5 reasons for the unprecedented growth of MMA in the world of combat sports

#2 Clever promotion and marketing

While the development of most sports is driven by the athletes and a governing body, MMA is essentially a media powered sport developed to appeal to mass audiences. The UFC has driven MMA into the mainstream, utilizing a proactive and aggressive strategy to cater the sport to new markets.

MMA follows the footsteps of boxing, promoting trash-talking between fighters to garner interest and publicize events. MMA is also marketed as the most brutal, challenging and raw form of combat between humans, making it sound like a huge spectacle to fight fans around the globe.

#1 The Mystic Mac

'The Notorious' Conor McGregor

They say no man can be bigger than a sport, but surely Conor McGregor will beg to disagree. The Irishman single-handedly brought the UFC and modern MMA on the map. The mercurial and outspoken McGregor, apart from being a fierce fighter and an incredible competitor, also knows how to draw crowds. Leave alone fights, even his press conferences run to packed houses.

When competing, McGregor mints money for himself as well as the organization which makes unbelievable pay per view numbers whenever his name flashes on the card. Hate him or love him, you just cannot ignore the first two-division world champion in UFC history. Such is his charisma; he was able to successfully transcend from MMA to boxing, managing to secure a multi-million dollar pay-day and a debut dance with one of Boxing’s greatest, Floyd Mayweather.

Fans are attracted to his cocky predictions on the outcomes of his fights and his much-famed trash talk as he tries to get inside the head of his opponents. Many liken him to the boxing legend Muhammad Ali because of his skills on the microphone while some compare him to Martial Art great Bruce Lee thanks to his unorthodox fighting style inspired by Bruce’s ‘Jeet Kun Do’ form of combat.