MMA Pound For Pound Greats, Enthusiasts Hope For Olympic Stint
Online, March 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Mixed martial arts players and enthusiasts worldwide, including MMA pound for pound champions, are hoping for an Olympic stint in the near future. The clamor is being led by Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC which is the most popular MMA league in the world. UFC executives led by its president Dana White released a statement that they would support a move for MMA to be an official Olympic sport though they would not actively lobby for it to the International Olympic Committee. White is considered as one of the best MMA pound for pound fighters in the whole world and a pioneer in the sport.
The main argument of MMA players and enthusiasts for the inclusion of their preferred sport in the Olympics is the fact that the disciplines included in MMA such as wrestling, boxing, judo and taekwondo are already featured in Olympic games as individual events. Therefore, MMA supporters reason that including MMA in the Olympics is just a matter of adding an event that would incorporate these individual disciplines into one event - a move that is not likely to cause some major shake up in the quadrennial sporting spectacle.
Randy "The Natural" Couture, probably one of the most popular among MMA pound for pound greats and already considered a legend in the sport is a three-time Olympic alternate for wrestling and a semifinalist in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. Couture's credentials may be used an argument that MMA pound for pound fighters have what it takes to become Olympic athletes.
The popularity of MMA has increased in recent years with MMA pound for pound champions now being recognized as legitimate athletes in the same way that professional boxers and basketball players are being regarded. MMA pound for pound greats such as Couture, Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva may not be as popular as boxing's Manny Pacquiao or basketball's Kobe Bryant but the size of their following is something that cannot be belittled.
As a testament to the sports growing popularity and worldwide recognition, UFC's first show in Australia was a big hit with tickets being sold out within hours. The only UFC event that sold out faster was the one held at Montreal, Canada in April 2008. The entry of MMA in the Olympics is sure to propel the sport into greater heights.
Experts are divided as to whether or not people will see MMA pound for pound champions in the Olympic stage anytime soon. While many are optimistic that "the dream" will become a reality there are people who are taking a more cynical stance, believing that, while it is a good concept to include MMA pound for pound fights in the Olympics, it is too far-fetched of an idea to become a reality in the near future. These individuals believe that the rigid structure of the Olympics and the "loose" orientation of MMA pound for pound fights is inherently incompatible.
White though and other MMA pound for pound champs is not likely to easily give up their dream of seeing MMA pound for pound fights in the world's most revered sporting arena. To these individuals, it is just a matter of time.