The Sports Informant

So the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has finally hit mainstream America. Last night I watched “Never Back Down,” a movie resembling cheesy “Laguna Beach” shows and an updated “Karate Kid,” but with an MMA twist. I rather enjoyed it, not because of the teenage bully plot or the “I’m richer than you are” mentality, but like any action junkie, for the fight scenes, which impressively showcased several moves actual MMA fighters rely on for victory.

The movie was just another indication of how far the sport has come. The month of July only showed how far the sport can go.

In a span of two weekends, three major MMA events were on the airwaves. On July 18, UFC’s Fight Night, featuring local fighter James “The Sandman” Irvin (read “A 61-Second Heartbreaker” below”), was televised worldwide on SpikeTV. The same night, competitor Affliction Clothing presented its inaugural “Affliction: Banned” on pay-per-view. On July 25, UFC and Affliction competitor EliteXC, teamed with powerhouse broadcasting station CBS, showed its second “Saturday Night Fights” in less than two months. All were heavily watched, all involved major names on their fight cards and all revolutionized the way this sport is being followed.

Years ago, this sport was banned in the United States. While I won’t go into a history lesson again, (instead read “The Art of Fighting: A Growing Sport” here: www.sacunion.com/pages/sports/articles/the_art_of_fighting_a_growing_sport), I will say it’s now become the combat sport to watch. Sure, boxing still has a loyal following, as I, too, am even a fan, but numbers are dwindling without big names holding belts, and as more of America embraces the smaller gloves and intriguing challenge of MMA, it’s starting to take over. 

With this trend comes a battle to capture the American market. Like any other popular venue, companies shell out big bucks to make big bucks by using up-and-coming organizations to get their word out. Suddenly, MMA is no different.

Fighters, just looking for a name for themselves and a decent paycheck, are bouncing around from organization to organization, creating several new avenues for fans to really embrace the sport.

July was the perfect example of where all of this is headed. In the UFC event, top fighters lined the card, and promos galore teased championship fights upcoming in the next pay-per-view. The UFC is basically considered the top tier of the sport; the Major Leagues, if you will. But even that can be misleading now. While most of the best fighters strive to join the UFC ranks, some have been there and done that, and weren’t all too happy there. So rather than fight with UFC management or wait their turn for another big show, they went elsewhere, and that’s what we saw recently.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia fought Fedor Emelianenko for a non-UFC heavyweight title on the Affliction card. Emelianenko, arguably the best heavyweight fighter in the world, has never fought in the UFC, but remains the guy to beat in the division on all levels. He demolished Sylvia with a first round TKO. UFC fans continue to demand he be put in the cage against the organization’s best, yet some sort of behind the scenes politics isn’t letting it happen.

On the same Affliction card, former UFC heavyweight Andrei Arlovski absolutely beat up International Fight League star Ben Rothwell. Oh, by the way, Arlovski lost his UFC belt to Sylvia. The two fought three times in the UFC, with Sylvia winning twice.

And when I say these guys are former UFC champions, I don’t mean 10 years ago. Arlovski held the belt as the organization’s best in late 2006, and Sylvia held it until early 2007. These guys are still on the top of their games, and could easily be contending in the UFC.

But it’s a business as much as it’s a sport. Affliction used to be the clothing brand the majority of fighters wore on their way to the ring before their UFC fights until it was allegedly banned from the UFC. The spurned sponsor decided to make a show of its own in spite, and in the process drew some of the best fighters around. That could hurt what was once a UFC monopoly.

The clear some confusion, the UFC still dominates the MMA world. It recently bought the Pride Fighting Championship and is consistently bringing its best fighters overseas to fight in America. It also now owns World Extreme Cagefighting, and promotes it as its own individual company, although eventually the WEC’s best will probably migrate into the UFC (except for maybe Sacramento local Urijah Faber, who is happy to stay in the WEC: read “Faber Happy in WEC” on www.SacUnion.com). 

But the UFC’s stranglehold may be easing up. The conglomerate CBS is a monster company in its own, and if its “Saturday Night Fights” continue to be successful, and the company shells out big payouts to fighters, we may see the trend of big-name fighters shifting around continue.

Two of the UFC’s biggest names, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, both former champions in their weight classes, have left the UFC in bad terms. Couture has a lawsuit filed against him by the UFC for breach of contract after he refused to continue fighting for the organization. He left after winning the heavyweight championship belt, which is now in the hands of someone else who won it in an interim match without Couture.

Now CBS is trying to corner the market by offering the sport free on basic television, and smartly trying to educate viewers on the intricacies of the sport between matches. It’s got a project in backyard brawler Kimbo Slice, one that could make him a superstar and attract viewers should he get in better shape. The station’s fights on July 25 featured Robbie Lawler and Elk Grove native Scott Smith in a brawling rematch for the middleweight belt, and again they put on a great show. Both were fighters recently in the UFC.

Regardless of the politics, the latest explosion we are seeing is nothing but good for the sport. While fighters doing their job need to worry about what’s the best fit for their pocketbooks and mental health, all we as fans need to worry about is what channel to tune into next time. If this keeps up, soon we’ll have fights on the tube every weekend, all showcasing the best athletes in the world vying for a spot at the top of their respective food chains. The day that happens — no matter what wars are going on between organizations behind the scenes — is the day I can finally start to enjoy television.