(reposted from my journal, July 1st, 2007)

How it starts: two men enter a cage.

How it ends: one man's hand raised in victory.

This is not to say that participation in combat sports is limited to men only, but it is a fact that the vast majority of competitors (and fans) are male.

To the casual observer, these combat sports, called Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), seem nothing more than two men beating on each other until one quits or gets knocked out or the fight ends and the judges pick a winner. Frequently there's blood and knocked-out teeth, black eyes, split lips and and occasionally more serious injuries, such as broken bones or concussions. Man-on-man combat for sport has probably been around since we got together and formed our first communities; the UFC and other MMA organizations are just a modern rendition brought to the mainstream. They've evidently done something right. The UFC generated around $250 million in 2008 and is still growing. That's a lot of people watching. But why?

I can't speak for others, but I can for myself and the best answer I can give is is pretty simple: there's something compelling about seeing two men go at it until one quits or is unable to continue.

Despite my enjoyment of watching, I hesitate to call myself a fan. I don't memorize names and facts, records and measurements, or who holds what belt. I recognize the big names (most people do, another tribute to MMA's growing popularity), but my interest isn't the athletes, it's what they do. I envy the way these men put aside the restrictions of civilization and, for a few brief minutes, reduce (elevate?) themselves to their animalistic essence. I think this appeal is at the root of the the explosive growth of MMA fighting.

Inside every man is neolithic need to test oneself against another, to stand over that piece of meat at the cave entrance and defend it. We're animals, hardwired for survival after a million years of evolution. And survival, until recently, meant the violence of defending yourself, your shelter, your food and your mate and offspring against those who would take such from you or do harm to those you cared about. Armani suites, power ties, manicured nails, Axe Body Spray and feminism have not relieved us of this innate compulsion to go toe-to-toe and see who walks away.

We can deny it -- society demands that we do -- but that doesn't make it go away. I wager that even those men who decry and denounce combat sports feel their blood stir at the sight of it, and in the back of their mind is the question "what if...?"