If someone had predicted 10 years ago that in 2020 China and Kyrgyzstan would be home to Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholders at the same time and that Nigerians would hold the same number of championships as fighters from Brazil and the United States, you probably would have called them a lunatic. Yet that is the situation in which mixed martial arts finds itself.
MMA’s global spread has drawn new athletes to the sport while increasing the depth and quality of its talent pool. As a result, champions are finding it increasingly difficult to stay in power.