UFC 100 Proves MMA Is a Force to Be Reckoned With

(Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)

Thanks Luda for the initial inspiration....

UFC 100: Where do we go from here?

If you are to believe Brock Lesnar in his post fight comments, he was going to drink some Coors Light and mount his wife (in a non submission way, I hope...). While some of his comments are TMI (too much information, even though his wife is the lovely Sable from WWE fame), Brock Lesnar stands as the face of UFC, especially after his devastating victory over Frank Mir (which I predicted here…).

The next step will be the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar.  It can't happen now, since they belong to different organizations, but Fedor's contract is set to expire soon...

With the fight over and fans rushing to chat rooms to discuss the outcomes of their favorite fight, the question I posed before the fight is more relevant now: Is UFC going to crash the party of the big three sports of football, basketball, and baseball?

For some of you, you disagree with my thesis, which was really only a question.  But, in the interest of discourse, I am willing to defend my point of view.  Here is a comment that led to the genesis of this post.

Matt stated in the comments of this story…

You lost any and all credibility by arguing that hockey is not one of your "big four". In fact, when you went on to explain why you didn't choose golf or NASCAR, your credibility hit negative numbers.

People JUST started talking about how MMA has started to become the fighter's sport of choice. It is ridiculous to claim that MMA has a larger fan base, and larger general support, than hockey has.

So, in an open letter to Matt is where we begin the defense of UFC/MMA.

Matt,

Why so mad?  I can only provide a perspective.  It's cool to disagree, but without numbers, I am powerless to question your statement.  The difference between us is that I am making an ARGUMENT, not just a statement.

Not to bore you with the clinical side of argumentation, but you need a claim (UFC is about to become one of the big four sports), data (see my many sources below), and a warrant (other sports are falling through the cracks).

I am going to work somewhat backwards from your post.  You felt that not putting NASCAR or Golf as the Big Four meant that I had negative credibility.  Well, I should put you in touch with some of my friends, since they could give you some good ammo.  But, without it, you make a statement that you don’t defend.  I am willing to prove your straw man argument true anyway.

Answer for NASCAR

The slide of NASCAR has been in the works for years.  According to Nate Ryan, in the USA Today, the popularity and numbers for NASCAR have been sinking.  Remember, this is in 2006.

NASCAR's popularity might have reached a plateau. As the Nextel Cup series nears the end of its first network TV contract, there are signs fan interest is lagging, and a 15-year period of growth is sputtering.

Tracks don't release figures, but estimates from NASCAR reports show crowds have decreased in a third of the races this season. Fewer than half the Cup races were sellouts, and that includes two at the 92,000-seat grandstand of California Speedway east of Los Angeles, NASCAR's largest market.

Autoracing Daily points to an even bigger decline in 2008, a decline of 21 percent.

Over the past two years, television ratings have declined by approximately 21 percent, and crowds at races have similarly dwindled. The decline has so far been more hindrance than harm.

They (being Auto Racing Daily) also point to another problem, the economy, that I hint is a factor. With American Auto Companies in dire straights, excess advertising dollars are not going to fund Cup Drivers anymore.  They need to spend their money on figuring out how not to allow foreign car companies to dominate the landscape.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?