We are petitioning ESPN to begin coverage of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. The sport itself has evolved greatly from its early beginnings and has earned the right to be covered and treated as any other sport. There are millions of fans (as the success of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV demonstrated) who are clamoring for the exciting athletes who entertain them. The only objections we have heard as to why there is no coverage of this sport is due to the violence inherent in it, yet Boxing and NASCAR, which generate a great deal of coverage on ESPN are far, far more dangerous sports resulting in numerous deaths throughout the years. To date there have been only two deaths in the whole of the MMA world, neither of which occurred in a sanctioned bout nor in North America or Japan (the two focal points of the sport). It also needs to be considered that one of these deaths occurred in the case of a fighter who was not cleared to fight in the U.S. due to medical reasons, who then went overseas to fight in a non-sanctioned event. The time has come for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts to gain the respect and coverage of ESPN and of the entire sports news media.

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