ZDFinfo Doku
03.07.
19:30
03.07.
19:30
Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA fighters in Germany
DOCUMENTATION The Agony, D 2024
“Mixed Martial Arts” is considered the supreme discipline of combat sports and is fascinating more and more people. What looks like pure violence to some is actually tough competitive sport. Niko Samsonidse from Berlin discovered his passion for MMA as a teenager and is now trying to fight his way into the world elite as a professional. The same goes for Katharina Dalisda from Frankfurt. She wants to win a title with the “OKTAGON MMA” organization. MMA stands for “Mixed Martial Arts” and is a combat sport in which there are many ways to defeat your opponent: you can throw your opponent to the ground like in judo, kick them in the head like in karate and knock them out with punches like in boxing – with the difference that you don’t have to wear thick gloves to cushion the blows. Your fingers should remain free so that you can better grip and wrestle your opponent down. The sport is now more accepted worldwide than ever and is emerging as a real alternative to the time-honored sport of boxing, which is now running out of big stars and is being ruined by the activities of associations and promoters. “Mixed Martial Arts” is therefore often described as the fastest-growing sport in the world. The fighters usually train twice a day to prepare for their next fights. The first episode tells of the torture and deprivation that the athletes endure. The three-part documentary “Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA Fighters in Germany” follows four German MMA fighters, two male and two female fighters, over several months during their training, their fights and their everyday lives outside the cage.
ZDFinfo Doku
03.07.
20:15
03.07.
20:15
Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA fighters in Germany
DOCUMENTATION The Fight, D 2024
All MMA athletes work towards this moment: the fight in the cage. Victory or defeat decides on prize money and a fight score that catapults them up the rankings. Niko Samsonidse wants to position himself for a title fight with a victory. For David Balevski, the sport is also a path to a better life. He grew up in a deprived area and is now facing his next fight in the heavyweight class. “Sport gave me stability and taught me discipline. Without sport, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he says of himself. The 1.92 meter tall model athlete has never forgotten where he comes from. That’s why he gives martial arts lessons to young people from socially difficult areas. Sami Zarabi has also experienced a lot at the age of 23. Born in Afghanistan, he fled to Germany in 2015 with his mother and two brothers, attended high school in Oranienburg and now wants to fight his way up step by step into the MMA elite. The sport is finding more and more fans in Germany. The “German Mixed Martial Arts Federation” was founded in 2014 and has been fighting for MMA to be recognized as an official Olympic sport ever since. The sport has been recognized in Germany since 2012. Sports schools with 23,000 members have now joined the association. It is believed that several tens of thousands of fighters are active in Germany. Most of them are amateur athletes. But more and more men and women are training in the numerous gyms, trying to make a living with MMA. They don’t earn much money, because even at the larger events, the fees are between 1,000 and almost 4,000 euros per night. But the fighters are not deterred. Many are hoping for a big fight in the UFC. In America. The “Ultimate Fighting Championship” is the largest MMA organizer in the world and has made this martial art one of the biggest sports in the world. In 2021, sales were 5.1 billion dollars. MMA is also a mega success online, with an enormous reach. The UFC has 36 million followers on Instagram, 14.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over six billion video views. According to Forbes, “Mixed Martial Arts” superstar Conor McGregor earned $180 million in 2020. According to the financial magazine’s estimates, the Irishman was the highest-paid athlete in the world that year, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The three-part documentary “Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA Fighters in Germany” follows four German MMA fighters, two male and two female fighters, over several months during their training, fights and everyday life outside the fighting cage.
ZDFinfo Doku
06.07.
04:55
06.07.
04:55
Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA fighters in Germany
DOCUMENTATION The Agony, D 2024
“Mixed Martial Arts” is considered the supreme discipline of combat sports and is fascinating more and more people. What looks like pure violence to some is actually tough competitive sport. Niko Samsonidse from Berlin discovered his passion for MMA as a teenager and is now trying to fight his way into the world elite as a professional. The same goes for Katharina Dalisda from Frankfurt. She wants to win a title with the “OKTAGON MMA” organization. MMA stands for “Mixed Martial Arts” and is a combat sport in which there are many ways to defeat your opponent: you can throw your opponent to the ground like in judo, kick them in the head like in karate and knock them out with punches like in boxing – with the difference that you don’t have to wear thick gloves to cushion the blows. Your fingers should remain free so that you can better grip and wrestle your opponent down. The sport is now more accepted worldwide than ever and is emerging as a real alternative to the time-honored boxing, which is now running out of big stars and is being ruined by the activities of associations and promoters. “Mixed Martial Arts” is therefore often described as the fastest-growing sport in the world. The fighters usually train twice a day to prepare for their next fights. The first episode tells of the torture and deprivation that the athletes endure. The three-part documentary “Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA Fighters in Germany” follows four German MMA fighters, two male and two female fighters, over several months during their training, their fights and their everyday lives outside the cage.
ZDFinfo Doku
06.07.
05:40
06.07.
05:40
Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA fighters in Germany
DOCUMENTATION The Fight, D 2024
All MMA athletes work towards this moment: the fight in the cage. Victory or defeat decides on prize money and a fight score that catapults them up the rankings. Niko Samsonidse wants to position himself for a title fight with a victory. For David Balevski, the sport is also a path to a better life. He grew up in a deprived area and is now facing his next fight in the heavyweight class. “Sport gave me stability and taught me discipline. Without sport, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he says of himself. The 1.92 meter tall model athlete has never forgotten where he comes from. That’s why he gives martial arts lessons to young people from socially difficult areas. Sami Zarabi has also experienced a lot at the age of 23. Born in Afghanistan, he fled to Germany in 2015 with his mother and two brothers, attended high school in Oranienburg and now wants to fight his way up step by step into the MMA elite. The sport is finding more and more fans in Germany. The “German Mixed Martial Arts Federation” was founded in 2014 and has been fighting for MMA to be recognized as an official Olympic sport ever since. The sport has been recognized in Germany since 2012. Sports schools with 23,000 members have now joined the association. It is believed that several tens of thousands of fighters are active in Germany. Most of them are amateur athletes. But more and more men and women are training in the numerous gyms, trying to make a living with MMA. They don’t earn much money, because even at the larger events, the fees are between 1,000 and almost 4,000 euros per night. But the fighters are not deterred. Many are hoping for a big fight in the UFC. In America. The “Ultimate Fighting Championship” is the largest MMA organizer in the world and has made this martial art one of the biggest sports in the world. In 2021, sales were 5.1 billion dollars. MMA is also a mega success online, with an enormous reach. The UFC has 36 million followers on Instagram, 14.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over six billion video views. According to Forbes, “Mixed Martial Arts” superstar Conor McGregor earned $180 million in 2020. According to the financial magazine’s estimates, the Irishman was the highest-paid athlete in the world that year, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The three-part documentary “Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA Fighters in Germany” follows four German MMA fighters, two male and two female fighters, over several months during their training, fights and everyday life outside the fighting cage.
ZDFinfo Doku
06.07.
06:25
06.07.
06:25
Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA fighters in Germany
DOCUMENTATION The Decision, D 2024
He can be described as a “legend”: Daniel Weichel, multiple MMA champion and fighter of the year 2020. At the age of 38, a decision has to be made: how long does he want to continue practicing the sport? He himself says that for him, sport is never the priority, but always the family. Anna Gaul also has to make a decision. The 24-year-old is studying medicine and has also become MMA world and European champion as an amateur. Does she want to become a professional? Boxing, kickboxing, taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu, judo, sambo or other martial arts – which martial art is the most effective? This question was at the beginning of MMA. In the 1980s, people in Japan tried to find an answer. The “Shooto” organization organized tournaments in which various fighting techniques were allowed. In November 1993, a tournament was held in Denver, USA, in which athletes from various martial arts also competed against each other. The organizer was the newly founded UFC, short for “Ultimate Fighting Championship.” The fights had hardly any rules. Some US states banned the tournaments. US Senator John McCain described the sport as “modern cockfighting.” The UFC responded by changing the rules, introducing weight classes, gloves and judges. The term “Mixed Martial Arts” was born. In the 2000s, the UFC invested heavily in marketing. TV deals with FOX Sports and ESPN as well as the reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” catapulted the organization into the public eye. In the mid-2000s, UFC fights were broadcast in 36 countries. Fighters such as José Aldo, Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor were the figureheads. In Germany, television broadcasts of the UFC were banned in 2010. The media watchdogs ruled that it was too brutal. The ban was lifted in 2015. Since then, MMA has been booming in Germany too. The three-part documentary “Fight Hard, Fight Fair – MMA Fighters in Germany” accompanies four German MMA fighters, two male and two female fighters, over several months during their training, their fights and their everyday lives beyond the fighting cage.
2024-07-03 04:19:19
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