Why the Fans Are the Most Important Aspect of MMA

Mixed Martial Arts as a whole has many different aspects. You have the big companies that provide the venue for the sport to be performed and watched.

You have the fighters, who train to one day hope to earn themselves a title in their weight class. Then you have everyone in between. But there is one aspect that stands above the rest.

I'm talking about the fans.

Management will change. Fighters will retire. And through it all, the fans will still be there. That is how it has always been and always will be.

One of the biggest reasons that MMA is as popular and exciting as it is now, is the fans. Those people, who buy tickets to the events, go to a bar to watch the fights with friends, or simply turn on their television at home.

The fans make the events what they are. We bring a passion and intensity that is immeasurable. We cheer for fighters we like, boo the one's we don't. We shout and share our opinions with people we’ve never met before.

MMA brings out emotions in all of us fans. We feel fear when our favourite fighter is getting rocked. We express great joy when we see an outstanding knockout or slick submission. We cheer our lungs out when we see a true legend of the sport step away from the Octagon.

Without a doubt, fans make the events what they are. Could you imagine what the Bell Centre in Montreal would be like if fans didn't care about Georges St. Pierre's return? Or if they didn't acknowledge when Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira won his fight at UFC 134 in his home-city of Rio de Janeiro and sat atop the cage glowing with pride? What if the fans didn’t react when Jose Aldo jumped into the crowd after his win against Chad Mendes?

None of those moments would be what they are now without the fans. In MMA, the fans are the most important part of the sport. Without us, there is no sport. There is no emotion, no desire, no anything.

The fans make this sport what it is. The fans are the most important part of not only MMA, but of all sports across the world.

All hail the fans. Because MMA wouldn’t be nearly the same without us.

Tweet me @FuscoNation16.