I have been given a great opportunity to work with James King III & Justin Davis on this blog to bring you the world of MMA. I am a hard working father of 3 boys who are all active in sports and academics. I have a wonderful fiance who puts up with my hours of following the sport I so love. I have been watching and keeping up with MMA since 1994. Around a year ago I signed up for my twitter account and found a whole world of people who are as in love with MMA as I am. It was the catalyst to my blogging and listening to MMA sports radio, in turn it has given me the opportunity to network about the sport with other fans and fighters. I have watched the Sport of MMA grow from its infancy in the early 90s into the huge phenomenon it has become today. I remember when Senator John McCain called it "Human Cock Fighting" and tried to bring the sport of MMA down. He made many attempts to strike a blow to the UFC and the brutal combat fighting sport of MMA but I personally believe he helped it. In 1996-97 the UFC made huge changes to its rules of fighting to make it safer for the fighters and to help its image. They did away with hair pulling, groin strikes, headbutts and kicking an opponent while he was down and a few others. The UFC also jumped on board with this new Reality craze sweeping the country and launched "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 1 on Spike TV, with its coaches, Chuck Liddell & Randy Couture. It debuted on January 17, 2005. It was loaded with 8 light heavy weights & 8 middle weights. This essential partnership between Spike TV and the UFC is what brought MMA to the world. It was genius to put this show on a channel like Spike. It gave the UFC the opportunity to showcase new talent and great fights, all for free. The first season finale was broad-casted Live for free on April 9, 2005 on Spike TV. It was able to punch a 1.9 overall rating which was impressive. On this night the public was exposed to the world of MMA and what it was all about. In the finale fight of the evening you had Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar. It is in this 3 round war that I think people got an idea what kind of sport MMA truly is. This fight had such an impact people were talking about it way after it happened. Griffin & Bonnar became celebrities, and so did the coaches. From that moment MMA had a new platform to showcase the sport and the ability to give the fans fights for free and a show of their own.
I will be blogging about all the major organizations from UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Dream and local MMA organizations. This sport is my passion and my life. I hope that you all enjoy, and feedback is welcome. Follow me on twitter (@Chingon3).
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