myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
BJ Penn. Kenny Florian. Anderson Silva. Forrest Griffin.
Do these names mean anything to you?
Some of you are scratching your head and thinking, “Silva is a middle reliever … I’m pretty sure Florian is a utility infielder … Penn sounds familiar, but I can’t place him. I’ve never heard of that Griffin guy.”
Others immediately became wide-eyed with excitement – all right, semi-excitement – and thought, “I can’t believe Fisher is finally writing a column on UFC!”
UFC, for the uninitiated, means Ultimate Fighting Championship. The four names listed in the beginning of this column are involved in the co-main events in UFC 101: Declaration, a live pay-per-view event Saturday night emanating from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
Some of you must be thinking, “UFC 101? When did they hold the first 100?” Well, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the UFC phenomenon, here’s a crash course. UFC is a mixed martial arts (MMA) organization that has become the hottest property on pay-per-view.
It appears that UFC 100, featuring Brock Lesnar successfully defending his heavyweight crown and avenging his only defeat, may have been the most-watched pay-per-view since Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. squared off in 2007 (2.15 million buys).
Official numbers have not been released, but the well-respected Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Web site cites sources indicating that the estimated number of buys is an astounding 1.72 million! By the way, seven of the top 10 2008 pay-per-views in North America were produced by UFC.
UFC also fills major arenas. An online check Wednesday night revealed that the only remaining seats for Saturday’s show are in the $400-$600 range. The upper level of the Wachovia Center ($50-$100) is sold out, as are the $200-$300 lower-level and club box seats.
As is evident by ticket sales and pay-per-view purchases, UFC has a loyal and growing audience. Readers who are part of UFC’s growing fan base not only recognized the four names at the top of this column right away as the headliners of UFC 101, but they could also tell you that Penn is defending the UFC lightweight championship against Florian and that UFC middleweight (170-185 pounds) champion Silva is stepping up to light heavyweight (185-205 pounds) to face Griffin.
Ardent UFC fans could also tell you that although Penn lost in January to UFC welterweight (155-170 pounds) champion Georges St. Pierre, considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC, Penn is undefeated at lightweight (145-155 pounds).
They could also tell you that Silva and Griffin are both big-time “strikers,” and that their fight is likely to end with a knockout.
There was a time when many dismissed UFC and the entire MMA genre as a glorified toughman competition. There was a freak show element to it, with huge sumo wrestlers facing Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists. It was almost like a real-life cross between Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior” and the “Man vs. Beast” shows that used to populate the airwaves.
That image started to change when UFC, which was founded in 1993, was taken over by new management in 2001. Weight classes were established, rules were standardized and the entire organization was given an overhaul.
Today’s fighters are in excellent physical condition, as one must be to last even one five-minute round. They also are generally well-rounded fighters. A fighter who relies on one discipline (wrestling, judo, karate, etc.) isn’t likely to find much success.
Even so, state athletic commissions have been reluctant to license UFC. Some still view UFC as “human cockfighting,” as Sen. John McCain infamously called it during the 1990s.
The battle to get sanctioned in Pennsylvania was a long one and UFC still isn’t sanctioned in many states, so Saturday’s event in Philadelphia, UFC’s first fight card in any of the major Northeast cities, is important to its future. If Philadelphia is a success, expect future events in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.
Those cities, as well as most media, are already late to the party. Despite very little mainstream press or television, UFC already has developed a rabid fan base and created stars. The next step is to cross over into the mainstream.
The UFC received a boost in reaching a larger audience when Lesnar entered the octagon (an eight-sided cage that forms the perimeter of the ring.) Lesnar, an NCAA wrestling champion, built name recognition by excelling in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Because of his pro wrestling background, many MMA purists rooted for Lesnar to fall flat on his face. In fact, many of them still do.
But UFC realizes it has pure gold in Lesnar, an incredible physical specimen and charismatic individual who has dominated all five of his MMA opponents, including Frank Mir during Lesnar’s one defeat. Lesnar learned from his submission defeat and hammered Mir to register a TKO in UFC 100’s main event.
Given the enormous success of UFC 100, both Lesnar and UFC are difficult to ignore. In other words, it won’t be long before more of you recognize names like Penn, Florian, Silva and Griffin.