> “Actually, the father of mixed martial arts, if you will, was Bruce Lee. If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away.” Dana White, 2004 First let’s look at some of the reasons given FOR Bruce Lee being given the title of “Father of MMA”.
NHB- “No Holds Barred” This term is almost synonymous with “MMA”, although it could be considered a more extreme version with fewer rules.
Using the term “MMA” with the above definition, Dana White makes a compelling argument.
If you think about this in terms of “Styles”, then the modern-day MMA fighter is more closely related to what Bruce Lee described and practiced than to the single style artists from the past.
Just look at the early UFC’s such as I, II, & III. Those were the “Good ole” days of style vs. style and more akin to the definitions of “NHB” or “Vale Tudo” than to MMA. The MMA fighters of today have to be more “Complete”.
He is one of the most well-rounded fighters in MMA today.
Jeet Kune Do is not a sport and Bruce Lee was never in favor of creating a new sport.
There is not one shred of evidence that Bruce Lee or JKD influenced modern-day MMA in any way.
4) Another curious point is that Bruce Lee didn’t advocate sport fighting.
I have not found a single shred of evidence that Bruce Lee or JKD has influenced modern-day MMA in any way at all.
Yes, there are occasional fighters that have trained in JKD, or pay homage to Bruce Lee.
I’m willing to bet that there are hundreds of MMA fighters out there that don’t even know who Bruce Lee was or know anything at all in regards to his training, philosophy, etc.
While there is evidence that JKD Concepts were training in a similar fashion to MMA, there doesn’t seem to be much support that they actually influenced any of the major fighters or training camps of today.
The most important question is this… “Would MMA have happened without Bruce Lee?” My answer to this is a resounding “Yes!” Helio Gracie as “Father of MMA”.
In my opinion, the moniker “Father of MMA” is more appropriately bestowed upon the late Helio Gracie.
The UFC was originally started by his son, Rorion, to continue this tradition and bring it to the USA. * If it were not for Helio, the UFC and the sport of MMA may never have been.
From writing this article, I’ve come to appreciate the view of naming Bruce Lee the “Father of MMA”.
After reviewing all the points both for and against, I believe it boils down to this question: “Would the sport of MMA be where it is today without Bruce Lee?” And then ask this question: “Would the sport of MMA be where it is today without Helio Gracie?” Answer these questions honestly.
I would love to say, “Bruce Lee IS the Father of MMA”! But I can’t do that with good conscience.
I just feel it’s a rather large stretch to give him the title of “Father of MMA”.
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