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There are so many theories about Bruce Lee and how he would have fared in the Octagon against today's Mixed Martial Arts fighters. We will never know what would have happened. Even if Lee were still alive, he would have been over fifty by the time the first UFC tournament was fought. All of this talk is speculative at best, but I feel it's warranted to add my own two cents.

Everyone knows his history, so there is no need to go into where he was borne or where he was raised. That doesn't matter. Instead, let's take a look at his accomplishments in and out of combat.

During his early years in China, Lee lost a fight with a gang leader, prompting him to start training in Wing Chun. Wing Chun (for those who don't know), is a style of fast, strong and accurate punches and low kicks. This makes it ideal for a street fight situation because the average out of ring match won't last very long.

As Lee got older and developed his fighting, he was able to carve away the inessential movements of Wing Chun and add in parts of styles he picked up in his experiences to lay the basis for Jeet Kune Do.

A misconception of Jeet Kune Do is that it applies only to fighting. Jeet Kune Do is a way of life. Jeet Kune Do is a way to take the inessentials out of one's life to find one's own truth. In this way, Lee was able to transcend the need for styles all together.

One can never know truly how Bruce would have done in a mixed martial arts bout. A lot of theories from misinformed people say that Lee would have been destroyed in a MMA because he didn't show enough versatility. Lee had studied many different types of fighting, including Jujitsu, which is one of the corner stones for mixed martial arts today. Dana White, President of the UFC, even called Bruce Lee the 'Father of Mixed Martial Arts.'

There is little doubt that Bruce Lee, in his prime, would succeed in an MMA type situation. There is little more doubt that Bruce Lee at 60+ years of age would succeed in the MMA. His speed, strength and accuracy were unmatched as was Lee himself, considering after the mishap as a young man, he never lost another fight.

In all reality though, Lee probably wouldn't have competed in MMA, even in his prime. He had ample opportunity to join the ranks of professional boxing, which he would not doubt have excelled. However, the purpose for Jeet Kune Do was not to hurt others, or to make money from his skill. He likely would have helped to guide and shape the fighters that were competing. Even after defeating his opponents he would stop and help to guide them into finding a better, more efficient, way of fighting.

In conclusion, we'll never know how Bruce Lee would have fared in the UFC or Pride or any of the many mixed martial arts leagues around the world. What we do know is, that Bruce Lee was a man of extraordinary talents. We can hypothesize that he would have sat in his rocking chair with Linda saying that he could still beat anyone in the world!

Learn more about this author, Azriel Johnson.
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