Recently there has been a massive surge in popularity for a sport that was previously only seen in the fringes of society and once called human cock fighting by some people. Now this sport is doing all time high pay per view numbers and it’s athletes are becoming household names that almost anybody can recognize. Yes, the sport of mixed martial arts, known to some as cage fighting or ultimate fighting, has experienced an upswing in popularity and exposure over the last few years and it’s a sport that almost everybody can comprehend. By using home fitness equipment, home exercise equipment and by getting familiar with their local gym flooring by working out a lot almost anybody with some kind of training in martial arts, boxing or wrestling could begin being a fighter in the amateur ranks and this is also part of what makes the sport popular, that it’s easy to get involved in and started with for those interested.

One of the most popular fighters in the world currently is a man by the name of BJ Penn. From Hawaii but ethnically half Korean and half Irish, BJ was raised in Hilo to a wealthy family. Instead of going to college and getting a desk job or pursuing another job option he then decided to train in the Brazilian martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for three years. After showing incredible potential in the sport he attained his black belt after only three years, very fast for the art, and proceeded to win the world championships. After his extensive training in ground fighting, BJ committed to join the ranks of the UFC, essentially the NFL of mixed martial arts, and began fighting. Despite brief periods of fighting at welterweight, one hundred seventy pounds, BJ became the lightweight, one hundred fifty five pounds, champion with relative ease and to date has lost only one fight at lightweight. Today, he remains to be the martial arts champion in his weight class.

Taking a very different route to the preeminent mixed martial arts promotion in the world was Brock Lesnar. Brock grew up on a farm and was an amateur wrestler his whole life, his career ending with an NCAA heavyweight championship for the University of Minnesota. Following his amateur wrestling Brock ended up becoming a professional, fake, wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). After becoming fairly famous within the confines of pro wrestling Brock quit and decided to attempt playing football, which ended fairly quickly. Next on his list of things to try was mixed martial arts and despite losing his first fight via submission Brock has since become the heavyweight champion of the UFC while compiling a 4-1 record.

Finally, Georges St. Pierre is the champion of the welterweight division and one of the fighters who currently has the most mainstream appeal. St. Pierre has won fans over with his kind demeanor and extreme talent. In twenty one professional fights St. Pierre has amassed a record of 19-2 and has pummeled his opponents in a variety of ways. Often using his now Olympic caliber wrestling, a sport he didn’t train in until after he was a professional fighter, he typically beats opponents by staying on top of them and dropping lots of punches. Signifying his popularity isn’t just within the fighting community, St. Pierre has recently been shown in ads for sportswear and sports drinks.

Mixed martial arts is probably the fastest growing sport in the world and soon has their sights set on global domination, with promoters saying that they want and expect it to be the biggest sport in the world within twenty years.