..If your not a fan of the UFC..well, you better start reading about it if you want to gamble. It is rapidly becoming the hottest ticket in all of sports as evidenced by 7K buyers online for the Couture/Lidell fight. Here is an article describing the UFC's popularity and it's main stars. MrLasvegas69 and myself are big fans...we'll post our picks and thoughts and hope you all do the same. Welcome to the octagon fellas..there's money to be made....

Like it or not, UFC on verge of explosion

Story Tools: XML

Print Email Blog This

Dave Doyle / FOXSports.com

Posted: 17 hours ago

Once branded as human cockfighting and plagued by its own blood-soaked marketing, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the sport of mixed martial arts almost collapsed before it ever really got started.

The sport, a unique blend of wrestling, jiu-jitsu, boxing and kickboxing, was banned in much of the country in the late 1990s.

Also...

Boxing might be in trouble

What's it like being an Ultimate Fighter?

But through a combination of aggressive new ownership, sanctioning in pivotal states, and a hot cable television product featuring charismatic stars, UFC is undergoing a successful image remodel.

"We're not for everyone, and we don't try to be," UFC president Dana White said. "If you don't like fighting sports, great, this is America, that's your right. All we ask is that people understand what we are."

One thing is quickly becoming understood â€â€