Webster’s Brock Lesnar defends his UFC Heavyweight championship Saturday night during UFC 100. Lesnar faces Frank Mir in a rematch from a year and a half ago, when Mir got the better of the South Dakota native.

While the Lesnar-Mir fight is being billed as the biggest in UFC history, the real story may be the event itself.

According to an Associated Press story, the sport once called “human cockfighting” by Sen. John McCain is now sanctioned in every state with an athletic commission except New York. Tickets for UFC 100 were snapped up in minutes, and some ringside seats were available on StubHub this week for $45,000 each. The UFC’s pay-per-view audience surpassed boxing and World Wrestling Entertainment for the first time in 2006, and has been on top ever since.
All of that is good news not only for Dana White’s organization, but it can’t do anything but have a trickle down effect on smaller MMA organizations in this country.
In short, the critics of UFC need to realize mixed martial arts, from Ring Wars here in Rapid City to UFC, is as mainstream as any sport in American and looks to be here to stay.
Andrew

I’m heading to the Civic Center to watch Ringwars tonight, highlighted by former UFC fighter Brad Imes taking on the Black Hills’ Tony Mendoza.

I’m wondering what people’s thoughts on MMA are. Do you like it? Hate it? Consider it sport or not?

- Padraic