

1. MMA fighters are martial artists. They learn a variety of martial arts.

2. MMA itself is a sport.

3. MMA can be used effectively in self defense but it's missing many essentials for good self defense.

I think it's a great thing. It provides a challenge and in my opinion it is a-lot of fun. Is it a martial art? Yes and no. Like I said, the fighters are martial artists. Sometimes a mix of arts like Karate, Muay Thai, Judo, BJJ, Boxing, etc. They are actively training in martial arts. Sometimes full curriculum, sometimes technique reserved for fighting successfully in a sport setting. MMA itself is sport and trains to fight in a sport setting with a strict ruleset.

Self defense is no rules. I will kill or make sure my assailant is no longer a threat. That is how martial artists train and how some MMA fighters train. The problem can be is that some MMA fighters, though learning martial arts, ignore technique to kill or seriously injure, and only focus on fighting for sport.

Overall I think MMA is great.

It's really annoying the way some people answer this or talk about MMA. I like it, it is far more exciting than any other "sport" you can watch. What is all of this..... But it is a sport, It's not like real self defense, There are rules etc. So you don't consider any MA you take a sport in any way? They all are to an extent with the hopes of being a good self defense tool. I have seen posts where guys have said MMA does not train in alleys with broken glass and the possibility of being killed. To the people who "say" these things, how close to reality do you get in training or sparring? Is there broken glass on the ground you can use while trying or sparring? While training, how close to life and death have you gotten while lite sparring with Jimmy the pizza delivery guy in your school? If you spar you do it with no rules, no protection and one is allowed to continue beating the other even after the other is hurt or unconscious? The answer is NO! What those people do is completely controlled and far more unrealistic than any MMA fight. So what if you can't get stabbed, hit by a board, brick or rock, can't get jabbed in the eyes or kicked in the groin in MMA! None of you can where you train. I would feel very confident that an experienced MMA fighter would have a far better chance on the street than any of you. He is really getting hit, your sparring sessions are not as intense as a real fight. So what if he has to follow rules, on the street there is no rule and he can just as easily pick up a weapon as you. Thing is, he has so much more experience than you in REALLY getting hit he is far more relaxed than you with all you adrenalin, tense nervousness and lack of actual fighting you may not have the pretense of mind to actually do what you really need to do. The MMA guy gets hit for real 5-7 days a week from guys that know how to hit.

While it is a "sport" it has rules and is not military, it is much closer to all of that than anything anyone here does ever.

MMA is a good thing in the sense that it has "demystified" the martial arts. Prior to 1994, I used to hear kids talk about who would win between karate, judo, boxing, or wrestling. From 1994 onward the UFC and all the other MMA organizations that emerged showed the fighters and the fans the limitations of traditional martial arts, and one-style fighters. Initially Royce Gracie dominated the UFC with grappling, then Maurice Smith dominated it with striking. Soon after MMA saw the end of one style fighting, weight classes were implemented, and every fighter had to be able to strike and grapple effectively to make it to the top of their weight class.

The downside of MMA is the same as the downside of traditional martial arts. There will always be guys with bad attitudes who become very skilled and abuse what they have they have learned. These are the kind of guys who go around looking to beat people up. Thankfully, guys like that are a small minority of the MMA community.

I like it because it provides a format in which I can practice blending the skills I've learned from different martial arts. It allows me to pressure-test what I'm doing. If I have a question as to weather or not a technique is effective, I put on the gloves and try it out. The blending element is also important; for example, if I've noticed my training partner responds to my ax kick (which I learned from Taekwondo) by backing up, I can use it as a set-up for a large penetration step into a double-leg (which I learned from Catch wrestling)- in Catch, I couldn't throw an ax kick, and in TKD, I wouldn't be allowed to go for takedowns. This is only one example, but shows why MMA is more than simply the sum of its parts. We have martial arts techniques and strategies working together in ways that would go unseen outside of this format.

I see the sport of MMA as a series of running experiments using several alternating variables, which are the fighters, their "styles" (the way they fight, not necessarily what they've trained), and the rule-set they're operating under. We are testing a certain set of skills under these rules. What do you do if you're facing a bigger, stronger guy with more knockout power and submission skills than you? When Randy Couture fought Gabriel Gonzaga, we learned a potential answer could be to clinch the guy and smash him up against the fence, taking away the space he needs for his strikes and not permitting him to work on the ground. Is it possible to stop a good double-leg takedown with downward elbow strikes? In Dan Severn vs. Anthony Macias and Mark Kerr vs. Branko Cikatic, we've learned it's not that simple (and in the latter example, just makes the guy angry). THAT'S why I watch the sport. I can see applied unarmed combat skills between highly trained opponents.

I think any martial artist that ignores the lessons of MMA does so at their own peril. While it doesn't mimic a true self-defense or military combat scenario, the environment is a great "base" training method for self-defense as it builds a variety of unarmed combat skills under pressure and using modern training methods.

I don't think any combat sport is better then the other personally.. each martial arts has its pros an cons.. boxing is a very very exciting sport.. I mean its all standup and punching only which is by far the most exciting part of fighting and to just stand there and punch only whether gloved or not is frickin hard to do... but then again to learn lots of fighting styles such as boxing, muey thai,kick boxing, wrestling, bjj, ect ect is hard too.. my opinion on mma? its a great combat sport just like boxing, kickboxing, muey thai whatever..

I think it is a fun sport to watch. It is a sport however. It has very clear rules, a ref, well conditioned athletes competing for a win, and ticket sales.

I would much rather watch pro MMA than pro football. I like contact sports like MMA, soccer, hockey, or kickboxing. I'm not into games like golf, baseball, or basketball.

As for doing it, it isn't for me for several reasons. First, I don't like getting punched in the face. Second, I don't really want to roll around on the mat with a bunch of sweaty, hairy guys everyday. I will stick to traditional martial arts where I don't have to get punched in the face if I don't want to and I don't have to roll around on the floor with anyone, unless I want to!

Only thing I don't like about mma is that it hypes BJJ so then people go around thinking they need BJJ to be successful.