You've seen it on Pay-Per-View, Spike TV, and CBS. This weekend one of the fastest growing sports in the nation comes to the Triad and the LJVM Coliseum.
WINSTON-SALEM -- Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is one of the fastest growing sports on cable television, grossing more than $220 million for Pay-Per-View in 2006.
Now promoter James Hines says the Triad is hoping to cash in on the Mixed Martial Arts craze, a sport that combines boxing, wrestling and martial arts.
"It's not just big for [Winston-Salem], but it's big, people are talking about it from Burlington to Tennessee," Hines said.
Winston-Salem is hosting Ultimate Cage Fighting this weekend. It’s only the third MMA event in the state since North Carolina lifted its 14-year ban earlier this year.
Hines believes that ban was put in place because of concerns back then that the matches were too violent. That has changed in the 21st Century of MMA.
"It was no holds barred, meaning you come in, may the best man win. Now the rules are strictly enforced by a referee in the ring at all times," Hines said.
Muay Thai fighter Chris Clodfelter is an MMA fighter and says that his sport is just that -- a sport -- and is no different than other things people watch.
"This is just as much a sport as football or basketball," he said.
Sparring partner amateur MMA fighter Ryan Hayes said, "When it was banned, everyone just looked at it wrong. I think that everybody should try it and be able to try to compete."
Clodfelter and Hayes are headlining in this weekend's Pro-Am, an event they hope will help redeem the sport.
"I don't really look at it as you know I want to get in there and beat someone's head in... I look at it as an athletic competition," said Clodfelter.
"It's just like the old ABC Sports adage,” added Hines. "It's the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and I'll tell you one thing for certain, folks don't want to miss it this Saturday night in Winston."
"Mayhem in the Cage" Ultimate Cage Fights hits the Joel Coliseum Annex on Saturday. The first match begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $55.
UFC's Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk will also make an appearance.