http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/11/1/1786865/james-figg-the-lost-origins-of-the-sport-of-mixed-martial-arts

I'm not going to quote the whole article, but I thought it was interesting and well written.

Any comments from those who have researched this stuff?

interesting read. some of the links between figg and things like vale tudo seem a bit of a stretch, but interesting none the less.

Yeah, especially the Brazil connection is feeble to say the least. But still it was an interesting read. I had never even heard of James Figg before this (shame on me).

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/11/1/1786865/james-figg-the-lost-origins-of-the-sport-of-mixed-martial-arts

I'm not going to quote the whole article, but I thought it was interesting and well written.

Any comments from those who have researched this stuff?

James Figg is universally considered to have been a great fighter and there are notable similarities between the pugilism of his era and modern MMA, but yeah, the actual historical links are pretty tenuous. One could claim pankration, Bartitsu etc. as the "origins" of MMA with roughly equal credibility, depending on how much of a stretch you're willing to make.

I have nothing to add except that a friend of mine teaches at the school he's buried under, which is kind of awesome.

Yep just another thing us English invented.:tongue3: