Frenchmen bring some MMA to karate competition

When the UFC debuted in the early 90s, a number of karate-based fighters tried their hand at Mixed Martial Arts. They were not successful. Meanwhile, boxing, kick boxing, and Muay Thai were gradually proving their effectiveness, BJJ and then wrestling having been the first two styles to dominate the Octagon.

Eventually Lyoto Machida took the UFC Lightheavyweight Championship and as he put it “Karate is back.” This did not open a floodgate of successful karateka in MMA comparable to the numbers from wrestling, BJJ, or striking background. However, there are a few karate-based fighters emerging, most notably Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, who fights Matt Brown at UFC 145 on Saturday night.

Now 70s era karate champions Alain Setrouk and Guy Sauvin, rather than trying to bring karate to Mixed Martial Arts, is brining some Mixed Martial Arts to karate. While attempting to keep the feel of karate, the promoters have added face punching and throws. They call it ProFight Karate, and the results are intriguing.