Ever since PRIDE and K-1 infiltrated cable television in this country a little over a year ago, many MMA and MA fans in this country must be wondering, "Is the UFC, this event born and raised in this our proud land, a so-called 'major league' of the MMA world?" I also must wonder.

The elevated runaway, which was like a "performance stage" for fighters, and that gaiety of fireworks during the entrance, which made fighters looks like rock stars, are all gone now because "The fight itself is the most important." Yes, that's what Mr. Dana White, the president of Zuffa, has said in the previous PPV broadcasts. And I keep hearing this phrase "just like professional boxing" but let me ask you this, why do we have to model MMA after professional boxing?

Is MMA sort of a "minor league" or "senior tour" of professional boxing? I don't think so and I certainly hope Mr. White doesn't think so either. We all already know that the UFC is not Pro-wrestling. It indeed is a serious athletic competition but it doesn't mean it has to be similar to professional boxing. I am talking about the way it's organized, judged, broadcast, marketed, promoted, etc.

See, at this point I really don't see its brand differentiation, except a picture of men fighting in the cage. Yes, the Octagon, (invented by John Milius, you know, that rightwing filmmaker / screenwriter with movies like Big Wednesday and Conan: The Barbarian under his belt) has been and probably still is the biggest promotional tool ever invented for the UFC because it makes this sport looks completely different from any other, and that is called a niche in the market - but what about everything else? Is it like professional boxing?

The UFC however, undoubtedly is the "major league" of MMA in this country with a population of 290 million citizens and green card holders. That's the reason why the level of competition in the UFC is one of the best in the world, and this is apparent when we look at fights or fighters generated from the Octagon. The quality of fighters is excellent, one of the highest anywhere, but still, something is missing. This is only an opinion, just like fans talking at the bar with tequila shots and margaritas, but I think it lacks this new way of organization and marketing necessary for a new sport to attract a new audience.

Although Hollywood stars such as George Clooney and Juliette Lewis were spotted at the event, it only aroused some UFC fans, perhaps even making them proud by association, but for people who have never even heard of the UFC or MMA, it means NOTHING.

But just for the record, I'm not saying that the promotions marketing done by Zuffa had no effect on increasing a new audience. The Fertitta brothers, owners of Zuffa, now starring in the reality show called American Casino by The Discovery Channel definitely will capture a new audience for the UFC from a demographics called "viewers who usually don't watch sports." I also give huge credit to Zuffa for distributing UFC videos and DVD to major bookstores and CD shops around the country such as Tower Records, Blockbusters, and Borders. But everything is still, underground, very minor!

I actually do agree with Zuffa's theory of "Every sports fan would love MMA" but is being similar to, or even following the footsteps of professional boxing the only way to reach sports fans in this country?

More precisely, I don't think the population of boxing fans is as big as let's say, NASCAR viewers. It seems like the general public are only interested in specific fighters such as Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya but it doesn't mean they are boxing fans who closely follow rankings and statistics, etc.
So, why not model after NASCAR instead of professional boxing?

And that's how I felt when I heard the decision of the Matt Hughes vs. Renato Verrisimo fight. Unanimous? 29 – 28, 30 – 27, and 30 – 27? Hello judges! Are we looking at the same fight? Obviously, Verrissimo dominated the first round and even in the second and third round, to me, Hughes was just defending in Verrissimo's guard. Verrissimo was the one constantly attacking with various submission attempts.

Does this mean that one takedown is worth ten times more than a series of offensive moves on the ground? Does this mean that no matter what, being on the top, in the UFC, is superior to catching an opponent from the full guard position? Does this mean that if a fighter is on his back, no matter what he does, he would not be considered aggressive. Is this wrestling, are we trying to pin the opponent?

This fight reminded me of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Rico Rodriguez, a special fight held in last year's PRIDE GP opening round. Many fans in the States thought Rodriguez won the fight because he spent a majority of the fight being on the top, but others, including judges, thought he was struggling in Nogueira's guard, just defending. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate the qualifications of judges in the UFC? Why not bring in judges from Jiu-jitsu, Judo, wrestling, Muay Thai, and boxing?

So Mir became a new champion, Shamrock made a comeback, and Trigg was revitalized. Finally, it seems like the UFC has its new star and conveniently, he was born and raised in Las Vegas. Yes, out of anybody in UFC 48, even though his fight didn't even last one minute, Frank Mir, beside Verrissimo, looked most impressive. I mean this kid is big. 6 foot 4 inches and 250 pounds but deft and slick enough to do tricky moves like Omoplatta.

Come to think of it, Mir is the first American Jiu-jitsu fighter to become UFC heavyweight champion, so I think we can expect to see a lot of Jiu-jitsu technique in the heavyweight battle from now and that means judges must get used to seeing the champ on his back. And being on the back is not necessary a disadvantage. It's actually an advantage, a very comfortable position for many Jiu-jitsu fighters. You know, I thought everyone already knew this defensive theory by now, especially if you are going to judge MMA fights.

Well, hopefully, this new champ named Frank Mir is the one who is going to change the concept of MMA and the perceptions of judges in this country. Yes, I am hoping.