The UFC is coming off another successful show on network television, proving that the sport of MMA is beginning to cross in to the mainstream. Over the course of modern mixed martial arts history, we have seen the sport grow from style-vs.-style fights featuring rather unassuming and nonathletic men to full-fledged MMA with world-class athletes.
As the sport continues to expand across the world, more athletes will choose to forgo their other athletic endeavors for the hopes of reaching the eight-sided cage known simply as The Octagon.
Athletes gravitate toward the platforms that will offer them a chance to make a living out of their passion to compete. With the UFC showing growing paydays, now athletes are beginning to see that a career fighting in mixed martial arts can be lucrative.
The world-class athletes that have multiple directions to take their careers favor the ones with the next step in achievement. The athletes in the major sports are able to look forward to transferring from high school to college and hopefully beyond. Kids that grow up in boxing gyms can at least look to attain Golden Gloves and Olympic-level status.
That sort of end game had not been associated with mixed martial arts until recently.
Sure, Judo, wrestling and other forms of martial arts are Olympic sports. But there was no professional outlet that could help them make a living. Dana White and the Fertittas have changed this.
They have elevated the sport to where it is now a goal that these athletes can see in the distance.
Type-A personalities have an innate desire to excel on a personal level. Combat sports is the ultimate outlet. It always has been and always will be. Now that MMA has fascinated and captured the imaginations of the next generation of athletes, more will grow up with the option to compete in the back of their minds.
On the most basic level, it is in our blood to be dominant as a species. It appeals to our basic needs.
And as the public becomes more knowledgeable and the dangers of concussions in the beloved sports such as football, many parents may become wary of putting their children in the collision sport.
Yes, combat sports are inherently dangerous but MMA has shown that the dangers are not as severe as other sports. Thanks to wrestling and the submission arts, fights do not have to be contested in a brain beating stand-up fight.
The long-term damage sustained in that of MMA has thus far proven far less than its combat sports counterpart. And the question is now being asked if it is safer than our most beloved sport of football.
Growing up, children identify with the popular sports that are accessible to them through television and scholastic athletic programs. Over the past decade, there has not been a sport that has connected to the younger audience more than the UFC. Moving forward, this will pay dividends.
Training centers are opening across the country, making training more readily available. And many that still cannot get to those gyms have high school wrestling teams to be a part of. This is building a new corp of future mixed martial artists who see it as a goal to reach.
Overall, the new crop of athletes that are just being born into this world are beginning to see a sport that has evolved into a profitable and, relatively, safe outlet for athletes.
Athletes will see MMA as the viable endgame for the ultimate test. They can use the various styles of mixed martial arts to compete at high school, collegiate and Olympic levels with the possibility of turning pro in MMA and making a living with their passion.
While fans have enjoyed the less athletic fighters and characters of the past, we are already seeing the shift to true athletes who are picking up the varying techniques quickly. MMA will soon feature a plethora of elite-level talent filling rosters of various organizations making the sport even more enjoyable to watch.
The future of MMA is incredibly bright.
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