My friend Mark Gilbert ATN executive and old college buddy is one of the biggest fight fans that I know and back in college we would often argue over what was best between MMA and boxing. Back then MMA was in its infancy and it was pretty brutal, which was why Mark loathed it so much. Over the years however Mark, like many people have, changed his tune and he and I have attended quite a few UFC events together. UFC is the biggest MA company in the world by a long chalk, but how has it become the hottest sport on the planet? Let’s take a look.

Cleaning Up

The world of MMA has cleaned up its act since the early days and this has been led by the UFC. In the beginning they would pit a jujitsu specialist against a kickboxer, and the whole thing would get very bloody and very messy. Back then eye gouges were allowed, so to were full face ground punches. These days there are stricter rules and the UFC has really cleaned the sport up, making it much more palatable for people to enjoy.

Range of Styles

Most UFC fighters have a speciality but they are all multi-skilled in mixed martial arts. This has closed the gap between the fighters and the fights now offer much more variety. Mark admitted that this is one thing which has made the sport more watchable, instead of seeing mismatches in the Octagon.

Fighters Fight

One reason why people like Mark have grown tired of boxing is because so many fighters seek to preserve their careers or their record by picking and choosing their fights, and fighting only once a year if that. In the UFC this doesn’t happen and if fighters don’t fight they lose their contract. In the world of UFC you have fighters performing at least twice a year, often more and this is what fight fans want to see.

The Big Matchups

In the UFC you can lose multiple times and still be a legend of the game, it isn’t like boxing where a single loss can ruin your career. The reason for this is because when the UFC matches up fighters, they put the very best against the very best. Instead of fighters negotiating their own fights, the company matches people up and that means that fans get to see the best fighting against the best at every event which the company put on. Nobody wants to see warm up fights or fights which are clearly only going one way, the UFC has ensured that this doesn’t happen and this is why it is one of the most exciting sports on the planet.

This is a sport which is only going to grow in popularity and that means that the UFC, spearheading the sport, is only going to get bigger and bigger, richer and richer, and fight fans will be better for it.