Popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Ready to Explode

Across the United States, people are scratching their heads over the rising popularity of mixed martial arts and the UFC. They claim MMA is too violent, and presidential candidate John McCain even called it "human cockfighting." But like it or not, MMA and the UFC are about to explode into the mainstream of U.S. television culture. UFC president Dana White put it best: fighting is in our DNA and it's something everyone from every culture can relate to and understand.

Unlike mainstream sports, as White explained, few rules need to be explained to the average person in MMA. Fighting is what it is: two people facing off in a battle of wills.

The MMA craze began with The Ultimate Fighter, now one of the most popular shows on cable TV since its debut in 2005 despite being on Spike TV, a network that was irrelevant until The Ultimate Fighter sucked in legions of male viewers.

Considering how popular MMA became on SpikeTV, imagine how popular it will be once the new Elite XC show gets going on network TV. Broadcast on CBS on May 31st at 9 p.m. as the first prime-time MMA show ever, it had higher TV ratings than the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC in its first foray into prime-time television.

Ratings were good, but the real story was that MMA had finally reached a prime-time audience. TV executives had long thought that MMA was too brutal to be mainstream but now the barrier has been crossed and there's no stopping MMA.

White built the UFC into an entertainment juggernaut in a short period of time. Listen to what Forbes Magazine had to say about the organization in a recent issue:

"(The UFC is) the Ultimate Money Machine. The night before the Super Bowl, 10,700 fans packed the (The Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas). The total haul from the event (including TV): $25 million."

Owners Lorenzo and Frank II Fertitta bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001 and recently rejected a $1 billion+ offer.

Put it all together and it's easy to see that MMA isn't going anywhere but up anytime soon.

Its impact is felt not just through TV revenue but also in everyday life as new MMA gyms open and young men sign up in droves, willing to pay as much as $70 a month to prove their toughness in competition.

It's something I've seen first-hand: just yesterday, my youngest brother invited a couple of buddies over, slapped helmets and gloves on them, and whipped out a video camera to capture their UFC-style fight in the backyard.

Meanwhile, a few feet away on my neighbors' roof, nine grown male workers put down their shovels and took a long break to gawk at the battle of 17-year olds unfolding on the grass below. It was something they couldn't take their eyes off of, because as White said, fighting is something that everyone can relate to, for better or worse.

Source: "Ultimate Cash Machine," Forbes Magazine Online, http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0505/080.html