MMA for Dummies

Earlier this month, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin squared up against Vitor Belfort in a fight watched by more than half a million on Pay-Per-View. Three minutes later, Belfort stood victorious in front of a deafening crowd after knocking out Franklin in the first round.

Royce Gracie stood victorious 16 years earlier in similar fashion at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship after defeating three opponents in a single night. Since its inception, mixed martial arts in the United States (which until 2007 was solely the UFC) has had its ups and downs. After its initial popularity with its first shows in 1993, there was a movement supported by Republican Sen. John McCain to see the sport banned. In 2001, ownership of the UFC changed hands and for the first time, MMA events were sanctioned by state athletic commissions.

Since gaining the approval of state athletic commissions, the popularity of mixed martial arts skyrocketed dramatically. The UFC went from a debt-ridden organization to a multi-million dollar company over the course of a few years. With the money came the sudden upstart of competitors, such as the International Fight League, EliteXC and Affliction, most of which failed in stunning fashion.

As it stands now in the United States, the UFC still holds a lion’s share of the MMA market. But for the first time, the UFC has a viable competitor — Strikeforce. Until recently, Strikeforce was just a regional promotion located in the California area until it decided to attempt to break into the greater national market.

MMA is on the brink of being a mainstream sport. Its popularity has taken the names of fighters such as Chuck Liddel, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture to the status of household names. You can see Chuck Liddel on “Dancing With the Stars,” Randy Couture in an upcoming Sylvester Stallone movie and Tito Ortiz with his arm wrapped around Jenna Jameson.

The UFC, as a brand, has evolved into an entity far beyond a promotion. Not since Don King has a promoter like Dana White had center stage time to rival its sports’ biggest name athletes.

In the future, MMA should continue to grow significantly. Although MMA’s past forays into the realm of network television have ended in disaster (as anyone who watched Kimbo Slice get knocked out live on CBS would know), it’s only a matter of time until MMA makes its way back. Strikeforce is set to broadcast an event next month on CBS and has aired events on Showtime, but the UFC has promised get on network television by sometime next year.

While Dana White’s bold claim that he expects the mixed martial arts to grow even bigger than the NFL is generally considered a pretty big overstatement, MMA should continue its steady break into the mainstream. Bigger venues, network television deals and more events should be seen in the near future. It is only a matter of time until two fighters square up against each other in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.