I Believe in Mixed Martial Arts by Mario Martinez

Not many people would call mixed martial arts a real sport. Some feel that it is too violent or that it is just a group of street brawlers fighting. The truth is that MMA is a very organized sport. Most fighters will go through vigorous training and sparring everyday to get to a certain stag. I believe in MMA.

MMA is a very intense sport. There are many people that deny the fact that is an actual sport. Yet most of the people that say these things wouldn't be able to endure the thing we fighters do on a daily basis. We are not just fighters off the street. We are trained professionals, many of us have been doing this for years. We're not the kind of people that will just beat on somebody. We do things the right way!

MMA is a very strict profession, there are many regulations. There are also the many different weight classes. Weight classes vary from lightweight (155 and below) to heavyweight (+205). There are also different moves that are considered illegal in leagues. Illegal examples would be eye gouging, hitting of the back of the head, or head butting. There are also many different ways to win a bout, such as knock out, technical knock out, submission, decision, forfeit or disqualification of opponent.

Fighters go through vigorous everyday training and sparring. Most professional, well-known fighters, such as Cung Le, have been training for years. Many fighters will leave the United States to other countries, such as Brazil and Portugal, to get specialized training. As you can see, MMA isn't just a brawl, it's a professional sport.

MMA is a very popular sport, not only in the U.S. but also in countries like Brazil and Portugal. We don't fight for the money or the thrill of hitting someone, we fight because we like it and we are trained for it. I was once a middleweight fighter, which is one of the toughest weight classes in the league. I understand the realness of this sport. I know what it is like to go through the everyday training that most fighters have gone through. I believe in MMA!