Let's Get Down to the Beat Down with Eric Logan Summit

The sports world and media have begun to take notice of MMA. The sport has grown at a remarkable rate and is now a far cry from the "Blood Sport" moniker that it was first labeled with at it's inception. Due to the hard work, dedication, and marketing of the individuals that had the foresight and fortitude to stick through the hard times and continued building and believing, MMA is now the fastest growing sport in the world. Can you believe that? MMA is now exactly that, Mixed Martial Arts. Not some flash in the pan street fight, that was reminiscent of a bar bawl minus the broken bar stools and bottles. Today, athletes versed in many different forms of martial arts and wrestling step into a cage or ring to see who has better conditioning, a better chin, wrestling skill, striking ability, and knowledge of submissions.

Ever since that fateful April 9th night in 2005, when Spike TV first aired Griffin Vs. Bonner, the UFC has continued to grow faster than a NASCAR fan driving home from the track with a bud tall boy in one hand and the other glued to the wheel. Fans have grasped at the personalities of such impressive fighters as, Randy " The Natural" Couture, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, Rich Franklin and most recently "Rampage" Jackson. Fans have even secom to the sports most polarizing characters such as, Ken "The most Dangerous Man in the World" Shamrock, Tito "The Long Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, Matt Hughes (no nickname needed), and yes even the marketing man himself, Dana "Love him or Leave Him" White. Along with great fighters came great fights and the fans followed in droves.

As the sports continues to expand I believe we are at another crossroads. Look at the continued downfall of Boxing. Partially, I believe, because of the lack of heavy weight talent but mostly because of the lack of unity in belts and weight classes. Boxing has more belts then the WWE and Paris Hilton combined. Who can be bothered to follow all that, Bert Sugar and Max Kellerman, thats about it. I know what your thinking, Dana has it covered? The UFC recently purchased Pride the number one fighting league in Japan, and Zuffa backed the creation of the WEC, but is that enough? Already we have "mainstream" leagues popping up on network television and not even the famed UFC can secure a Randy Couture Vs. Fedor fight. Fighters are leaving the superbowl of MMA with note to Dana that says simply, "Show me the Money" and who can blame them. Now is the time to purchase stock in the names and bring the competition to it's proverbial knees. Now I'm not saying that any other league can compete with the talent pool in the UFC but, how is the sport going to garner new fans if they're being exposed to this downtrodden product. With MMA making it's debut on Network TV with Strikeforce and the Elite XC soon to follow, is the sport putting best foot forward, the answer is no. Yes, I know Dana and UFC were given first dibbs and declined because Dana didn't want to give up production rights to the networks. However a weekly half hour show on NBC showing the likes of the old school pit fighter David "Tank" Abbott getting knocked out in the first minute, yet once again, may be exciting to watch but it isn't MMA. MMA is Tyson Griffin Vs. Clay Guida last year, BJ Penn Vs. Matt Hughes, or even the mostly stand-up fight between Forrest Griffin and "Shogun" Hua. That is what the casual fan or newcomer should be exposed to if MMA is going to continue to grow as a sport. Consolidate the sport even more then it already is, unify the belts as much as possible, bring the best possible fights to the fans new and old alike, and for the record that doesn't include a special on Spike TV showing the training process for a Dana White Vs. Tito Ortiz fight that never happened.

The sport has so much to offer and more room to grow if the big boys can learn how to share there is no telling where MMA will be in a year or two. If 2007 "the Year of the Upset" was any indication of the direction of the sport, then we as fight fans will continue to be amazed and excited at each and every pay-per-view as we throw down our hard earned dollars to watch our favorite fighters throw down.

Rock Like a Party Star, Party Like a Rock Star, and Fight like it could be your Last!

Eric Logan Summit