MMA in the Olympics

Who would vote no?

There is no way MMA won't be an Olympic sport considering it was thousands of years ago and how popular it will be in 8 or 10 years.

I just hope they approved unified rules MMA and not the current Pankration rules. No punching to the face, no ten point must system, some other flaws. Think Rings rules on an open mat with no cage or ring.

Farmer a better question would be ; "Do you think MMA will be in the Olympics"

You should consider changing the poll.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Who would vote no?

There is no way MMA won't be an Olympic sport considering it was thousands of years ago and how popular it will be in 8 or 10 years.

I just hope they approved unified rules MMA and not the current Pankration rules. No punching to the face, no ten point must system, some other flaws. Think Rings rules on an open mat with no cage or ring.

I don't think it will.....ever. The fact that is was thousands of years ago is irrelavent.

Why is that SOONERS?

They were already going to add Pankration in Greece as a demonstration sport, which is a first major step toward inclusion on the list of IOC recognized sports, but all new sports were suspended due to budget concerns.

They added snowboarding. MMA will be ten times as huge as all those extreme sports that made it into the Olympics off Tony Hawk's success in a few short years, and it is a global sport, with support for Olympic inclusion coming from all over the globe. Why? Money and young viewers. Since MMA was a classic Olympic sport anyway, there will be almost no way to stop it from eventually getting in.

John McCain and cockfighting won't hang over the sport forever. Once Nike is onboard, it's over. The dark ages were less than ten years ago. While the sport itself is really only 17 years old or so, the real, modern sport is in effect five years old.

Give it time.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Why is that SOONERS?

They were already going to add Pankration in Greece as a demonstration sport, which is a first major step toward inclusion on the list of IOC recognized sports, but all new sports were suspended due to budget concerns.

They added snowboarding. MMA will be ten times as huge as all those extreme sports that made it into the Olympics off Tony Hawk's success in a few short years, and it is a global sport, with support for Olympic inclusion coming from all over the globe. Why? Money and young viewers. Since MMA was a classic Olympic sport anyway, there will be almost no way to stop it from eventually getting in.

John McCain and cockfighting won't hang over the sport forever. Once Nike is onboard, it's over. The dark ages were less than ten years ago. While the sport itself is really only 17 years old or so, the real, modern sport is in effect five years old.

Give it time.

If they ever do add it as a sport, it will zero to do with it being part of the Olympics in the past. But that doesn't matter since I'm pretty confident it will never be added to the Olympics. But if that ever happened it would have nothing at all to do with MMA being a "classic Olympic sport" as you call it. I'm just saying don't hold your breath Wolfy.

I am undecided on this. In the end, there is just too much blood in the sport. Olympic boxers wear head gear, so not much blood there. I think one bloody match, like Diego vs B.J. or Joe Stevenson vs B.J., and the sport would be pulled out due to criticism. Hopefully, that's not the case, though. I could stand to watch MMA, or even a variation of MMA, in the Olympics. And, I certainly see the benefits of getting more exposure from it.

It will never happen.

I think it will. This would be the most popular sport IMO because we as humans have the mentality of my dad can beat up your dad you know. It will be the same with people all over the world saying there guy can beat our guy. Whether you beleive it at all fighting is the ultimate proving ground in who can walk around with a puffed up chest. Think about countries being represented by Fedor, Cro CoP, Hughes, etc back in 2008. The bad thing is that corporations controlling fighters could cause a headache for some fighters. Pretty sure anyone can rep their country in the Olympics if they want.

The version that will likely make it in, as ram pointed out, will be a watered down version like in boxing. Pankration revival movements are very different than unified rules MMA -

Quote :

CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION

1. The contest of Pankration is a competition between two athletes or teams of athletes with the intention of one's victory over the other, or as a solo or group demonstration of Pankration techniques, in accordance to the current rules and regulations as set forth by the IFPA Hellanodikon Committee .

2. Competition events include Agon ( Bouts between Two Athletes ) , Team Agon ( Bouts between Teams comprising of Three Athletes ) , Polydamas ( Team Demonstration event with each team comprising of Four athletes), Aias ( Boys Duet Technique Demonstration event ) , Atalanti ( Girls Duet Technique Demonstration ) , Pyx Lax ( Pankration Kick Boxing bouts ) and Oplomachia ( Individual Weapons Techniques Demonstration Event )

3. Pankration Contests are conducted in an Arena termed as the Palestra , and is invigilated by One Hellanodikis ( Referee), supported by Four Krites ( Judges), a Timekeeper , a Scorekeeper and a Senior Referee as Paratiritis (Observer)

4. At the commencement of any bout , the Athlete or Team located to the Left of the Hellanodikis is named Lefkos and is attired in White Endyma (uniform). The Athlete or Team positioned to the right of the Hellanodikis is named Kianous and is attired in Blue Endyma. The Referee and Krites will be attired in Red Endyma .

5. Athletes are only allowed to utilize and execute Competition Techniques approved by the IFPA, incorporating the body , head, legs, hands, elbows, knees and feet. A variety of Punches, Kicks, Elbow Strikes, Knee Strikes, Head lock Techniques ,Throws, Sweeps, Choke Holds, Joint Locks, Pins, Grappling Maneuvers, Takedowns and Submission Holds are permitted.

6. All the above techniques may be permitted, provided adequate care is taken to not to inflict any kind of injury intentional or otherwise to either of the athletes, when either in standing position or when on the ground.

7. As per these present regulations, use of any kind of drattin [grab or pull] of the body or of the opponent's endyma [uniform] in the same manner as any kind of rassin [throw or sweep] , is considered a permissible technique so as to put the opponent on the ground . However any choke or strangulation techniques made by pulling on or jerking or snapping back the neck of the Endyma Hitonio [ uniform top ] against an athlete's throat or neck is prohibited.

8. Aponevrosis [pressure points tactics] and pushes may be used as long as they do target forbidden areas and do not bring about unconsciousness or serious injuries and are used only as a means to escape from holds and NOT for inducing submission.

9. The designated and permissible Target Areas in a Contest are the Chest Abdomen, Back, Shoulders and the Rib Cage Area and the Legs.

10. Kicks and Punches to the Head are allowed provided they are executed only with SKIN TOUCH or with NO CONTACT.

11. Deliberate attacks targeting the Face, Neck, Throat, Spine, Kidneys, Groin, Knee, Elbow and Ankle Joints and to the VITAL ORGANS are forbidden.

12. Strikes to the Shoulders, Thigh and Trunk Area are permitted but Do NO T score any Points.

CHAPTER 2 - CONTEST AREA

1. The Pankration Contest arena is called the “ Palestra” . it a flat and semi soft mat, usually in blue in color , made of tough long-lasting spongy material which would safely cushion all falls and enable safe rassin [throws] and take downs.

2. The palestra is square in shape with sides that are 12 meters in length. The competition area inside the palestra is in the shape of a circle and has a diameter of 10 meters. At the circumference of this circle, a one-meter wide ring is demarcated, which is known as the warning line. The warning line is white in color.

3. In the centre of the palestra , an inner circle with a diameter of 3 meters is demarcated, which is the primary location of the Hellanodikis [referee] and the athletes. This too is marked in White Color

4. The palestra and its perimeter are set up as detailed in chapter 20.

CHAPTER 3 - DRESS CODE REGULATION

1. All Pankration athletes referees and coaches must comply with the formal dress code of Pankration as prescribed and/or revised by the I.F.P.A.

2. All national athletes must be attired in the official IFPA endyma (uniform) which comprises of a white hitonio [top] and the white periskelida [pants] for the Lefkos athlete and blue hitonio and blue periskelida for the Kianous athlete. The Endymas are to be made of the standardized fabric and design as approved and specified by the IFPA .The National flag or the National colors of the athlete's country should be affixed in a color strip 5cm wide at the shoulder centre, starting from the neck joint and span across the length of BOTH shoulders. The country name of the athlete should be clearly printed in ENGLISH capital letters, 20 cm below the Centre Back of the Neck, at the back of the hitonio [top] in contrast blue or white color.

3. All athletes must wear the standardized Pankration Contesting Gloves as approved by the IFPA , either in white color for Lefkos or blue color for Kianous .

4. All athletes must wear the IFPA approved Groin Guards / Groin Protectors

5. Shin Guards as approved by the IFPA are compulsory for all youth athletes and is optional for Adult Athletes.

6. All National Coaches (Proponites) must be attired in their National Pankration Athletic Track Suit . The Country Name of the Coach should be clearly printed in ENGLISH Capital Letters, 20 cm below the Centre Back of Neck, at the back of the National Pankration Athletic Tack Suit [top] in a contrast color.

7. All International Hellanodikes (referees) and Krites ( Judges )must be attired in the IFPA approved Endyma with the red hitonio and red periskelida. Their hitonio will bear the IFPA official logo (on the right hand of chest) .

8. The Hellanodikis will carry his blue & white ravdos (Stick) to the palestra and will also wear a Blue Wrist band or Blue Glove on his Right hand and a White Wrist band or White Glove on his Left hand, in the design approved by the IFPA , so as to clearly indicate the awarding of points or penalties for the Kianous and Lefkos athletes.

9. Shoes will NOT be worn by Athletes or the Hellanodikis whilst in or around the palestra area. Coaches and Krites (Judges) must wear white sport shoes , white socks whilst officiating around the palestra.

10 All Athletes , Krites , Proponites and Hellanodikes must ensure that their hair is neatly tied [if long] and not loose and falling down onto their shoulders whilst on the Palestra. No Jewellery is permitted to be worn other than the wedding ring .

11. The Hellanodikis must personally inspect each athlete prior to commencement of each bout, and ensure that the athletes uniform and attire are in full compliance to IFPA approved standards and ensure that the athletes finger and toe nails are closely cut and that they wear no jewelry nor wear any metal appliances on their teeth or body parts and that their hair , head , body and hands and feet are free of oils , lubricants and other chemical substances and that they do not wear any unauthorized gauze , bandages etc other than the permissible IFPA approved protection gear or unless as otherwise authorized by the tournament doctor. The Hellanodikis must also ensure that the IFPA approved Pankration Gloves are worn and fastened properly for each contestant.

12. Any Athlete , Referee, Krites or Proponites found not complying with the IFPA Dress Code Regulation, or attired in non regulation gear contrary to that prescribed herein, is liable to be removed or excluded from the bout or the Competition or from the Plaestra Area by the order of the Tournament Committee or by the order of the Paratiritis [ Observer ].

CHAPTER 4 - PANKRATION CHAMPIONSHIP ORGANIZATION

1. A Pankration Championship will include individual and team events.

• The Individual Agon (Competition) is in drawn in accordance to the approved Weight and Age categories of the male and female athletes.

• Athletes / Teams not present or not reporting in time to the contest area at the start of the bout are liable to be disqualified from that particular event.

2. Team Events will be conducted as under:

• In accordance to the Championship Proclamation, a team contest is one in which the participants are teams consisting of a selected number of athletes.

• The team that wins the most contests shall be declared overall winners.

• Only participants and substitutes as listed in the Team's Participation Form will be allowed to compete in any specific event.

• In case of a draw or tie, the team Proponitis (coach) may choose one athlete from his team to compete against one selected from the other Team, in order to decide upon a winner.

• Once the Order of the Participation of team members as listed in the Participation Form of each team have been declared for a specific contest, no changes can be made thereafter.



CHAPTER 5 - SXEMA HELLANODIKON (Referee Panel)

1. For each Championship, one Hellanodikis [Referee], Four Krites ( Corner Judges) and one Paratiritis (Observer) will constitute the Sxema Hellanodikon.

2. Scorekeepers and Timekeepers are selected for the proper control of the Contests and they will execute all duties assigned to them responsibly.

3. The IFPA Hellanodikon Committee must approve the selection of the Referees, Judges, the Observer, Scorekeepers and the Timekeepers for any International Championship event.

http://www.pankration.gr/ref_rules.htm

Tough to do... How do you decide who gets to represent and how do you pool it and have a tourney over a 2½ week span? The prelims would have to happen in the weeks or months leading up to it and then you'd have a final 8 in each weight class do a tourney stretching the matches about 3-4 days apart. Damn, that would be really tough to pull off. Then of course the rules, the orgs that fighters are signed with signing off on it and everything else that comes into question. This won't happen anytime soon if ever...

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

Tough to do... How do you decide who gets to represent and how do you pool it and have a tourney over a 2½ week span? The prelims would have to happen in the weeks or months leading up to it and then you'd have a final 8 in each weight class do a tourney stretching the matches about 3-4 days apart. Damn, that would be really tough to pull off. Then of course the rules, the orgs that fighters are signed with signing off on it and everything else that comes into question. This won't happen anytime soon if ever...

They could use the WCL or IFL format for scoring.

Quote :

If they ever do add it as a sport, it will zero to do with it being part of the Olympics in the past. But that doesn't matter since I'm pretty confident it will never be added to the Olympics. But if that ever happened it would have nothing at all to do with MMA being a "classic Olympic sport" as you call it. I'm just saying don't hold your breath Wolfy.

Hmm. Required reading for you ;

http://www.worldpangration.net/site/
http://www.jimarvanitis.com/
http://www.pankration.gr/

Not trying to wolfbash, but you seem like you haven't looked into this much, if at all.

The most likely way MMA or any similar thing gets in is through organizations like these, which as you'll find out, try as hard as they can to make arbitrary ties to ancient Olympic Pankration.

The more I think about this today the more my idea of Unified Rules MMA making it in seems unlikely.

But certainly a form like the stuff on those links I provided will make it in. Fighters take a lot less damage, negating LTFG's and other's concerns with tournaments like this.

Not just thinking damage Wolf. But the selection process, the orgs like the UFC signing off on losing a fighter for 6-12 months to focus on the Olympics, etc. The thought of a tournament of this scale would be thrilling for anyone (Especially spectators), but very tough to pull off considering all of the obstacles that would have to be overcome...

I think it would be more amateur fighters, not pro, right?

ram_escandon wrote:

I think it would be more amateur fighters, not pro, right?

Not necessarily... There's tons of pro's in various sports now. Amateur MMAers wouldn't hold the interest long enough to make it a permanent fixture at the Olympics. BUT, it would eliminate a big obstacle in dealing with contractural obligations with dictatorship org's...

I think taking boxing's lead would be the best bet. Amateurs with enhanced safety restrictions.

GDPofDRC wrote:

I think taking boxing's lead would be the best bet. Amateurs with enhanced safety restrictions.

Yeah, but it would be tough to watch John Smith from the local gym representing your country as an "elite athlete". I mean we can all go to a local show (I'll be at one next Saturday) watching young guys with half the skillsets that even an old fart like me has... But I certainly couldn't get into that in an Olympic setting...

The violence stigma is probably the toughest thing to get by. But I would bet more people die in snow skiing incidents in one week then all of the deaths associated with MMA combined ever.

knowing Olympics they would create the most fucking retarded scoring system ever

Who wouldn't want it amongst us MMA fans? But, it's doubtful it will be, and if it ever is, it'll be a watered down version.

I have no doubt it makes it in. It won't be amatuers as our sport isn't built like boxing.

The UFC would never deny a fighter the right to compete in the Olympics and I am not sure legally they even could.

I want it but I agree with ninja it is very doubtful. Maybe down the road if mma can become like wrestling where it is participated in colleges. How epic would team Brazil be versus team USA. It would be like a relevant M-1 challenge. I thinked mixed fighting like they have with judo vs BJJ vs wrestling vs sambo and what now has more of a chance I always liked watching those.

meh...i would rather see Jiu-Jitsu become an olympic sport. It would be a lot less watered down. I think in a BJJ tourny all the best will be involved where as with MMA i don't see the best MMA fighters competing because of the org factor.