King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Judo vs Mixed martial arts

Judo and Mixed martial arts side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.

JudoMixed martial arts
Country of originJapan—
Created1882—
FounderKanō Jigorō—
Typecombat sport, martial arts and Olympic sportcombat sport
Competition at the OlympicsYes – 64 Olympic events recorded—
Notable practitioners here30522071
Top countries of practitionersJapan, Russia and United StatesUnited States, Brazil and Japan
Equipment and weaponsjudogi and tatamiglove, mouthguard, breeches and helmet
Belt ranksYes—
Weight classesYesYes
Energy use (MET)11.3 MET (Judo)—

Judo

Judo (Japanese: 柔道, Hepburn: Jūdō; lit. 'gentle way') is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), Paralympic sport (since 1988) and Commonwealth Games sport (since 1990). Judo is the most prominent form of Samurai throws and self-defense competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎) as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors (primarily Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu and Kitō-ryū jujutsu) due to an emphasis on "randori" (乱取り, lit. 'free sparring') instead of kata (形, kata; pre-arranged forms) alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁武術大会, Keishicho Bujutsu Taikai), resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka" (柔道家, jūdōka), and the judo uniform is called "judogi" (柔道着, jūdōgi; "judo attire").

From the Wikipedia article Judo (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking and grappling, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.

From the Wikipedia article Mixed martial arts (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q11420, Q114466. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.