Cleber Luciano is on his back, looking up from the large blue mat in his Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio in Huntington Beach. Around him are scrawny 8-year-olds and large men, watching in awe as he spars.

There are five individual sports/martial arts which comprise Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I tell my students that the first four are: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, freestyle wrestling, Muay Thai, and boxing. (Or ...