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Cage Rage

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Shortly after 6:00 p.m., Big John McCarthy ushered the two men center stage for the third and final round. Guida's facial features were barely distinguishable under the red mask that now seemed to engulf his entire face. The two tapped gloves, and they were off again: kicks to the head, whacks to the thigh, elbows to the body, punches to the face. Body shots. Takedowns. Sprawls. The final seconds ticked off and the buzzer sounded to mark the end of their fifteen-minute ordeal.

Neither man seemed to have the strength to raise his arms. But they waded into the center of the cage and, shoulder-to-shoulder, offered one another congratulatory words and grins. Awash in adrenaline, they embraced, patting each other heartily on the back.

Their fate now lay with the three judges. The referee made his way to the Octagon's center and took each of them by the wrist.

He waited. Silence washed over the arena.

"In a unanimous decision," the announcer boomed, "all three judges scored the bout 29 to 28, to the winner Din öDinyero' Thomas."

Head back, arms high in the air, a triumphant Thomas let out a victorious whoop. Grabbing the mike from standup comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan, Thomas beamed out at the audience, "What's up Fort Lauderdale? I'm back!"

Whistling loudly to show her appreciation from high up in the stands, 25-year-old New Yorker Nicole Fantanelle laughed, "This stuff is hardcore, I love it."

She confesses she hasn't watched many fights live. It's hard, she explains, because in her home state these bouts are illegal.

Twenty-two state authorities have sanctioned MMA fights to date, the most recent being California.

Just four months after its legalization there in December 2005, the sport's leading U.S brand staged California's first bout. More than 17,000 people packed the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, an attendance record for the venue. This past July, search engine Yahoo reported UFC was the second-most-searched topic, trailing only the World Cup. Tickets for the October 2006 live finale of The Ultimate Fighter at the Seminole Hard Rock sold out in 30 minutes.

And when legends Chuck Lidell and Tito Ortiz battled this past December before a sold-out crowd in Las Vegas, the $5.4 million gate was the largest in Nevada's MMA history.

Today, fights are broadcast in 160 different countries, and organizers plan to take the live events global within the next five years.

"I believe it's going to take over as the number one fight spectator sport, and boxing is going to take a back seat," says Trevor Cedar of the Miami Beach-based South Florida Boxing Gym. "People are sick of all the politics and bullshit and fixed fights in boxing, and they are also sick of not seeing the great fighters fight each other. The UFC is still in its infancy, so you get the best against the best.

"People in the higher echelons of boxing, like Don King and Angelo Dundee, don't understand UFC and don't like it, but once those guys start dwindling away boxing is going to be dead."

Yet compared to boxing, MMA's mainstream media coverage is sparse, with only a handful of newspapers dedicating writers to the sport. But slowly, things are changing. In recent months major broadcast media including MSNBC have expressed an interest in airing mixed martial arts events. HBO is in the process of hammering out a programming deal with the UFC.

Nonetheless, 28 states — including New York — still outlaw the sport. This past July FOX's conservative gab show host Bill O'Reilly alleged boxing played a role in Mohammed Ali's case of Parkinson's disease, then said mixed martial arts is even more dangerous because it allows kicks in addition to punching.

"O'Reilly's never going to get it," White laughs. "The bottom line is [MMA] is a lot safer than boxing."

Cedar concurs. "Boxers take a lot more damage, going through up to twelve rounds of head trauma," he says. "Since I moved to Miami in 1992 I could name four boxers in Miami alone who have died in sanctioned professional boxing fights."

No one has died in the Octagon. Numerous boxers have died in the ring. Hockey players have collapsed on the rink. And football players have collapsed on the field and never recovered.

"Honestly, I couldn't really give a shit who likes it and who doesn't," White adds, grinning. "The day will come when you'll see the UFC on ABC, or CBS, or NBC. Just watch!"

And American Top Team will likely be center stage.

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