“Watch the take down, pull his head in, watch the arm bar !!!” This is some advice you hear during the UFC fights from the coaches. UFC is a very competitive sport that is becoming more and more popular as new young fighters enter the octagon.

An octagon is the ring that the fighters fight in. It’s shaped as an octagon and surrounded by a fence. UFC is a sport in which you test strength, your ground game and your standing game. The ground game consist of wrestling, grappling and other submission techniques. The standing game consist of boxing, kick boxing, and other ways either to knock them out or bring the fighter to the ground.



Each fighter trains extremely hard for their fights. Every fighter has a different technique in the octagon, which is why the sport attracts fans.

“I enjoy watching UFC because of the vast amount of martial arts that come to compete in the octagon. Others may watch it just to see someone get KO’d, but I like to watch the skills that each individual has mastered through years of training and devotion,” said Eric Cannon, a 17 year old at Island School.

Each fight is usually three rounds, unless it’s for a title. Then the fights are five rounds. Each round is five minutes long. You can imagine how fit the fighters must be to last five rounds. There are two minute breaks in between rounds.

“I wish some fights could go extra rounds, because with rookies they can get torn up in three rounds but great fighters get into their prime around the third round, leaving you unsatisfied,” Eric said.

UFC is such a well-known sport because in the octagon, anything can happen. You hear the predictions about the fight, but those could be totally off. Some fighters take the fights more seriously than others. Those are the one who takes the victory at the end.

“I always knew the sport would get big if we were given the opportunity. The interest was always there in the underground. It was a matter of getting the chance to show what we can do in front of a bigger audience. We have, and the people have responded,” said Chuck Liddell, a UFC fighter.