For many people, cage-fighting throws up images of gladiators tearing into one another with spears and other weapons. Branded ‘the ultimate fight’, it brings together a range of martial arts.
Introduced to Africa 18 years ago by South African Brad Bloch, fondly referred to as the Godfather of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), this no-holds-barred is a full-contact combat sport It involves much more than just stepping into a cage.
“People have different skill-sets,” says Bloch, “whether it’s kung fu, karate, boxing kickboxing jiu-jitsu, wrestling sunbi, or whatever. You can’t just have one skill-set in order to fight this fight”.
Dating back to the ancient Greeks, when unarmed combat was first introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 BCE, cage-fighting has always been regarded as the most extreme combat sport. It recently resurfaced in the early 2000s in the United States when an American, gained huge popularity. The show featured daily preparations of fighters and their interactions with each other while they lived under the same roof. It was instrumental to the survival and expansion of the sport into mainstream.