You're ignoring the full history. Look up and my post again and have a read. That plus this, plus all the Zuffa investment help create what we have today. Nothing by itself.
The Gracie's were doing it unofficially for for years previous, and Vale Tudo fights have been happening since the 40's.
We're talking about "officially", people fight everywhere all the time but the birth of what we call MMA today is thanks to wrastling.
Modern regulated MMA was born in Japan IMO thanks to Antonio Inoki and people like him.
Mixed martial arts involvement[edit]
See also:
Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki
Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of
hooking and shooting by the professional wrestler
Karl Gotch. Inoki named his method of fighting "strong style." This method of wrestling (which was taught to Inoki by Gotch) borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original
catch wrestling roots, and is one of the most important influences of modern
shoot wrestling.
Inoki faced many opponents from all dominant disciplines of combat from various parts of the world, such as
boxers,
judoka,
karateka,
kung fu practitioners,
sumo wrestlers and professional wrestlers. These bouts included a match with then-prominent karate competitor Everett Eddy.
[30] Eddy had previously competed in a mixed skills bout against boxer Horst Geisler, losing by knockout.
[31] The bout with Eddy ended with the karateka "knocked out" by a professional wrestling
powerbomb followed by a
Hulk Hogan-esque
leg drop. Another such match pitted Inoki against 6'7" Kyokushin karate stylist Willie "The Bear Killer" Williams. (So-called because he had allegedly fought a bear for a 1976 Japanese film entitled "The Strongest Karate 2".
[32]) This bout ended in a doctor stoppage after both competitors repeatedly fell out of the ring.
[33] Although many of the matches were rigged and scripted, they are seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. When asked about Inoki's fighting skills, business colleague Carlson Gracie stated Inoki was "one of the best fighters he'd seen."
[34]
His most famous bout was against heavyweight boxing champion
Muhammad Ali on
June 26, 1976, in Tokyo.
[35] Inoki initially promised Ali a rigged match to get him to fight in Japan, but when the deal materialized, Ali's camp feared that Inoki would turn the fight into a
shoot, which many believe was Inoki's intention. Ali visited a professional wrestling match involving Inoki and witnessed Inoki's
grappling ability. The rules of the match were announced several months in advance. Two days before the match, however, several new rules were added which severely limited the moves that each man could perform. A rule change that had a major effect on the outcome of this match was that Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was on the ground.
[35] In the match, Ali landed a total of six punches to Inoki, and Inoki kept to his back in a defensive position almost the full duration of the match of 15 rounds, hitting Ali with a low kick repeatedly.
[36] The bout ended in a draw, 3–3. Ali left without a press conference and suffered damage to his legs as a result of Inoki's repeated leg kicks.
[37]
