MIXED MARTIAL ARTS: At a glance

By LOREN NELSON - Staff Writer | Sunday, May 11, 2008 8:45 AM PDT ∞

'The Ultimate Fighter' phenomenon

Spike TV's reality show featuring mixed martial arts fighters competing for a six-figure professional contract is heavily linked to the sudden explosion in popularity of Ultimate Fighting Championships, the sport's most powerful and popular organization.

The first "The Ultimate Fighter" episode aired in 2005, injecting a sport that for years had been illegal and underground into America's mainstream.

"That was when the sport changed and got momentum," said Jeff Clark, president and CEO of Carlsbad-based NCFC Fight Management. "All of a sudden, everyone started knowing what it was all about."

According to Spike TV, the live finale of the second season had more than 2.6 million viewers and was a bigger draw among men ages 18-24 than marquee college football matchups Virginia Tech vs. Miami on ESPN and Notre Dame vs. Tennessee on NBC aired in the same time slot.

Diego Sanchez, who lives and trains in San Diego, won the first season's middleweight title. North Park's Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver was a cast member on the sixth season. Both Sanchez and Koppenhaver are members of the NCFC Fight Management stable and will be competing in upcoming UFC events.

The seventh season features Poway High grad Jesse Taylor, a former high school and college (Palomar, Cal State Fullerton) wrestling standout who trains in Murrieta.

Networks on board

Having conquered cable with its immensely successful Spike TV mixed martial arts broadcasts, the sport has expanded to network television.

"Strikeforce on NBC" debuted on April 12, although it's hard to be sure anyone was awake to see it. The weekly broadcasts are airing in the early, early Sunday morning hours, after "Saturday Night Live" and "Poker After Dark."

CBS plans to air four ProElite events per year, with the two-hour shows airing live in primetime on Saturday nights. The debut is May 31 and headlines street fighting legend Kimbo Slice.

Wrestlers rule

The best mixed martial arts fighters are skilled at a variety disciplines (boxing, karate, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).

Wrestling, however, has emerged as the sport that produces the most MMA superstars. Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson all have parlayed extensive wrestling backgrounds into cage-fighting stardom.

Poway High's Wayne Branstetter, who has been coaching wrestling for more than 30 years, said he doesn't watch mixed martial arts much but does have an appreciation for what it has done for wrestling.

"It has validated the wrestler as an athlete," said Branstetter, regarded as one of the nation's top high school coaches. "It left no doubt these guys are for real."

Branstetter said that for years he's heard ---- and been involved in ---- endless arguments about who is tougher, the boxer or the karate expert, the kung fu fighter or the kickboxer, the Jiu Jitsu master or the wrestler.

"There's a reason wrestlers have such an advantage," Branstetter said. "It's such an easy transition for them. You just don't want to be grabbing hold of a wrestler if you don't know what you are doing."

---- Loren Nelson