MMA-Other When Did You Start Watching MMA?

[BradWCE]

matty lloyd the champ posting that they're new to MMA is what made me think of this topic.

Just wondering when everyone here started watching MMA? And what brought you to watching MMA?

I haven't been watching all that long really. First event I watched live was UFC 110. I've gone back and watched a heap of stuff from the UFC, WEC, Pride, Strikeforce, etc. Would have been so great to be watching when Pride was still around. Watching Shogun, Wanderlei, Fedor and all those guys live in their prime would have been amazing.

I loved pro wrestling as a kid and ended up buying the UFC Undisputed 2009 video game because I knew Brock Lesnar from his time in the WWE. Enjoyed playing the game, then started watching the fights and have really enjoyed watching MMA ever since.

 

[Exe Gesis]

When the very first UFC started.
I used to have all the early years recorded on vhs....i might still have them, not sure.

 

[Crimson Azure]

2004.

 

[bkozican]

My earliest memory is being at a mates industrial unit and they had UFC 100 on PPV because they wanted to see Mir vs Lesnar. I had never seen or heard of this before that day. I sit down and within a couple of hours I see Henderson drop the BOMB on Bisping.....2, GSP and Mir get destroyed by a bloke who I once watched on the WWE.

I Dont think I have missed a UFC PPV since.

I had to google and post it....Till this day, Its still awesome to watch

 

[matty lloyd the champ]

I got a free foxtel trial on my PS3 late last year and it had showed a recap of the entire year's UFC events. I watched it and was enthralled. They also showed a full replay of the Cain vs Dos Santos 3 which drew me into MMA even further. I kept remembering at how amazed I was that a guy (Dos Santos) could have the courage to keep going despite having his faced caved in for 20 odd minutes.

Soon I started to watch UFC highlights on youtube and came across the Jones/Cormier feud. I got hyped for that and watched everything from the Werdum vs Hunt fight onwards.

 

[WA ROO]

A mate gave me a tape of an early UFC,not sure which one.
Shamrock v Severn I think

 

[Nickos66]

A mate gave me a tape of an early UFC,not sure which one.
Shamrock v Severn I think

I'm surprised you stuck around if that was your first experience?

I've been a fan since around 2010 - Fairly new to the sport compared to some.

 

[Quivorir]

I always used to think it was s**t as every time I saw it it was "2 men hugging each other on the ground".

Then Brock Lesnar signed with the UFC. My I started watching then, I became a bigger fan around 141 which also happened to be Brocks last fight but haven't turned away since. I now have a much better understanding of what "2 men hugging each other on the ground" is and absolutely love the sport.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

I'm surprised you stuck around if that was your first experience?

I've been a fan since around 2010 - Fairly new to the sport compared to some.

Must have been their first fight. The second one was god awful, but that apparently had to do with the local law enforcement banning closed fist strikes to the head hours prior to the card. Neither guy knew what to do and 35 minutes of circling ensued... great times!

My earliest memory of MMA was seeing BJ Penn KO Caol Uno way back when (2001 and UFC 34 according to Wiki). As a boxing fan at the time, I thought it was incredible that firstly that Uno was able to throw leaping strikes and then that BJ was allowed to hit an opponent on the ground. I followed it loosely through to UFC 82 when I bought the PPV (Anderson vs Hendo) and was hooked from there. If anyone hasn't seen the fight I'm referencing:

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=video.detail&gid=146741

 

[Crimson Azure]

I think Magnum has been watching since it was held at the Colosseum.

Spartacus won that title I believe.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

I got an ultimate knockouts DVDs from the dvd man at work to make up the numbers for the 15 for $100 deal. watched it, loved it and it was not long after Mir v lesnar 1, which spiked my interest more due to watching WWF.as a kid. followed it loosely up until UFC 100 (what a card!) and have seen every PPV since. I basically watched every single event for the past 4 years but lately the over saturation has really started to wear on me.

 

[phantom13]

UFC 100 was the first time i watched a card live from memory. I liked it but having done alot of boxing i think i still tried to deny how good it was (just being a parochial "boxing is still better" type). 117 (Sonnen v Silva ) is when i got hooked, Silvas hail mary submission after getting battered for 5 rounds, you couldnt script that ending. Watched pretty much every UFC PPV from then on. Went to 127 in Sydney and then again in Adelaide a few weeks ago, the crowd at a UFC event is epic.

 

[BradWCE]

Brock Lesnar/WWE and boxing being mentioned a lot in this thread. Makes sense.

I remember watching Ken Shamrock in the WWF and Tank Abbott in WCW. That must have been in the late 90s. Their gimmicks were all about them being real fighters but I'm not sure how much attention was paid to the sport on their programming (probably very little or none). I didn't bother finding out anything about MMA then.

I just remembered that my Dad's cousin had an MMA fight years ago. I think he only fought once all the way back in 2005. I didn't bother finding out anything about MMA then either.

I could have easily never started watching MMA. Glad I did.

 

[Magnum]

'97 I, I was about 18-19 and got a dubbed VHS tape of UFC 1-5 after hearing about the 'ultimate fighting' contest through a friend who'd trained BJJ. I was hooked but my friends used to complain Royce was 'cheating' by "not standing and fighting like a man" - funnily enough these guys and myself started training BJJ later in 2004. By then I was an avid MMA fan having followed Pride via the Internet, and hiring UFC events via a local video store up until around UFC 40. Then you could buy UFCs on DVD or download easily, so I have a huge collection of Pride/UFC and digital downloads .

I followed the sport right through as it got big with TUF and UFC/Pride and then Strikeforce/Bellator til where it is now. Its been interesting and I guess you gotta take the good with the bad. I still enjoy it now but I sometimes think it lacks the spice and rawness/crazyness of the old days...I think my favourite period was 'just prior' to when it exploded into the mainstream, around 2003-2006...

I've got practically every major MMA event that's ever been accessible at home now. Now I'm a BJJ brown belt (hopefully black not too far away) and coach and train with MMA fighters... in fact I was cornering a fighter at last weekends AFC which was on at the same time as UFC 188

 

[Magnum]

I think Magnum has been watching since it was held at the Colosseum.

Spartacus won that title I believe.

LMAO. Just noticed this

You've been watching it a long time too. One of the guys who used to post when this section was just a "UFC/MMA" thread rather than a section

 

[the_interloper]

Got UFC 91 (Couture v Lesnar) from a mate I worked with, was totally confused by Florian v Stevenson, I thought choking was a dirty way to win a fight ha ha. Then the same bloke lent me UFCs 1-10, once I got through them was hooked. First one I bought was UFC 101, I thought Silva would beat Roy Jones Jr easy! 5 years later I'm paying for flights to Vegas to see Silva's rematch against Weidman, Still love my boxing but MMA has certainly taken over since I started watching it.

 

[Nickos66]

'97 I, I was about 18-19 and got a dubbed VHS tape of UFC 1-5 after hearing about the 'ultimate fighting' contest through a friend who'd trained BJJ. I was hooked but my friends used to complain Royce was 'cheating' by "not standing and fighting like a man" - funnily enough these guys and myself started training BJJ later in 2004. By then I was an avid MMA fan having followed Pride via the Internet, and hiring UFC events via a local video store up until around UFC 40. Then you could buy UFCs on DVD or download easily, so I have a huge collection of Pride/UFC and digital downloads .

I followed the sport right through as it got big with TUF and UFC/Pride and then Strikeforce/Bellator til where it is now. Its been interesting and I guess you gotta take the good with the bad. I still enjoy it now but I sometimes think it lacks the spice and rawness/crazyness of the old days...I think my favourite period was 'just prior' to when it exploded into the mainstream, around 2003-2006...

I've got practically every major MMA event that's ever been accessible at home now. Now I'm a BJJ brown belt (hopefully black not too far away) and coach and train with MMA fighters... in fact I was cornering a fighter at last weekends AFC which was on at the same time as UFC 188

There needs to be a BJJ appreciation thread, there's a few ppl around here that train or watch BJJ comps and events. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of comps and champs/personalities all that much so I'd probably not do the thread justice..

 

[Magnum]

There needs to be a BJJ appreciation thread, there's a few ppl around here that train or watch BJJ comps and events. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of comps and champs/personalities all that much so I'd probably not do the thread justice..

Probably a good idea, posting links to great local, international or metamoris vids would be cool - technique etc.

Out of interest, where do you train?

 

[Nickos66]

Probably a good idea, posting links to great local, international or metamoris vids would be cool - technique etc.

Out of interest, where do you train?

Yeah, I do enjoy watching the occasional match if there's a bit of movement in them, the Eddie Bravo invitational comps are pretty good for that, purely from an active PoV, even some of the kids matches go alright. ie. below



I train at Submission Factory/Will Machado BJJ in Wangara. I'm entered into the state titles this sunday but i've been smashed with the flu the past 48 hrs. What about yourself?

 

[Dan Cooper]

When the very first UFC started.
I used to have all the early years recorded on vhs....i might still have them, not sure.

Likewise.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Likewise.

That was when it was REALLY interesting....for the first time ever, seeing experts at a specialized martial art style going up against other styles. It really opened up everyone's eyes to what actually worked and what didnt, exposing a lot of arts and their masters. And then the sport morphed into a hybrid fighting style. Nothing wrong with that. But again interesting how at first in that hybrid style, high kicks and strikes were considered secondary, but then a few years later, it again came to the fore that high kicks and strikes were just as important. And now, years later, everyone pretty much comes off a striking/kicking base, when initiating a fight, and the ground-work comes secondary.

 

[Dan Cooper]

That was when it was REALLY interesting....for the first time ever, seeing experts at a specialized martial art style going up against other styles. It really opened up everyone's eyes to what actually worked and what didnt, exposing a lot of arts and their masters. And then the sport morphed into a hybrid fighting style. Nothing wrong with that. But again interesting how at first in that hybrid style, high kicks and strikes were considered secondary, but then a few years later, it again came to the fore that high kicks and strikes were just as important. And now, years later, everyone pretty much comes off a striking/kicking base, when initiating a fight, and the ground-work comes secondary.

The first few UFC events were particularly interesting and sure dispelled some martial arts myths. The events were after all intended to prove the effectiveness of BJJ, and they did that in spades with Royce Gracie.

Memories....

 

[Exe Gesis]

The other thing I loved about the UFC, the middle years....was how there'd come a champion, who'd conquer all, and everyone would think he was unbeatable, and then someone would come along and pound him mercilessly to take the crown, then he'd look unstoppable for a couple years, then he'd get absolutely pounded, and a new unbeatable champion would emerge, and this went on for a few years during the middle years.

 

[Dan Cooper]

The other thing I loved about the UFC, the middle years....was how there'd come a champion, who'd conquer all, and everyone would think he was unbeatable, and then someone would come along and pound him mercilessly to take the crown, then he'd look unstoppable for a couple years, then he'd get absolutely pounded, and a new unbeatable champion would emerge, and this went on for a few years during the middle years.

Everyone kept looking for the answer too, and every time someone was successful with something they would all copy.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Everyone kept looking for the answer too, and every time someone was successful with something they would all copy.

My memory is failing me, why I can't remember the names of those fighters in the middle years, there was that moustached guy who looked like Tom Selleck. Was a champion as explained before, thru mainly a mix of grappling and fist strikes. Then he got absolutely pounded by a guy who used a high kick, which had long been out of vogue in the UFC, and then suddenly high kicks were back. As you said, they were all still looking for THE answer. The UFC early and mid years was like a scientific breeding ground, laboratory, looking for the 'ultimate' fighting skills needed, the all-purpose style. But it's weird because NOW in the martial art community...everyone realizes that ground-fighting does not work in real life, that, like everyone originally believed, strikes is what matters (hand/elbow/knee/foot). Get in first, strike, get your opponent down, and then clinch them out (in an octagon).