The World Of Blog

The Historical Roots Of MMA: Muhammad Ali Vs. Antonio Inoki

by Ross Everett on November 12, 2009

The UFC has only recently brought mixed martial arts to the mainstream in the US, but in Japan there’s a long tradition of fights pitting contestants from different disciplines against each other. While they’ve only been called MMA or ‘mixed martial arts’ in recent years, the sport clearly has its roots in these early contests between wrestlers, judo fighters and boxers. In Japan, Antonio Inoki’s fights against world well-known martial artists brought fantastic notoriety to the still evolving sport.

Inoki would often face other martial artists in fights that are widely accepted to have been “worked” (having a predetermined outcome) in the same manner as professional wrestling matches. While Inoki faced a number of karate, judo and boxing champions his most well-known match was certainly his fight against world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

There are differing accounts of how the best heavyweight boxer in history found himself in a ring in Tokyo’s Budokan Arena against a pro wrestler. One thing is certain–it was viewed as an simple payday for Ali, who’d lost a excellent chunk of his prime earning years to his controversial stance over the Vietnam war. That’s what got him there in the first place, and that’s what kept him there after the two sides started squabbling over the rules and the outcome of the fight. Some suggest that it was supposed to be a “honest fight” going in and once Ali saw Inoki spar he insisted on rules changes to tilt the fight in his favor. Another more likely version of the tale suggests that Ali’s handlers knew that the fight was supposed to be a “work” all along. They made the deal with Inoki’s people based on this fact, and were all on board as to the outcome of the match and how it would “end”. The “original” plot was to have Inoki win in a controversial manner that would keep his undefeated streak in “MMA” matches intact while allowing Ali to “save face. The only person who wasn’t aware of the game plot, but, was Ali himself. When informed that he was supposed to “take a dive”, even in a convoluted fashion, Ali refused. No agreement was reached between the two camps and at the last minute a legit fight transpired. The promoters were left with a sold out Budokan, a worldwide PPV audience and two fighters who despite every effort to the contrary would really have to fight each other.

Many conspiracy theorists have noted that these rules were never announced to the crowd on fight night, leaving many with the impression that they were being made up as they went along. Action in the fight would further validate this view, but there really were rules that both camps agreed to heading into the fight. Not surprisingly, most of these were designed to protect Ali. In fact, they were so one-sided that if Inoki hadn’t been so concerned about preserving his huge payday he would have been justified in not fighting. Inoki was prohibited from punching with a closed fist or striking Ali in the head (ostensibly since he wasn’t wearing gloves). Inoki was prohibited from using any sort of submission maneuver. The most absurd limitation was that Inoki was prohibited from “grappling or trying to take Ali to the ground”. A few observers noted that this was like not letting Ali throw a jab.

Despite the repeated howls from the media that the fight was ‘fixed’, it was anything but–it was a real fight and painfully dull. Ali did next to nothing, Inoki did whatever he could within the one sided rules. Eventually, Inoki spent most of the fight on the ground trying to throw kicks at Ali’s legs. The event finished up as a 74-74 draw. Both fighters got paid, and the fans got to watch a fight albeit a really, really terrible one.

An fascinating postscript to the fight is that the referee was former pro wrestler “Judo” Gene Labell, a legit tough guy whom some have suggested could have beaten up both Ali and Inoki at the same time despite his advanced age. Had he chosen to do so, it would certainly have been welcomed by those watching the fight live and on closed circuit.

In the aftermath of the fight, Inoki’s popularity was greater than ever–in a perverse way he was something of a hero due to his trying to fight despite the rules being stacked so soundly against him. He remained one of the country’s most well loved professional wrestlers and even loved a career in Japan’s parliament. Without missing a beat, he quickly resumed his series of fights against other martial artists who were apparently all more comfortable with the “worked” environment of pro wrestling. Among his “victims” was none other than Leon Spinks, presumably serving as some sort of vindication for his draw with Ali. The popularity of these matches led to a number of promotions that were essentially hybrids of martial arts and pro wrestling, and these led to the huge Japanese MMA promotions of today.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer specializing in casino gambling, surfing and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf.