UFC Goes Mainstream – META.

Imagine my surprise when I picked up the WSJ this morning:

A Fast, Brutal Sport Deals a Blow to Boxing

(Incidentally, the link takes you a reprint of the article on the UFC site, not the original on the Wall Street Journal website. You will not be able to view the full article on the WSJ site unless you’re a Wall Street Journal subscriber. Sorry, neither am I).

So Rorion Gracie can rest happily, his “vehicle to present the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the world”, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has at long last hit it big in America.

It’s even legal in several states now. One might have forgotten that the first UFC almost didn’t happen due to the authorities in Colorado threatening to shut everything down and to arrest all the fighters. Funny, how ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars changes the political and cultural landscape. It almost seems like becoming an Ultimate Fighter bestows upon the victor accolades similar to that of a Mike Tyson or a Muhammed Ali in boxing’s heyday: the title of “rockstar.”

Of course, not everything goes so smoothly. Everybody wants a piece of the action, it seems.

I must say that seeing a front-page story on the UFC in the pre-eminent conservative newspaper in NYC really goes to show how “mainstream” UFC has become. What’s next I wonder…

…I know – “extreme fighting” certifications from ACE and IDEA – become an “Ultimate Fighting Trainer” by taking a 6 week certification course, 1.5 CEUs!

At the very least, when people ask me what martial art(s) I study, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu no longer draws a blank stare. The problem now is that everybody wants to fight me.