Mixed Martial ArtsFirst of all mixed martial arts is what it sounds like. It is a session between two opponents who have trained or cross-trained in martial arts. While mixed martial arts is not a mainstream sport, there is no reason why it should be banned in any state here in the United States. Like most, if not all sports, there are rules that must be adhered to, fights are sanctioned, so the rules must be enforced. There are regulations and weight classes just like other sports. Mixed martial arts are considered the definitive fighting method. To be considered an expert fighter you need to have punching, takedown, submission skills, stamina, but most of all you need heart. Mixed martial arts, or MMA, began in the United States in 1993, over 70 years ago. in other countries. “The first mixed martial arts organization in the United States was Ultimate Fighting Champion or UFC. The largest Japanese mixed martial arts organization is PrideFC, founded in 1997” (Doty 13). These may be the two largest mixed martial arts companies in the world. Mixed martial arts have been the subject of questionable political debate then and still today. People against mixed martial arts had many arguments against the sport in the early to mid-1990s. He even convinced several states to ban the sport. This is because when mixed martial arts began there were few to no rules. This was a one-event night tournament, where all the fighters who signed up would fight numerous matches in one night, in a single elimination style tournament until a champion was named. Two men entered an octagonal arena and did whatever they had to do to knock out or beat their opponent. Mixed martial arts fighters could not bite, gouge, or fishhook, and fights could only end with a referee's stoppage, a knockout, or a submission (Royce 6). It was basically an unarmed street fight. In 2001 a major factor in the return of the sport and the return of the sport to pay-per-view was the employment of a new set of rules. The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts Fighting, drafted in New Jersey and later adopted in Nevada in 2001, were a welcome change for the sport. “The new rules featured five weight classes, rounds, time limits, a list of over 31 fouls and eight possible ways to end the bout” (Walter, grapplearts.com). The unified... middle of paper... His fans and fighters can be found all over the country. They represent every race and class of people in the United States. They are teachers, students, lawyers, truck drivers, accountants, ministers, soldiers, doctors, police officers and family members. They are as American as the fans and athletes involved in any other sport popularly and culturally accepted by the people of the United States of America. They are not savages, barbarians or criminals, or a collection of social deviants and miscreants as people like John McCain would have the voting public believe. They are simply people who love a misunderstood and, consequently, feared and hated sport. That being said, MMA should be fully legalized in the United States. Work Cited Doty, Edward. Life in the cage. New York, NY: EZboard Inc, 1998. Hester, Todd. "Wanderlei Silva." Grappling May 2004 36-40, 91, 92, 97, 98. Royce, Gracie. “What it takes to be a fighter.” Grappling. May 2004 6-7.Walter, Donald. Mixed martial arts: definitive sport or definitively illegal? . 8 December 2003. . April 21st. 2005. .