The idea for MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) came out from the question, "Which martial art is the superior?". In 1993, the first official "no holds barred" competition, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was held in Denver, Colorado.
Royce Gracie, who was the smallest in size among the other competetors, shocked the world by winning the first UFC using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques. This event changed the world's view to martial arts, and especially to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Since 1993, fighters from other disciplines have added BJJ to their arsenals to become more of a "complete fighter".
Thus, MMA came into existance. Today, MMA fighters use boxing techniques to strike their opponents, they focus on kick-boxing and muay thai for the importance of elbow and knee strikes, they use Judo and Wrestling for takedowns, and use Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for close combat and ground fighting.
MMA creates a consciousness which enables someone to reply to a situation from any distance and position, which may turn out to be vital in a real life confrontation. MMA training is highly enjoyable, and is an excellent work-out in which approximately 1000 calories per hour can be burned.