Mixed martial arts is here. It's the fastest growing sport in the United States today. Just look around. It's been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's covered on ESPN's SportsCenter. It's now in the Port Arthur News.

Do you remember the old days of the big boxing fight? Attending closed circuit television fights at the the Montagne Center? Getting the crew together to pitch in on the pay-per-view? The same fervor is happening today with mixed martial arts events.

There's no denying the popularity of MMA. MMA events commonly outsell professional wrestling and boxing events in pay per view dollars. It even competes with and sometimes outperforms mainstream sports like baseball and basketball in television viewership.

You can't talk about mixed martial arts without mentioning the NFL or MLB of the sport, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The commonly used term "ultimate fighting" is actually a brand name of the UFC.

The UFC is the dominant MMA organization in America and after its parent company's purchase of its Japanese rival, Pride Fighting Championships, it's by far the deepest and most talented MMA organization on the planet. Its bouts are held in an eight sided cage called "the Octagon", another brand name owned by the UFC.

For those of you new to the sport, allow me to explain what it's all about.

Over the past century, the preeminent combat sport in this country has been boxing. Some MMA detractors point to their preference for the sweet science, boxing.

Mixed martial arts IS boxing. It's also jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, the list goes on and on. Viewers often get to see a fighter more adept to fighting on the ground battle a fighter who hangs his hat on stand-up fighting. As a result, these clashing styles make MMA the most exciting and dynamic combat sport in the world today.

There are four ways for a fighter to win an MMA event.

• Knockout: One can knock out their opponent, ala boxing.

• Technical knockout: The referee can stop a fight when a fighter cannot intelligently defend" himself. This is key because it plays a crucial role in the safety of fighters.

• Submission: This occurs when a fighter forces his opponent to tap on the mat as if he were saying, "Uncle." The referee immediately stops the fight to prevent serious injury.

• Judges decision: UFC events have three 5-minute rounds for regular bouts and five 5-minute rounds for championship bouts. Like boxing, these fights are judged on a 10-point must system.

But is it safe? Thanks to the help of government regulation, MMA is statisically safer than boxing. No mixed martial artist has ever died in a sancationed MMA event, whereas boxing averages several fatalities a year.

There's several rules in MMA fights to prevent serious injury. There's the obvious ones like no biting, no eye gouging and no strikes to the groin.

Safety goes much deeper than that. Government regulation requires that a doctor be on hand to attend to fighters. Post-fight medical examinations are mandatory. Medical suspensions are handed out to make sure a fighter sits out for several weeks or months to heal any injuries properly.

There's no denying the sport's popularity. Why exactly is it so popular? Mixed martial arts is the simplest of sports. There's no ball, no sticks, it's just man vs. man. Like boxing and other combat sports, MMA is not for everyone.

Some critics dismiss the sport as barbaric. It's not. We've just finally figured out a way to test our human survival instincts and need for competition in a safe, civilized manner.

The next big UFC event is UFC 74 on Saturday, August 25th. Unlike boxing where there's one draw, UFC events have five to six fights that are intriguing.

UFC 74's main event is a heavyweight title fight. Randy "The Natural" Couture will face Gabriel Gonzaga, the man famous for using a high kick to clock Mirko Cro Cop, a Croatian anti-terrorist commando.

Other fights on next weekend's card include super athletic standup fighter, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre vs. super athletic former collegiate wrestler, Josh Koscheck. Two UFC lightweight contenders, Roger "El Matador" Huerta and Joe "Daddy" Stevenson will fight in separate bouts as they attempt to climb up the ladder to the championship.

At a recent UFC event my cousin smiled to me and said, "This is a man's soap opera." Yes indeed, however, I've seen more and more women get into it and love it.

You get to learn fighters' styles. You get to see the fighters' hurdles. It all culminates into the fights on a Saturday night.

Check back on this column weekly and tune in to the fights to catch all the drama and excitement of the Octagon.

David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at destrada@panews.com