Best way to start following MMA

[DueceDiggla]

This is for the guys who have asked, and I'm sure more will once the game drops.


I would say the easiest way is to first follow The Ultimate Fighter on Spike. Its on every Wednesday night. These guys aren't stars, but a lot of them end up sticking in the UFC after the show win or lose. There are a ton of former cast members still in the UFC and a lot of them are very successful.

You have to watch the PPVs whether it be live($44.95) or easily found on the net a few hours after the show is done. I usually have a bunch of people over and watch it, and then DL it the next day and re watch it sober.

The best way to get into it is to watch UFC Unleashed which is on Spike all the time. Its pretty much just a bunch of big name UFC fights or very exciting fights that have happened in the past. You can see a lot of the big name fighters if you watch UFC Unleashed. There is a marathon on Sunday and it usually airs before the Ultimate Fighter on Wednesday nights.

I've been following the sport for 5 years now and its by far my favorite sport and this is coming from a lifelong NFL and NBA fan.

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

to hell with 44.95, 5 dollar cover at the sports bar. Any Hooters or Fox and hound/bailey's carrys the fights.

[Scoop_Brady]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Don't forget the free WEC shows if you have the Vs. network and if you're fortunate enough to have HDNet they have a ton of MMA on. I can't wait until Uverse makes it's way out to me so I can switch from Comcast.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

I'm also working on a website that should hopefully be helpful to people interested in the UFC.

I won't say any more than that - but I'm working hard on it in my spare time and hoping to have something ready within a couple months.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

just go to www.sherdog.com

They cover MMA extensively, from UFC to K1 and the other organizations. Every PPV they have a live play by play forum. And they have a boat load of podcast interviews with fighters before and after an event.

[sven]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

to hell with 44.95, 5 dollar cover at the sports bar. Any Hooters or Fox and hound/bailey's carrys the fights.

Most Buffalo Wild Wings carry them too.

[Keith121212]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

just go to www.sherdog.com

They cover MMA extensively, from UFC to K1 and the other organizations. Every PPV they have a live play by play forum. And they have a boat load of podcast interviews with fighters before and after an event.

Just make sure you stay away from their forums. If you do decide to read them then don't take any of the opinions seriously. Their forums are full of idiocy.

[Jube3]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

I think the best way would probably be to catch The ultimate fighter 1 on dvd. That way you get introduced to a ton of current fighters and build a relationship with them like you would a sports team. Gives you 10-12 people to root for. TUF is probably the best way to get in imo.

[SHO]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Just make sure you stay away from their forums. If you do decide to read them then don't take any of the opinions seriously. Their forums are full of idiocy.

Not all of them are idiots - just 75% of them.

[boxboy99]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Yeah, I would suggest most the same stuff as wel

1. Watch TUF, I would find the first few seasons as they seem more relevant and setup more of the sports stars like Griffin, Evans, Jardine, etc.

2. Watch Old fights, like mentioned before Unleashed is a great way to watch those.

3. Sherdog.com I just read that articles now, seriously your head will spin with the stuff some of those idiots post in the forums. I don't even waste a second there anymore, it is that bad. Sherdog also has a fight finder which is awesome, you can look up pretty much anyone and see there fight history. It is handy when your trying to remember a fight that went down or get in a pissing match about who someone fought in the past. It is a great quick reference.

4. MMAWeekly.com there are ususally some decent articles on that site. I like the rumor section as it list all the upcoming fights, venues, dates, and matches months in advance and usually some before they are even announced.

5. HD Net - Inside MMA is on every Friday night at like 9 or 9:30 really good show that has 3 guest every week. They go over all kinds of MMA stuff. HD net also has tons of fights from other organization outside the UFC. Dream (which has had some great tourny fights), Road Victory Road, and other local/regional organizations.

6. Strikeforce puts on some excellent fights. Right now they are on Showtime and should be making an appearance on CBS by the fall of this year.

7. I don't know if they still show it on fox sports net, but they used to show they old pride fights on there like unleashed. Some of the best fighters/fights in the world came from pride FC which was bought by the UFC a couple years ago. I would watch pride 33 if one could find it somewhere, that was one of the best MMA events ever.

8. Check out a local show, I know there are tons all over now.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Yeah they stopped airing the old pride fights a year and a half ago on that channel.

[Weapon]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

I pretty much agree that The Ultimate Fighter is the best way to start getting into it. The Forrest/Rampage season is when I started watching it.

[allBthere]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

checking out the first 4 ufc's give some good perspective too. I remember watching them in my bud's basement when i was like 13 lol. notable early names - keith hackney, dan severn, royce gracie, pat smith, Ken Shamrock, Kimo, Oleg, and that cop who's name escapes me right now.

after those it got really lame for a long time, until coleman got ko'd w/ a headkick (what UFC was that, like 20 or something?) - then it morphed more into a balanced striking/grappling sport. That headkick changed everything imo, as did wide-spread training in a bit of wrestling/bjj even if just to defend against it.

[DJ]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Check out the Pride collection of DVD's and watch UFC Unleashed, read various MMA-themed websites (Sherdog, MMAWeekly, UFC.com, etc.)

[Brian_OS]

Re: Best way to start following MMA

Don't forget about Bully Beatdown on MTV .. That show rules..