I am a true MMA fan. I started watching the UFC since the very beginning, UFC #1. I remember distinctly when Gerard Gordeau knocked a tooth out of Teila Tuli’s mouth with a kick. It was fascinating to watch. It was REAL fighting on television. I was hooked instantly. I remember the Royce Gracie craze that started back in 1993, when Royce introduced Brazilian Jujitsu to the world by winning 11 matches by submission and was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, UFC 4, and fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the superfight at UFC 5 (Thanks Wikipedia). I watched throughout the years as fighters like Tank Abbot, Vitor Belfort, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and many more became dominant champions in their own styles.
Now here we are the year 2008 where we are about to see UFC 85,
MATT HUGHES is going to take on
THIAGO “PITBULL” ALVES for the main event. It has been a long but very exciting journey watching the UFC develop over the years. Seeing the almost “no rules” change over time as the organization became more and more evolved. Nowadays there are multiple weight classes, gloves, rules and much more well rounded fighters than ever before. It has become a true sport and is growing rapidly.
Unfortunately, I missed a handful of UFC’s when I was in the military but was able to go back and watch the ones I missed in recent years. I am always on the lookout for fights I may have missed during that time of my life.
Pride Fighting Championship was also an organization that was dear to me before it was bought by the UFC and basically dissolved into nothing. Most of the good fighters have been taken by the UFC now. Pride is where I found my favorite fighter of all time,
Wanderlei Silva. Wanderlei Silva is one of the most dominant fighters of all time. His aggressive
Muay Thai style has become my favorite to watch and I have developed great respect and admiration for him over the last few years.
Today there are many different MMA organizations around but the UFC remains the most popular and most evolved. For a in depth look at these organizations, check out
MMA on TAP.
I personally liked Pride a little better than the UFC but now Pride is gone and it was sad to see it go. I regularly order UFC’s on PPV and host fight parties at my house. I also enjoy and regularly watch
EliteXC,
K-1,
The Ultimate Fighter Series, and just recently
WEC. Now that I have this blog I am sure I will be getting involved with more and more organizations.
In the recent months I began to train in MMA myself. I always had an urge but waited until now to finally get into it. I regret starting so late because I feel as though I could possibly have been a decent fighter if I started young. Regardless, it has become a very positive change in my life. The training is intense and keeps me healthier and more energetic. I know how to fight better than I ever have before which has increased my self confident and drive to do more things. There are the occasional injuries, but you take them with a grain of salt and move on. I have yet to compete, but I plan on competing in the near future at a very amateur level. In a few years, who knows? You never know what could happen….just look at Randy Couture. He is over 40 and is still fighting at the highest level.
Like I said I do consider myself a true mixed martial arts fan. I follow the events regularly. I study it, and I train in it twice a week for 4 hours. This is hardly close to what is needed to become a true champion of mixed martial arts but only time will tell.
