I am obsessed with MMA, so obviously I'm biased, but if anyone wants to claim that MMA is a half-breed sport, go check out the Tyson Griffin vs. Frankie Edgar fight, Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia, or Din Thomas vs. that new guy (Stevens?), and you will see the future of MMA. There is no half-breeding. These guys are tremendous athletes who flow from art to art with beauty and precision.
Watch Thomas' right hook to a double leg in which he dropped just below his opponents text book perfect counter. I screamed in delight when it happened, and the other eight guys in the room looked at me as if I were insane b/c they did not comprehend what they had just witnessed. I think there is a gif of it somewhere. I'll try to find it.
The Edgar vs. Griffin fight was possibly the best fight of 07. There was no flashy knockout, just 3 full rounds of beautiful striking highlighted by seamless transitions to wrestling, and once on the mat, a jiu-jitsu war. Half breed my donkey!
Jay, I don't say this to be rude; I say it to clarify what I did not yet comprehend one year ago. I think to really appreciate MMA, one needs to train, or at least become educated about it, b/c the beauty is in the subtleties.