Start Watching UFC
Wasn't that cool? What a comeback. That's Ilia Topuria, the current Featherweight Champion.
I want to help you get into UFC, and MMA in general. I think it's a fun, positive "passive" hobby to enjoy. A lot of people are into watching idk, True Crime documentaries, or trashy Netflix series, I think those are all baaaaaad for you--bad for your brain and soul. Fighting's good for you. It's very pure, it's exciting to watch, you don't have to suffer through any kind of ugly social political messaging. And it might even encourage you to try to become more physically fit. It's something everyone can enjoy.
SoOOOOoooo this page will kinda help you GET INTO UFC. that said, im hungry rn so ill finish writing this laterCHECK BACK
kkk where am I... alright, so let's get you started lmao
What You Have To Know
The UFC is the most popular MMA promotion in the United States. There's others, like ONE(which is arguably the biggest in the world, but they're more focused in Asia), but start with UFC anyway. It's the easiest to get into. There's fights almost every Saturday, and you can uh, watch them for free unless they're pay-per-view events, in which case, you know. You'll find a way to watch them.
WHAT IS MMA? It's "mixed martial arts" which is a fancy way of saying punching, kicking, and wrestling. In the Olden Days, there were very few rules beyond "don't bite or gouge eyes", but now there's a few more like "you can't kick a downed opponent in the head" and "you can't strike on the back of the head where the spine connects"
Most fighters are pretty well-rounded and can strike and wrestle. Wrestlers tend to perform better. (Currently the "unbeatable" fighters are Dagistani sambo practitioners, with Islam Machachev as the dominant Lightweight champion) Higher weight classes, like Heavyweights(265lb) infamously have very poor cardio except for the very elite of them, while lower weight classes like say, Featherweight(145lb) or Bantamweights(135lb)can throw hundreds of punches in a fight. You will find that you have styles, weight classes, and fighters you prefer to watch over others. A ton of people find grappling boring as hell, which is unfortunate because it's 50% of MMA lmao. BUT there's also a tooooon of fighters who don't even grapple and are just pure strikers. Granted, they're usually going to lose to good wrestlers, but they're still out there.
To GET INTO watching fighting, you kinda just have to start watching fights. The official UFC channel has a bunch of older free fights that are awesome. There's tons of "classic" "must-watch" fights, but uh... lmao who cares, just watch any. Literally ANY fights.
Also highlight vids can help get you hyped up. This Fedor vid was one of the first I ever saw and it definitely helped hook me.
Do you like documentaries? There's plenty of them. Check out this Bas Rutten documentary. Back then, Pancrase was pretty different than the UFC in terms of rules, but they're mostly the same now.
here'ssss some MMA YT channels for you to watch btw. literally all of them, but START with MMAGuru, because he's the most knowledgeable and usually does predictions and fight companions. Rigo does too, but he's a little schizo sometimes. Bedtime's probably your style if uh, Guru's lighthearted racism is too much for you.
LET'S GET IT STARTED
Ready to watch some UFC? Cool. Go here to check out UFC events and view the card to see who's fighting in the uncoming event. You can also see some moar upcoming events, too.See all those fighters? They're gonna FIGHT this weekend. Watch them! And for fun, why not make some predictions on who you think will win? Don't gamble, just see if you get them right, it's fun.
PRO-tips
Don't get emotionally invested in fighters. Don't follow them on social media, try to know as little about them as possible beyond what they do in their fights. Every single man (and woman) is going to lose, badly, at some point. You don't want to see someone you've grown attached to parasocially get the shit beaten out of them. (It's okay to have favorite fighters, just don't fall in love with them)
Consoom MMA channels. It makes good background noise, it increases your knowledge of the sport and the fighters, and it helps get you excited to watch the fights. Stuff like "Top Fighters" lists and stuff are always fun.
"How am I supposed to care about any of these fighters! I don't know any of them!" you may be thinking. 2 things-- 1, you'll get to know people over time, but also 2, it's not about the fighters, it's about the fights. Most fighters fight twice a year. There's over 700 fighters signed to the UFC. You're never going to know all of them, don't uh, think about that. Just enjoy the fights even if they're between people you've never heard of, that's what I do. Each weight class has a Top 15 ranking. Most UFC fans can't even name the Top 5 fighters of *any* given weight class, let alone 15 of *every*. The point here, is just don't be intimidated. You really don't have to know ANYBODY or ANYTHING to get into the sport.