MMA in the Future: Just Where Is This Sport Headed?

Like all sports, MMA will continue to evolve and athletes will be changing what they do.  Today, MMA is merely a mixture of kickboxing and grappling, but that will change.  Eventually fights will become extraordinary displays of martial abilities that no other sport has ever seen.

These changes will start when MMA becomes more popular—when MMA becomes a huge hit like boxing was back in the day.  This will spur younger generations to start learning how to fight in MMA bouts at a much earlier age.

Fighters will then have a lifetime of experience in learning MMA, as opposed to, say, three to five years.  A major problem with today's fighters is that most of them are in their late 20s or 30s. This is too late in a person's life to be devoting time to something so new and difficult to pull off.  

Starting at a younger age will give fighters time to learn the basics and later perfect moves and techniques that have never been seen in a ring.  Fighters will be performing attacks that were once seen as too showy or ineffective to actually work in a real match.

I am not talking just kicks and new punches, but submissions and take downs will be completely revolutionized.  Flying arm bars, or just instant submissions that happen as soon as a fighter hits the ground.  

Ground and pound will be revolutionized also.  With opponents flat on the floor, pressure points and other sensitive areas on the body will be wide open for strikes to cause opponents extreme pain and this could potentially end a fight.

Not to sound cheesy, but I believe that eventually fighters will get so good at martial arts that fights will actually look like the exciting Kung Fu movies we love to watch.  We will have fighters who have trained in martial arts their entire lives, and not just in Muay Thai, BJJ, and wrestling, but in several styles mastering at least five to seven different martial art styles.

This sport has a lot of room to grow. I am not saying these changes will be instant, but I think this is exactly where this sport is heading.