10 Reasons UFC Will Be Mainstream in 10 Years

We’ve all heard it a million times before, and will hear it a million times again:

“Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world.”

As a fan of the sport, that statement tells me that the sport should be blowing up within the next few years.

After all, if the fastest growing sport in the world isn’t actually gaining any fans or publicity, does that statement even matter?

Fortunately, I see a huge upswing in MMA popularity coming, and more specifically, a huge boost for the UFC.

Within 10 years I see the UFC being covered as well as the NBA and the MLB, and within striking distance of the NFL.

A little too bold? Maybe.

But if you look at the way the sport is growing, and the major moves that Zuffa has made in just the last year, it is very possible.  

FOX

When the deal with FOX was announced, Dana White was not shy and immediately admitted that it was the biggest possible thing that the UFC could have done at that point in time and was the single most important deal in UFC history.

Fox is going to push the UFC into the public eye and make the sport as well known as the NFL.

Within five years, UFC events on Fox will be pulling in NFL playoff-type numbers and become historic events which happens at least four times a year.

Expansion into New Markets

In 2012, the UFC will hold events in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Japan and possibly China—and that is a conservative guess.

The sport keeps on growing and the more countries that get to see live events, the more fans will get attached to the sport.

It’s simple math and it is one of the main reasons the sport is growing as fast as it is.

New York

The one venue that the UFC is desperate to get into is New York City's Madison Square Garden, and it is almost a certainty they will get the job done within the next few years.

An event at MSG would be huge for the organization and it is a given that they would stack the card.

The inclusion of the mega New York media would especially serve a huge lift to the UFC’s reputation.

Dominant Champions

As of right now, the current UFC champions might be the most dominant group of title holders the organization has ever seen.

Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre have both dominated their divisions for years, while Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz have made impressive title defenses, and Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez look like they could hold on to the gold for years.

While change is a good thing, having a certain guy who dominates a division for years can add a lot of interest in the sport and create stars for the sport. 

Jon Jones

Boxing became huge again in the 90s due to the rise of Mike Tyson, and while Jon Jones may be nothing like Tyson in attitude and demeanor, he might be able to mirror Tyson’s rise to popularity with his destruction of everyone in his path.

Jones has already become one of the most talked about and popular fighters in the sport after being a hyped prospect only known by MMA fans just nine months ago. And if he keeps taking out some of the more well-known fighters in the sport, his legend will keep growing.

As long as Jones keeps winning, he will become MMA’s first true superstar.

A New Breed of Fighter

This has been talked about a few times during recent UFC broadcasts, especially when Rory MacDonald has fought, and it is going to make the sport considerably better.

Young kids are starting to trade soccer cleats for Muay Thai lessons and baseball gloves for four-ounce gloves, and we will soon have fighters who have been training to step into the Octagon their entire lives.

Not only will this result in better fighters, but it will result in more exciting fights, which is ultimately what makes the sport great.

More Events

The UFC will have held 27 events by the time 2011 comes to an end, and that number is going to get even bigger next year, as the UFC has already announced they will have 34 shows in 2012.

As long as the UFC keeps putting on fights, fans will keep tuning in, and the number of events is only going to grow as time goes on.

Hopefully in the next few years the UFC will be able to start a Friday Night Fights type of thing, and if that happens, the sport will get a massive boost in popularity.

Lockouts

The NBA has already cancelled the first few weeks of the regular season, and we had a scare with the NFL earlier this year, and it seems like the lockout and potential lockout have hurt the respective sports a little bit.

The UFC doesn’t have a fighters' union, and whether you agree with it or not, it will definitely help the organization in the long run. 

Increased Visibility Through Sponsors

Before his UFC 134 title defense against Yushin Okami, Anderson Silva’s awesomely hilarious Burger King video made its way around the web, showing how popular fighters have become in Brazil.

The same thing is happening with Georges St-Pierre in Canada, and both Urijah Faber and Jon Jones have been featured in ads in the US. The number of fighters who get major sponsors will only grow in time.

There may be a day where a fighter ends up like Peyton Manning was a few years ago and is on TV literally every time you change the channel.

Dana White

Fans either love or hate Dana White, and that’s understandable, but there is no denying that the man loves this sport.

Earlier this month Dana gave one of his finer quotes about how he is planning on taking the UFC to the next level:

“I will (expletive) die before I let this not happen." 

That’s all it takes to sell me.

With Dana leading the charge, the UFC will just continue to get bigger.