Herschel Walker at age 47 making his MMA debut this weekend on Strikeforce's Miami event on January 30, 2010. What's his reasoning to start at this age? Hmmmm...the desire to compete or perhaps caaaaching?

You know I don’t understand this and maybe someone can make light of this. MMA and more notably the UFC promotion is starting to make MMA more popular and making that turn towards mainstream popularity. Once an underground sport and something taboo and even considered ‘human cockfighting’ at one time by John McCain, it’s becoming more and more accepted. No question about it. You might have been used to seeing UFC clothing and Tapout clothing in stores like Spencers (you know the off the wall, risqué type of store in most malls) within the past couple years but now family oriented stores like Wal-Mart, and Kohls are carrying the same brands. MMA has become more of a business…a fad of some sorts…it’s riding high and only on the rise right?

As a fan, I’m glad to see there is more exposure to the sport. I can’t say I’ve been watching the UFC’s MMA very long…probably started in 2001 when a friend introduced some tapes of early UFC fights. All I remember during the early 1990s was they had these ‘extreme’ fights on pay-per-view, and it’s not like I had the money to order an event or really knew what it was about. Sure, I was into Tae Kwon Do during that time and always had a unique love and interest in martial arts in some way or another but doesn’t every guy who is active or into sports?

MMA has evolved so much and has brought several different styles of fighting to the table. You cannot be a successful fighter for long if you are one dimensional, and that is the true beauty of this sport. These athletes are true, smart, and are very strategic in their preparation for a fight.

So why am I rambling on about basically nothing?

I have grown to love this sport more and more as a fan and would hate for some promoter/promotion to ruin or scar the reputation of MMA in general because of money or ticket sales. Money talks and when a promotion has enough money to throw around in any business, here comes the circus and there goes the credibility of the sport that took years to build.

I love how the UFC is being run right now…I love how they match up their fighters and how they do not try to pad their ‘prize’ fighters’ records to make them appear even more dominant than they really are like some other promotions. (Although I was truly disappointed with Dana White and what they did with Kimbo Slice. I was pleased they gave him a shot in the Ultimate Fighter show but it sucked ass when they paired him up to fight Houston Alexander in the Finale show. I swear that fight was fixed in some way…maybe Alexander was paid extra to stand with Slice and not be his normal aggressive self. Ridiculous)

My points:

Herschel Walker, age 47—no MMA or fighting experience although he has a 6th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Still at age 47 and no exposure to this level of fighting makes it hard for me to believe this is still a good idea. It's all about the name on the card and not the quality of the fighter right Strikeforce?

Jean Claude Van Damme, age 49—hasn’t fought in a tournament in over 30 years...come on man...stick to the 'straight to DVD' movies

Bobby Lashley, WWE/TNA wrestling star with Div II or III amateur wrestling background trying to follow in Brock Lesnar’s footsteps. Dude is making MMA into a joke by continuing with pro wrestling while training part-time in MMA. Signs with Strikeforce and they look for the easiest, biggest joke of an opponent to make him look like a force in their promotion. (Wes Sims) I'm looking forward to seeing Lashley grow as a fighter and he has potential to be great...I just hate seeing them pin 'Glass Joes' in front of him instead of really challenging him.

James Toney, age 41—former boxer and has never fought in a MMA style match. All of a sudden wants to get involved with MMA but start with a bigger promotion for ‘you guessed it’ money.

Ricard Mayorga, age 36--former boxer.

Shannon Briggs, age 39--former boxer trying his hand in MMA too.

(While Briggs and Mayorga aren't ancient in terms of age in MMA, they might have a better shot and timeframe to add to their boxing skills to be a more well rounded fighter)

Biggest jokes this far that I can remember are ex NFL'er Johnny Morton and former MLB Juice-head Jose Canseco at age 45 try their half-ass attempt at MMA. Morton gets knocked out in 38 seconds of his first fight. Canseco with zero fighting experience fights on a DREAM card and basically quits. See for yourself here:

Can I really blame the participants? Not really…these promotions think we fans are idiots. I will not pay $50+ for a pay-per-view event to see a first time fighter in his late 40s make a mockery of this sport just because he is/was a big name at one time in their career. If they want some reclaim to fame, just send them on Dancing with the Stars, Surreal Life, or some reality TV show that attempts to resurrect ‘has been’ celebrities. Who's next to make a half-ass attempt at MMA? I'm sure K1, DREAM, or even Strikeforce will sign them.

Ok, I’m done…Anyone else unhappy with the direction that MMA is going at least a little?

Thoughts?

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