Combat sports have been a mainstay in many cultures for hundreds of years, with forms of wrestling dating back to Ancient Greece and statues depicting forms of grappling in this time period. 

Despite this, boxing has become the most popular combat sport worldwide over time, with huge numbers watching fights such as George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali and, more recently, Floyd Mayweather vs Conor Mcgregor.

Big legacy fights, such as these, have cemented boxing as the dominant combat sport for many years, with boxing purists sometimes even refusing to acknowledge MMA as a real competitor.

However, there may be a change on the horizon with MMA seeing a sudden surge in popularity in recent years. And I, like many others, can see it becoming the biggest combat sport in the world very soon. 

MMA can owe its rise in popularity primarily to the UFC, which has become a global brand since their first event in 1993. The organisation has been home to some of the best combat athletes ever, including Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and is watched by millions every event. 

But other organisations like Cage Warriors and ONE Championship are also making waves in the combat scene, with many events drawing in big crowds in cities like London and Rome. A testament to the growth of this sport. 

The fact that even smaller MMA promotions can sell out arenas in huge cities shows to me that MMA is thriving, as smaller boxing events sometimes struggle to sell out shows in bigger arenas.

Many MMA fights consist of just three five-minute rounds, with only the main events or title fights having five rounds. This, for me, gives it an advantage over boxing, which has three-minute rounds, as it allows the action to stay consistent for a longer period of time. 

Lesser rounds also allow for earlier finishes in MMA as fighters know they have less time to grab the victory. In boxing, we often see fighters using the earlier rounds to grasp the style of their opponent, and therefore early stoppages are a rarity. 

Most boxing fights I watch now are dominated by holding, with referees splitting fighters up before they return to the clinch just a few punches later. Is that really what the fans want to see? 

This doesn’t happen in MMA, as the fighters can take the fight to the ground and will be constantly scrambling to obtain a dominant position. Also, if the referee feels like the fighters aren’t doing enough on the ground, they will stand them back up. 

My final point on the matter is the sheer number of titles and championships that exist in boxing sometimes diminish the value of the sport. In MMA, most promotions only have one champion per weight class, which increases the competitiveness of fights.

So, is boxing on the decline? 

No, but its reign as the top combat sport is coming to a swift end with MMA only getting bigger and better year by year.