The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an organization that promotes Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition. No matter what their fighting styles or disciplines -- wrestlers, boxers, kickboxers or jiu-jitsu -- fighters enter the Octagon and test their skills against other fighters.

Starting with the UFC's inaugural tournament in 1993, I followed the early events and enjoyed them. However, all the events were on pay-per-view, and some cable systems wouldn't even carry the UFC, so after a while it got difficult to keep track of, and I eventually lost interest.

Recently, the UFC debuted a new reality show and other events on Spike TV, and I definitely regained my interest in the promotion, which extended into even buying some pay-per-view events.

The reason I find the UFC more appealing than boxing is because it seems less arbitrary. If there is going to be an athletic competition in which two guys fight against each other, then let's not limit things. The fighters should not only be allowed to strike with their hands, but also with their feet, knees, elbows, etc., and to utilize takedowns and ground skills. They should be able to knock their opponent out or make him submit.

While the referee in a boxing match or an MMA bout should always remind the fighters to keep working, the referee in a boxing match often injects himself to disrupt clinching or to remove a fighter from the ropes. The referee in the UFC leaves the situation alone, allowing the fight to reach its conclusion uninterrupted.

A lot of people say the UFC is brutal and barbaric, but I disagree. The fights are not "anything goes," as some might have you believe. As in boxing, certain maneuvers, such as headbutts, eye gouges and groin shots, among others, are outlawed. More importantly, no fighter has died as a direct result of a sanctioned MMA bout in America. The same cannot be said for boxing.

In a UFC bout, if a fighter is not defending himself and is getting pummeled by his opponent, the fight is ended, and the aggressor is awarded a TKO victory. Conversely, in a boxing match, if a fighter is knocked down and then gets up, he is administered a standing eight count by the referee, and then re-enters the fray to potentially get his brains beat in some more.

No one should doubt the athletic ability of the fighters in the Octagon either. UFC fighters are the best in the world, and it is obvious from looking at them that they are supremely conditioned athletes.

Light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, top contender Randy Couture, and welterweight champion Matt Hughes are all former collegiate wrestlers, and Liddell is also a former national kickboxing champion. Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is a former World Sambo Champion. These guys are anything but no-talent hacks and barroom brawlers.

Having penetrated the cable --TV market, the UFC is moving toward the mainstream of the sports world, where it should be recognized as a mainstream sport, as boxing has been so recognized for well over a century.

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is certainly no more disorganized than boxing is today, and I have little doubt that the UFC's newfound publicity will yield big results. Many new fans will be drawn in, as I have been, to the most entertaining and ultimate combat sport in the world today.