Fighting to Stay Relevant
The world of MMA is fairly young compared to that of the bigger sports and with growth of the UFC and other promotions over the last decade the sport is going through decades of development in a matter of years.
The sport might be as big as it will ever get but that hasn’t stopped the sport from developing especially in the octagon.
In many of the big sports in North America, there was a slow development from guys who just played the sport and then went on with their lives to true professionals.
When many of the big leagues began athletes were just the guys that went to the field or the gym or the rink once or twice a week.
Working out wasn’t much of an issue and anyone who could make it simply had a natural ability that made them good.
As the leagues got bigger though more money came in and it created a demand for athletes who truly focused on being better.
Although there was always a factor of being naturally skilled the difference in making it and not was the work that athletes put in.
Over the last decade, the evolution of training and skill development has created a new generation of younger and younger athletes who can make an impact.
MMA has undergone all of this within two decades as when it started it was about who was brave enough to get into a ring.
With new training techniques and science, fighters have become true athletes while there are now more young fighters making an impact.
It is a strange evolution to see so quickly but an interesting one to watch as the generations of fighters are moving quickly.
It does make things a little more difficult though as veterans are being forced to keep up with the new rapid pace of evolution.
That can make once unbeatable fighters look very human as the old way of doing things begins to catch up to them.
There are those fighters who can evolve though and take on the new techniques to extend their time at the top of the UFC.
Two such fighters were looking to show that they still had plenty in the tank at UFC 240 as they took on younger promising fighters.
Cris Cyborg is the epitome of a living legend as she was widely considered the best female fighter in the world.
Although it took a whole for her to get to the UFC she continued to dominate in the biggest promotion.
Then she met the new best female fighter in the world and took her first loss in over a decade against Amanda Nunes.
At UFC 240 she was looking to show that the loss was a blip and that she still had plenty left but she was going to take on a 7-0 fighter who had just beat another star in Megan Anderson.
Felicia Spencer would put up a good fight taking some of the best shots from Cyborg and wearing the former champion out at the start.
Still, it wasn’t enough to get past Cyborg as the Brazilian just did more throughout the fight to take the unanimous decision win.
Now she will look to begin another win streak and hopes to get Nunes again to avenge her loss.
Another legend in the game stepped into the Octagon in the main event as Frankie Edgar looked to take his second UFC belt.
After becoming one of the best lightweights in the world it seemed as though the game had caught up to him.
He lost his belt to Benson Henderson and lost the rematch then dropped to featherweight only to lose to Jose Aldo in his debut.
It was essentially a sign that things were not going to be going well for the future of the veteran seemingly entering the latter part of his career.
He refocused though and after that loss to Aldo, he put together a five-fight win streak then beat Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez in some of his more recent fights.
He was set for a big challenge in Max Holloway who has established himself as one of the best ever at only 27 years old.
Edgar came into the fight looking to show that despite his time in the UFC he could still hang with the new generation while Holloway looked to take out one more legend on his path to clearing out one of the deepest divisions in the UFC.
Although Edgar showed plenty of fight, Holloway is clearly on a different level and has been for years.
He dominated the fight from start to finish taking the unanimous decision win and showing that he was the better fighter.
Edgar will still hang around but he might not get another shot at the title showing that his time might be done.
Although two different results the UFC displayed the development of the sport in Edmonton with some veterans showing that they are still ready to compete and some younger fighters showing the evolution of the sport.
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