Browsing by Author "Kylmälä, Julia"

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effects of the first hit in a round of mixed martial arts competition. The theoretical background comes from theories of psychological momentum. Following these theories, if the first hit is a robust starting point for positive and/or negative psychological momentum, the effect should show in the amount of hitting following the first attack. Perspectives for both self defence and combat sports are considered. Psychological momentum as a phenomenon remains controversial. It has previously been investigated in sports contexts where the opposing player’s actions have an effect on the other player. In a mixed martial arts match that effect is more immediate due to the physical proximity of the fighters to each other. Data was gathered both by viewing Ultimate Fighting Championships matches and from the Fight Metric website, which holds records for all Ultimate Fighting Championships matches. The data consists of a total of 104 matches. A series of linear mixed models is fitted to predict the first attacker’s total strikes based on the opponent’s reaction, and a contrast analysis is used to compare the conditions based on reaction. The main result is that on the third round of the match, if the fighter who hits first is blocked, he or she will hit more during that round. The conclusion is that the fighter attacking first strikes more if his or her attack is blocked, but only on the third round. While this implies that the third round is different from the first two, the reason for that is unclear. This finding can be used to inform combat sports coaches’ strategies, and should motivate further investigations to the significance of the first attack in both self defence situations and in combat sports.