Never thought I'd say this, but I like MMA

I've been around wrestling for as long as I can remember. Like many in the sport, I followed my older brother around to meets and then started wrestling myself. I've managed to stay involved for at least 25 years in one form or another. Loved watching IPTV meets and the IHSAA tournaments, listening to the voices of Doug Brown and Tim Johnson.I love boxing. Something about the "Sweet Science." Watching fights on TV was a regular occurrence. I still remember where I was when I heard Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinx (Driving home with Jim Zachar from a junior high pool party in Marion, BTW). I can do without Larry Mechant, however, I could listen to Bert Sugar's raspy voice as he waves around his cigar any day.Both are or have seen a decline in popularity the last few decades. Boxing has taken a bigger hit and without any real star power in the ring, things don't seem to be changing. In comparison, it seems Mixed Martial Arts, which contains elements of both of those sports, is soaring right now.I watched UFC 100, pitting former University of Minnesota NCAA Division I national champion Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Good luck finding a table at the Buffalo Wild Wings, or any of the establishments carrying the pay-per-view event we called, that night. That was something I never thought I'd really get behind outside of watching it with friends in a dorm room and then mimicking the action in the same cramped space as furniture was knocked over and things were broken by a flailing appendage. UFC has legitimized and regulated its sport and their PPVs are hot tickets viewed by millions. They've found a way to expand and grow through PPVs instead of cutting off its fan base, which led to much of boxing's decline.Now I've seen national and local shows on TV. I've listened to athletes, yes athletes, talk about their training and competition in the "cage" or octagon. Over time I've come to accept it.I think one of the selling points is it has now become a venue for wrestlers after their folkstyle/freestyle/Greco-Roman careers are over. We've all known for years the toughest people around are wrestlers, right? They certainly are proving it.I've see former prep wrestlers succeed. A Cedar Rapids Washington wrestling teammate, Jon Strawn, had done well locally. I watched Eric Daughetee of Dubuque, a former Hempstead heavyweight, score a knockout in an MMA show in the area. Obviously, the name Jesse Lennox comes to mind. Lennox, a native of Coggon, who wrestled for North-Linn, has ascended the ranks, training with Miletich Fighting Systems in Davenport and winning his UFC debut with a TKO of Brazillian Danillo Villefort at UFC 101: Declaration in Philadelphia. (Personal note: Lennox trains with Jason Black, a former All-American wrestler Buena Vista, who I was teammates with for a couple years. Glad "Blackie" is still competing).Lisbon's Zach Light, and cousin to University of Iowa Hawkeye wrestler Dylan Carew, has carved a niche as an internationally renown trainer and fighter. Light, a two-time state champion in the Lions' heyday, was in the corner of Rampage Jackson at one time. He might still be. I know Light has an upcoming fight against former Mizzou two-time All-American Tyron Woodley on Sept. 25.Light, known as the Lisbon Outlaw, won't be the only Iowan on the card of the STRIKEFORCE Challengers show at Tulsa, Okla. Former Hawkeye Paul Bradley is expected to have a bout as well.I certainly not an expert in UFC fanaticism. I'm a fledgling follower. Some of the names that stand out are Lesnar, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Johnny Hendricks, Kevin Randleman, Max Askren is fighting and winning. All I have to say is "Fear the Fro." Former Hawkeye wrestler and Augustana (Ill.) head wrestling coach Eric Juergens has been associated with MMA, as well.I guess my hope is that it leads to more exposure for wrestling. Not everyone will be able to compete internationally, so why not dominate the landscape of a sport that is forming a mass audience. These fighters with wrestling backgrounds are providing a lot of promotion, whether wrestling purists like it or not. Anyway you can bring kids in to the sport and allow it to thrive works, as long as those who begin wrestling adhere to the discipline and sacrifice the sport demands. That's cool even if their intentions are to fight after high school and college instead of competing in World Cups and Olympics.I've slowly come around. If MMA/UFC helps bring athletes into wrestling, even if they are just learning the fundamentals for some other endeavor, then so be it. If they're willing to put in the work and stick with it until their competition days are through (essentially staying loyal to wrestling and not abandoning it when they've learned enough), we should welcome them and the catalyst to what attracted them to wrestling.I just never thought I'd be saying that.