In 1775, Paul Revere let the colonials know that the British were coming.  It marked the beginning of our fight for freedom.  Now we have another fight ahead of us.  The UK and USA face off once again in the realm of MMA.

The new season of The Ultimate Fighter will begin April first.  This year is the first time two nations will face one another.  It is already shaping up to be an awesome season.

To start, the coaches are two excellent trainers and fighters.  Michael Bisping is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter and is very exciting to watch with his Muay Thai style.  In fact, he (almost single-handedly) put MMA on the map for the UK.  The coach for the USA is no slouch.  Dan Henderson is a well rounded fighter known for his toughness and wrestling skills.  He is a veteran of the Octagon and has much to offer his team.

The season will begin with the thinning of the herd.  Each country will offer sixteen fighters, and they will have fight each other.  The losers go home and the winning eight stay to play.  All the training and fights will take place in Las Vegas.  This season will be especially interesting.  Not only are the fighters fighting for a six-figure contract, they have the pride of a nation resting on their gloves.

My hope is that because of the attention this season will draw, the fighters will be ambassadors of their nations and for martial arts as a whole.  Martial artists are traditionally disciplined and very humble.  Past seasons have not exemplified this spirit in the home of the fighters.

I know the ratings are boosted when viewers are expecting the teams to act like idiots, but as an American and martial artist I am hopeful.  I guess Paul Revere would say, “One by land, two by sea, armbar in Octagon”

Does anyone else share the same feelings as I do?  What is more important: a great season or being ambassadors of the sport?

Lastly, go team USA.  Make it an All-American championship.

Tweet This Post