MMA: Transition of the Ages for Mixed Martial Arts

With the news in the last week that Zuffa had purchased their major competitor in North America, it was quite a shock to us all. Strikeforce, once a kickboxing organization before their transition to Mixed Martial Arts in 2006, is now under the same branch as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. With this, in my opinion, a new age of the sport has arrived, and with that an old age gone.

The "Golden Age", the term that I'm going to give here, is no longer. The days of Pride Fighting Championships, UFC, World Fighting Alliance, Rumble on the Rock, World Extreme Cagefighting and Vale Tudo in Japan all putting on shows throughout the world are done. And it all started with the UFC becoming the phenomenon it has become over the last decade.

These organizations made legends out of fighters in their respective promotions. The Nogueira brothers, Mirko Filipovic, Fedor Emlianenko all made names for themselves in Pride in Japan. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin and Tim Sylvia all dominated the UFC ranks. Fans around the world always had something to look forward to, from compelling matches to heated rivalries, it was all there.

Then, Pride ran into trouble. With television deals expiring and not being able to secure another one, and the poor management of the company itself, Zuffa purchased the organization, announced on March 27, 2007. This is where at all began, the transition between the two ages, and the face off MMA began it's change.

Originally planned to be run as a separate entity, Pride eventually became defunct. According to UFC President Dana White, Pride had been so poorly managed, it was beyond repair. From losing money and the supposed mafia ties that top company officials had, a television deal could not even be worked out. So, Pride was folded, and top fighters such as Antonio Nogueira, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua were brought onto the UFC roster.

As the years progressed, fans received dream fights such as Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Jackson, which was a unification bout for the Pride and UFC lightheavyweight titles. Antonio Nogueira vs. Randy Couture and even saw the UFC crown a new lightheavyweight champion in "Shogun" Rua, who defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 in May of 2010. It was a great time for fans, who were now getting great compelling fights, and being able to see Pride legends compete in the UFC.

World Extreme Cagefighting was purchased by Zuffa in December of 2006. Zuffa ran the WEC for about four years, which was eventually used to showcase the lighter weight classes MMA has to offer.

On October 28, 2010, White announced that the WEC was also folding, bringing in the lighter weight classes and its roster of fighters to the UFC roster. And, with that, another promotion down, with fighters being able to showcase their skills on the main stage that the UFC has become. Fighters like Uriah Faber, Eddie Alvarez, Leonard Garcia and Jose Aldo now have opportunities to fight in front of a larger audience.

Then, on March 12, 2011, Dana White announced another blockbuster deal. The UFC's main competitor in the United States, was purchased in a deal brokered that saw Strikeforce being brought in under the Zuffa umbrella.

Due to contracts that Strikeforce has with Showtime and CBS, Strikeforce will continue to be run as a separate entity for now. Scott Coker, Strikeforce promoter, will remain in his position.

Another step towards a new age in Mixed Marital Arts, and this made it even more real. The UFC is on the fast track to becoming the only player in town on the main stage. With a whole roster of talented fighters and prospects, and events month after month in different cities, the place to fight and make a career is the UFC.

No longer are the days of honing your craft in different promotions. No longer are the days where fighters have a choice on where to go, if they want to make a decent and solid career out of the sport they compete in. The UFC is it, point, blank period.

Whether or not this is a good thing, is the question. Personal opinion, I tend to say yes. Reason being, the UFC has the vast resources and tools to take the sport to levels never seen before, and be a legitimately accepted by the population. They have the ability to take talented fighters and show them to the world, in turn making them superstars.

The argument has been made before, MLB is the place to be in baseball, the NHL has the ice rinks that you need to play on to be the best and the NFL is the only hard-hitting player on the gridiron if you want to be considered a top football player. I liken the UFC to this, the only major leagues in the sport of MMA.