When Will UFC go mainstream? | Which Sportsbook

15th Jan 2011

When the UFC started in 1993 it was something of a freak show. Using a tagline of “There are no rules!” it was more of a battle between fighting styles than a competition between athletes. Many who watched these early fights were repulsed, indeed one time presidential candidate John McCain described the events as “human cockfighting.” and helped get them banned in thirty six of the fifty states.

Seventeen years on and the UFC has come an awfully long way. Fights are no longer a battle of styles, in fact to become a champion nowadays competitors must have a well rounded fight plan training in various different boxing, wrestling and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu styles. The rules have also become tighter.

There have now been 126 UFC pay per view events and names such as Chuck “the Iceman” Liddell, Randy “the Natural” Couture and Tito “the Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz have permeated the public consciousness. George St Pierre and Anderson Silva, the current welter and middleweight champions are the poster boys of the sport and whilst both are exciting and at times devastating fighters I believe it is a twenty three year old from Ithaca, New York who will take this sport to the next level.

Jon “Bones” Jones is that man. Erudite, intelligent and humble, Jones could have had a career in several different sports including in the ultra competitive NFL but instead chose to earn his crust in the Octagon. Since his first fight Jones has had the crowd in the palm of his hand. His unorthodox attacks which he apparently copied from martial arts films and clips on Youtube are not meant to work in a sport which can often be confusing and boring to the casual observer. There is nothing boring about the spinning back elbows and giant suplexes which Jones regularly attempts in his fights and despite the fact he is not yet a champion I believe Jones will not only be the UFC poster boy for many years to come he will also be the first true MMA breakout star and will bring the UFC truly into the mainstream. If you fancy taking on our predictions in the UFC betting stakes then feel fee to do so, if we can win a few quid predicting the future of UFC fighting, then we are all laughing our way to the plastic surgeon for a new hooter.

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