The Future of Mixed Martial Arts

Over the past decade we have seen mixed martial arts grow to astonishing new heights. But what lies ahead in the future for this dynamic and explosive combat sport?

Modern day mixed martial arts blasted onto the scene in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Brainchild of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist Rorion Gracie, The UFC was only meant to be a one time event bringing together the worlds best fighters from each style of fighting to compete against one another in a tournament style event.

Little did we know that 15 years later the UFC would surpass wrestling and boxing with the most PPV revenue generated ever in a single years time. MMA had arrived or should I say the UFC had arrived.

Now that the UFC has had so much success and mma has grown to new levels, other promoters and business executives are duking it out for their piece of the mma pie. Upstart organizations have been popping up left and right and with more and more states succumbing to the popularity of mma by sanctioning events, it is only a matter of time before all 50 states are holding mixed martial arts events. Major players are getting involved and the fight is on to secure dominance in the world of mma promotions.

One of the first players up to bat is billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban. His organization HDNet fights debuted in October of 2007 and is on its way to becoming a major player in the highly competitive field of mma organizations. HDNet Fights will air events exclusively on HDNet and in high definition. Cuban’s HDNet Fights is constantly expanding and has already partnered with such organizations as MFC, the International Fight League and most recently Strikeforce. CEO of the company, Andrew Simon has stated that they are committed to delivering at least 24 events in 2008. HDNet Fights recently acquired UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture for a possible future fight with Fedor Emelianenko, a fight that would surely set HDNet Fights apart from the competition.

Another organization attempting to squeeze itself into the crowded landscape of mma promotions is the American Fight League. Attempting to change the face of mma, the AFL is looking to redefine the way mixed martial arts are perceived in the public eye. They plan on doing this with two main objectives. The first is to adopt a ranking and fighting system similar to that of the PBR (Professional Bull Riding circuit). In the AFL fighters will earn points throughout the season which will determine the match ups for fights as opposed to the usual matchmaker. The second objective will be improve the public image of the fighters by requiring some form of charity work in their contracts. The AFL’s goal is to produce a family friendly all-American image of their league and it’s fighters similar to that of the NFL.

The next hard hitting player in line for a piece of the mma action is Yamma Pit Fighting. Ironically this new organization was founded by the UFC creator himself, Bob Meyrowitz. This new organization is planning on unveiling a brand new fighting surface called "Yamma" at their debut show at the Trump Taj Mahal in April. The new surface which has yet to be revealed, has mma fans and fighters alike guessing. All that is known so far about the surface is that it was specifically designed to keep the fighting more explosive and continuous. In addition to this new surface YPF is bringing back tournament style events that made the early UFC’s so popular. Each tournament will require competitors to fight at least twice per night. Unlike the early UFC’s, fighters will have more time to rest before their second fight thanks to the addition of a "Masters Fight" that will be held in between bouts.

The latest organization to make a splash onto the scene is DREAM, a collaboration between FEG (K-1, Hero’s) and the former DSE staff (Pride). DREAM will also be making it’s debut in 2008 with DREAM.1, a Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 tournament featuring a match up of top ten lightweights, Shinya Aoki and Gesias Calvancanti. DREAM has already announced the schedule for 6 tournament style events that will take place in 2008 including a middleweight tournament that starts on April 29. With the collapse of Pride many old fans feel like this may be the beginning of another unbelievable mixed martial arts organization based in Japan.

Look for each of these new organizations to make waves in 2008 as they grow with each and every fight. Each one has their own unique spin on how the game of mma should be played. In a time where the UFC is still considered a sport and not an organization it is cool to be different. These upstarts have to take risks and stand out from the crowd or else fall by the wayside and get brushed under the rug as the UFC continues to gain momentum and steamroll the competition.