"I believe that UFC style events will continue to be popular for the next few years, but eventually will lose its following." Marchtaler told the Epoch Times. "When you look at demographics, MMA has a large following of males between the ages of 25 and 35—this group is part of the largest generation since the baby boomers. However, as these males become parents and age, they will naturally become less supportive of violence and the result will be a retreat from activities that contain it."
He also said:
"For the first time people saw one fighting discipline matched against another," Marchtaler explained to the Epoch Times. "A boxer against a wrestler, a Taekwondo champion against a grappler, the rules were limited, allowing for an opportunity for domination and blood and unfortunately, blood sells tickets."
"They've definitely become very popular in the last decade and many martial arts schools are scrambling to add MMA to their curriculums," Marchtaler said. "Mixed martial arts are found in all complete martial arts systems and when I say that, I mean genuine Shaolin Kung Fu, certain styles of Okinawa Karate, and Kempo."
And check out what this chump said: Mike Wilson..
'It's gotten so popular back home where I live and it's just like everybody, 'Oh, I'm a cage fighter. I'm a cage fighter.' And I'm like, 'If you're a real fighter, I want to see your butt up at 6 in the morning, putting in road work," super-heavyweight boxer and three-time national winner Mike Wilson told the Associated Press. "I mean, all these guys train and go to a gym once or twice a month and call themselves cage fighters. Boxing, you've got to be in top physical condition, mental condition. There's just so much more to it. It's an art. It's like a fine art. It's a chess match. It's a thinking man's game.?
