MMAConvert.com

Chuck Liddell. Randy Couture. Tito Ortiz. It’s no secret that the UFC has become massively popular in the past few years. Its biggest names, and those of the up-and-comers, are well-known by even the most casual fan, as is their form of combat, most often referred to, however inaccurately, as “ultimate fighting.”

The truth is that there’s a lot more to mixed martial arts than just the UFC, and lately new names are arriving on the American scene: Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic. We created our MMAGuide to educate, entertain and excite the casual UFC fan about the broader sport of mixed martial arts. MMA has a long and colorful history, and we felt it was time casual fans had a comprehensive site to learn about the many organizations, fighters, personalities, rules, terms, styles and fight camps within the sport. Simply put, we think this is the greatest sport in the world, and our goal is to make you a true MMA convert.

The MMAGuide is constantly evolving. New entries are added here each week, and pages are updated as news and events happen. We encourage readers to contribute to the MMAGuide. See below for details.

From the earliest days of the sport, MMA fighters have been called everything from barbarians to thugs. Today, we call them athletes. While the uninformed might not place them in the same category as Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant or Alex Rodriguez, they’re certainly no different. Fighting professionally takes talent, heart, dedication, intelligence and guts, the same required of any other athlete. Their training is grueling, so much so in fact, that it’s rare for one of these guys to show up to a fight without a training-related injury. You’d be hard pressed to find a pro football or baseball player that outworks them. They are professional prize fighters, no different than any of America’s favorite boxers.

• Heavyweights (265lbs)

  • mmaGuide: Fedor Emelianenko
  • More Coming Soon

• Light Heavyweights (205lbs)

  • mmaGuide: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
  • mmaGuide: Wanderlei Silva
  • More Coming Soon

• Middleweights (185lbs)

  • Coming Soon

• Welterweights (170lbs)

  • Coming Soon

• Lightweights (155lbs)

  • Coming Soon

• Featherweights (145lbs)

  • Coming Soon

• Females

  • Coming Soon

The UFC has done an incredible job branding itself in this sport. They’ve even coined their own name for it: ultimate fighting. If ultimate fighting is the term you use for mixed martial arts, then you probably don’t know much about promotions like EliteXC, Pride FC*, WEC, IFL, HDNet Fights and Dream. You might not even know they exist. Here, we show fans the best fighters in the world aren’t only in the UFC.

*Pride FC was purchased by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, on May 27, 2007. Pride FC no longer exists.

• Coming Soon

The legends are the founding fighters of mixed martial arts. These guys fought when there was little fame or fortune to be had. Most won’t be able to capitalize on the boom the sport is currently experiencing, but they certainly should be honored for their innumerable contributions. They fought when few were watching and others were putting them down. If you haven’t seen the legends of MMA fight, check them out here. The sport wouldn’t be around without them.

• Coming Soon

Does the name Dana White ring a bell? He may be the most recognizable personality in the sport, but he’s far from the only one. MMA is defined by big personalities. Here, you’ll find information on the key players within the sport.

• Coming Soon

Not exactly sure about the rules of MMA fighting? Heard of jiu-jitsu but aren’t sure what it is? Never heard of a triangle choke or a gogoplata? This section provides information on the nuts and bolts of MMA.

• Coming Soon

We touch on some of the biggest fight camps in the world, from California to Brazil and beyond.

• Coming Soon

We aim to be your window to the world of mixed martial arts. We just wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t recommend the other great places on the web for you to visit.

• Sherdog- One of the original MMA news site. Sherdog was started by Jeff Sherwood in the dark days of the sport. Mixed martial arts might not have survived that time if it wasn’t for the support and coverage that Sherdog and other sites offered during that period. They have live radio shows Sunday through Friday, including The Savage Dog Show with Greg Savage and Jeff Sherwood, Beatdown Radio with TJ DeSantis and Josh Gross, and The Jordan Breen Show with Jordan Breen. If you’re intrigued by the more obscure MMA events from around the world, Breen is the guy you want to listen to.
• MMA Junkie- MMAJunkie is a great news source for MMA. They also provide an excellent wagering guide for those interested in betting on MMA.
• MMA Mania- Originally a news site about the UFC, they have broadened their horizon to include other promotions. They post videos, quotes and the latest news daily.
• Fight Opinion- Run by Zach Arnold, Fight Opinion offers links to nearly every daily MMA article posted on the web. Zach likes to cover the Japanese MMA scene and the controversial topics of the the industry.
• MMA Payout - MMAPayout covers the business of MMA. Run by Adam Swift, who also contributes to Sherdog, this is the only dedicated source on the web covering the business side of MMA.
• Five Ounces of Pain- Run by professional MMA writer Sam Caplan, Five Oz. offers the latest insider news, analysis and opinion on the sport of mixed martial arts.
• Fightlinker- Not for the easily offended, Fightlinker takes a different approach on the world of MMA. They make fun of everybody and do it quite well. No one is off limits including the sites listed above. They are hilarious, offensive and completely politically incorrect. Definitely worth a daily visit.

Everyone has something different to bring to the table. The goal of our guide is get the casual fan excited about the world of MMA and its fighters. We realize our opinion isn’t the only one. For that reason, we invite the MMA community to contribute to the fighters, promotions and legends sections of this guide. There we feature a segment called “Why You Should Watch”. If you would like to contribute to it, please submit—via the contact page—a brief, 4-5 sentence paragraph stating why you like that particular fighter and why a casual fan should want to see them fight. In other words, pretend you’re convincing your friend to watch your favorite fighter or promotion whom they know nothing about.

If your submission follows those guidelines and adds value to the page, your contribution will be inserted into the “Why You Should Watch” section with your name and a link back to your website. Space is limited.