The future of combat sports

Editorial by Mac Little

The MMA scene has recently reached a new low with fans now questioning if there will ever be new fight-island style events again. New talent to come into the MMA gyms are few and far between. At the same time several lower level organizations has recently folded or changed ownership making it harder for young pro fighters to get experience and a chance to make their name in the cage. Young athletes today has begun turning to other sports.

One of those sports that has seen a resurgence is grappling. It is perhaps a sign of the changing times that the biggest tournament currently underway across all fighting sports is a grappling tournament. The Alfred Winterbottom Grappling Invitational. With an astounding 25 million cash prize and an advanced triple elimination structure it has got the attention of fighters as well as audience.

No one thought grappling could ever become a spectator sport but the format pioneered by Alfred has shown very succesful. Having Bas Rutten and George St. Pierre explainin and demonstrating moves like the berimbolo and crab ride for the audience helps in making the finer points of grappling more accessible.

The grappling scene is also very healthy outside of the big competitions. David Septim with his Stepping Stone Grappling has steadily been growing their ranks of upcoming grapplers and not long ago the annual TWGC championships drew a record attendance.

The trend is obivous, MMA was fun but is now quickly becoming a thing of the past with managers more and more reluctant to commit to new talent also because of bueracracy like the "400K rule". The future for combat sports seem to be grappling.

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