The sport of mixed martial arts has come a long way from the days of belching commentators, fighters carrying the crucifix and “human cockfighting.” Fans who began to watch the sport within the last year or so are fortunate; now is perhaps the best time to be a fan of mixed martial arts.
Fans of the modern incarnation of mixed martial arts enjoy a newer, better form of the sport that has better athletes, better fights and is more popular.
While the fans of the old days certainly got to enjoy the amazing characters and “freakshow” type quality of the early events, the level of skill wasn’t extraordinary and there weren’t as many cards.
The sport eventually evolved from that low point and included athletes who cross-trained in several disciplines but were only masters of one aspect of fighting. Even with better competition and slightly more events, the sport was still on the fringes of society.
The sport underwent another change after this era with the rise of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. The UFC’s targeted demographic was enamored with the show and it helped to make the UFC a household name, not for negative reasons, but for positive ones.
As the show went on, the next generation of legends began to rise.
The sport continually evolved and grew more popular and that finally led us to the modern day. The UFC is a global company that has just signed a deal with the Fox network.
The stars have aligned for the sport of mixed martial arts, the UFC, and the fans; people who became fans within the last year or two don’t know how fortunate they were to have joined at this crucial juncture.
First, fans who have been watching recent events (and either just started watching MMA recently or have been watching all along) got to see the current generation of legends such as UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva perform at their peaks; they will remember them as the greats that they are.
Second, fans will not be forced to bear the weight of ideological baggage from the Pride vs. UFC debates of old. With only one clearly superior organization, debates such as that are over.
Third, fans have seen and will continue to see the rise of the next generation of fighters such as UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald.
Fourth, the fans will see the sport they love grow to unparalleled heights due to the recent deal with Fox.
Thus, if there was any time in the history of mixed martial arts to become a fan of the sport, it is unquestionably now. The sport is becoming not only a major sport, but something more…something that may shake the very foundations of the international sports world.
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