Mixed Martial Arts Competition
A waist-hold is applied to a wrestler in preparation of throwing him down to the ground. In the background, two ancient athletes are pictured in a stance known as akrocheirismos (finger-hold) with their heads pushing against each other's.Grappling and striking skills are both of importance in mixed martial arts competitions. Fighters who were accomplished wrestlers, gained respect during the early stages of MMA development. Some of these, went on to win several early Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12).
Successful fighters in modern MMA who began their training in various forms of wrestling, include Jon Jones, Frank Edgar, Cain Velasquez, former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion who was a NCAA wrestling champion in 2000 and achieved 2nd place 1999, and former champions Dan Henderson, of PRIDE FC and Randy Couture, a multi-time UFC champion, both of whom competed extensively in collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling before beginning their careers in mixed martial arts.
Read more about this topic: Wrestling
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