The sport of Mixed Martial Arts has been around a lot longer than most people believe, however; it was introduced to the world on a cold evening in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993, and called the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The premise was beautiful in its simplicity: to simply answer the question of which martial art is most effective.

Fast forward over 20 years and we now have a sport that jockeys for top position in popularity in many countries. Although the sport has evolved, the original question that was set out to be answered is still one that intrigues people to this day.

In the video below we see a modern variation of the martial art vs. martial art theme. The obviously smaller man is a traditional kick boxer turned mixed martial artist, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, and the much larger man, Kaido Baruto Hoovelson, is a sumo practitioner competing in an MMA bout.

What we are witnessing is the RIZIN Open Weight Grand Prix; as the name implies, there are no weight limits and to put things into perspective, Mirko Cro Cop is listed at 6’2 and 235 lbs.

This is a match in which Cro Cop will have to overcome an obvious size disadvantage and presumably, although not certainly, a strength disadvantage as well. The obvious choice for engagement here is for Cro Cop to keep his distance, use his length and range, and utilize a strategy with heavy emphasis on kicks.

This, however; is not what we see. Almost immediately Baruto closes the distance and gets to where he will have an advantage, presumably: the clinch.

How will this match turn out? Check out the video below to find out.

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Jacob C. Stevens is a lifelong athlete and cerebral martial arts enthusiast who is also skilled in the art of linguistic manipulation, his published work, Afterthoughts and Handgrenades, can be found here…