12 Ways To Get Into UFC

Jeff Chiu/AP/Press Association ImagesMixed martial arts (MMA) is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet and its biggest promotion €“ the UFC €“ is leading the charge to bring the sport into the mainstream. There are many fans who enjoy watching MMA in all its forms; from small town, local events to the big stage of the UFC. For the most part fans of mixed martial arts tend to stick to the UFC. All MMA fighters aspire to some day compete in the UFC and the promotion has nearly all the finest competitors in the sport signed to it. Though each and every year more events are put on in locations increasingly more dispersed from the sport€™s traditional home of Las Vegas, MMA is still considered to be a niche interest by many. This isn€™t aided by the sport€™s early reputation as a morally repugnant form of human cock-fighting where blood-thirsty fans pay money to watch brutes rip each other apart. Thankfully the UFC€™s early reputation as a bloodsport has mostly been erased thanks to the implementation of unified rules, athletic commissions, drug tests and a heavy medical presence on-hand to make sure fighters are taken care of - all going a long way to establishing MMA as a hugely enjoyable sport. So, because of all this, many would-be fans want to get stuck into the UFC, but cannot find a suitable entry point amongst the wealth of coverage. Indeed, with its core of diehard fans who have been watching MMA since the early days and the unsocial time of live events over here in Europe, getting hooked on the sport can seem like a daunting task. The UFC fan-base is certainly not an exclusive members club though. Becoming a lifelong fan can be as simple as watching the right fighter€™s highlight reel or getting to know a particular athlete€™s personality. Here are the 10 ways we recommend to get into the UFC.