“I hear MMA’s opposition speak out as much as anybody. My wife and my mother cringe every time I bring up an MMA issue — heck, I can’t help but occasionally look away while watching a lopsided exchange from ringside.
But fight fans are packing it in, whether it’s in a UFC venue in downtown Las Vegas, at a midsized arena like the MetroCentre or in a small corner of Loves Park, like during Saturday night’s show at All Starz. And though cynics will still say it’s just a bunch of savages promoting violence, there are now plenty of men and women, doctors and teachers, who will stick up for their MMA brethren.”
— Jay Taft, who argues in The Rockford Registar Star that with the growth of the sport comes a more diverse and complex audience at home watching and at live local events. There isn’t much hard data on this yet, but I suspect he’s right.