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Saw this on Sky News here in the UK and in fact it is currently the main news headline. A story that apparently children as young as 8 are being allowed to take part in cage fighting in front of large crowds of adults who have paid to see them. If you look at the video you will see people cheering on the children whose faces have been pixelated and who are of course fighting in a cage without any sort of protective gear

Of course if any of these journalists would have bothered to actually watch the videos a little closer they would see these children are really just grappling and are not striking at all. Therefore eliminating the need for protective gear. Children can go to ju-jitsu classes at that age, yet as soon as it is inside a cage it is "cage fighting." The British Medical Council has of course slammed this activity which is not surprising since they have a long history of spite for MMA

This story is spreading like wildfire across the UK media which is pretty laughable when it is essentially a non-story. The police have said they will do nothing since it isn't illegal yet there is a huge outcry in the media. I think this shows how clueless some people are about MMA and how the long-term prejudice against the sport among the media still remains in Britain. I think it will be a long time before MMA is remotely mainstream in the UK, which goes without saying perhaps

This is my first fanpost, and I thought of this after reading an article on Cagepotato relating to Jay Hieron and how he has signed a deal with EA.The following quote from the article got me thinking

"I couldn't turn down an opportunity to fight for a title shot," Hieron told FanHouse. "I had other offers on the table and with the UFC. I just signed a video game deal that I was obligated to [and] I couldn't get out of it. … UFC stepped up the offer for me. It was a great offer, but again, I signed a deal with EA Sports. I was definitely surprised and I was ready to go back to the UFC. I got a great opportunity with Strikeforce, though, and I'm excited to fight for a title"

If many non-UFC fighters are signing with EA, how will this affect the Affliction collapse? It appears Jay Hieron went to Strikeforce due to his commitment to EA, but the fact that the UFC made him an offer despite his status with EA is interesting. It appears he has a binding agreement with EA, but the UFC still offered him a deal, so perhaps there is a way out for these fighters

via xtremecouture.files.wordpress.com

It is probable that some fighters who are signed with EA are going to the UFC, which of course signed a deal with THQ. This brings up the possibility that the UFC will be promoting EA fighters, which would make THQ very unhappy. How will this work out? Can these guys get out of the EA game now they're with the UFC? Will EA sue these fighters? With the UFC signing a long term deal with THQ it is perhaps worrying for them that their rival game will in effect be promoted by the UFC. It remains unclear how this wil be remedied