Dos Santos, UFC propel MMA into mainstream sphere

photo via ESPN.com

After Junior Dos Santos shocked the world on a rainy southern California night, ripples of the monumental splash the UFC made in network television has begun to resonate. With all of the immense publicity, hype, and expectation leading up to the UFC’s first date with Network Television, all of the fighters put on their game faces and showed the world what MMA is all about.

With all of the fights except for the main event being broadcast only on Fox Sports website Fuel TV, and Facebook, many of the non-regular MMA fans unaware of these platforms, just watched the heavyweight championship. Before I go into the historic showdown that ended so quickly and dramatically, I believe there is some serious credit due to all of the fighters and how they stepped up tonight under the sport’s biggest spotlight in history.

In every single bout, both men stepped into the cage to fight at their best, as there were even many fighters impressive in defeat (Swanson, Bradley). Ricardo Lamas came out and turned an exciting fight around in Cub Swanson’s face with an excellent submission. Alex Caceres showed maturity and some fancy kickboxing, winning his first UFC fight. And Clay Guida fought Ben(son) Henderson in an epic war that I am sure Dana White wishes had been on Fox as well.

Everyone in the UFC from the production crew, the broadcast team, and most importantly the fighters, collectively took tonight very seriously in turn delivering for the UFC.

There is so much that goes on in the mind of a fighter before battle. As a journalist, I can only speculate what most of it is, but when I start shaking and getting nervous before watching a big fight from my couch, it becomes apparent that there must be a similar feeling for the fighters. Tonight, the victors were simply in the zone.

Think about all the professional athletes (football, baseball or basketball players) competing in front of millions of fans, as they perform at their best and extricate throbbing nerves out of their psyche to win a championship. For so many years sports fans have regarded these competitors to be supreme athletes that athletically and mentally capable beyond measure. And while only ten years ago the sport of MMA was being dismissed as a legitimate sport with so many misconceptions, with the development of the game and it’s participants, tonight the UFC has opened a new chapter in the sport’s history, transforming into one of the elite.

When the Fox Sports theme music kicked in at six o’clock, it was a wake up call for the world of combat sports. Mainstream MMA was now a reality. Junior stepped foot into “Cain Country” propelled by none other than Rocky theme music. And after what seemed like an eternity, the two big men occupied the octagon and the bout was under way. Quickly a few leg kicks from Cain provoked Cigano’s dangerous boxing. All in one swift right hand attack, the striking specialist clipped Velasquez’s temple, rapidly sending the champ to the canvas. Suddenly the Brazilian was standing over the Velasquez pounding his way into history. Dos Santos, with some of the quickest and most powerful punches in the sport, was for some reason counted out as many speculated that the wrestling of Cain was going to dominate this fight. After such an adventure, it is hard not to be satisfied with the UFC network television debut.

The emotions that this victory elicited in Cigano ran parallel with the passionate sports following in the midst of a historic event. With such vital excitement in even a quick ending battle, the main event as put by Dana White made for “a perfect night.”