The rise in Mixed Martial Arts or MMA (as it is referred to worldwide) popularity grew exponentially in the previous decade. The advent of social media made it possible for the sport to penetrate and tap into never before reached segments of the populace.

It instantaneously widened the scope of viewership, with the help of some brave and extremely intelligent marketing and promotion strategies adopted by the stakeholders. The sport is now a household in almost every home in the USA and its following across the globe has never been bigger.

Friendly MMA battle interrupted

This increase in market size meant that a whole new demographic was introduced to the sport, young adolescents. Social media has brought the world closer together and given young kids access to information and data on a real time basis, non-stop. That has translated into an apparent craze for the sport, the sport personalities, their behavior and fighting styles.

A viral video showed the moment two young boys in the school were battling it out, MMA style for supremacy and stature. Both the boys busted out some professional maneuvers and displayed great fighting skills for their age. It was not a casual violent school fight but two young boys engaged in a MMA style, friendly battle to test their skills and strength.

One of the boys tackled the other to the floor and continued laying punches but a referee from the crowd (girl in the audience) walked in and separated the duo. She asked the boy to respect the rules and not play rough.

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Is the sport gender sensitive?

The clip was a great reminder of how the craze of MMA has taken over the minds of the young and showed the future of sports in the United States of America and the direction it will take.

The girl in the clip was quick on her feet, showed dominance and asserted her stance sternly. The boy had no choice but to back down and withdraw from pinning the other to the floor. Although the main characters of the video were the two boys, the little girl stole the show.

Her tough demeanor and firm attitude once again raised the question of the lack of female referees in the sport. The stakeholders promised a few years ago to make the sport more diverse and open to women. Registering a larger pool of female referees and giving them a platform to prove themselves will be a step in the right direction.

As of now, there are only a handful of female referees in the sport, the most famous one being Kim Winslow.

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