Every third Monday of January we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. We celebrate his work in the world and honor him for what he inspired and accomplished. He hoped for a world that would not judge a person by a mere physical feature or heritage, but rather as a member of society as a whole.

Do the theories of Dr. Martin Luther King, and his message reflect in the mosaic that is mixed martial arts? It is possible to draw a comparison.

If we look at the history of MMA and its evolution, we can see some very striking resemblances between Dr. King's message and how mixed martial arts has become the fastest growing sport in the world.

In the beginning, it was hailed as nothing more than barbaric cage fighting. Nothing more than modern Roman gladiators pounding each other into oblivion. No rules or regulations, just fighting for the sheer sake of fighting.

This was the general consensus concerning MMA. The media discouraged people from watching. Politicians fought it with bills and amendments. Even other athletes called the sport into question and shied away from it. Nobody gave it a chance.

So at first, MMA had to find its niche in modern athletic society. It wouldn't be main stream like boxing or sports-entertainment yet, but it wouldn't condone the tearing off of ears like Rugby would either. It was somewhere in between.

It was athleticism at its purest. It was a mixture of the world's finest competitors, utilizing their respective skill to ensure victory for themselves. But some changes were necessary. Gloves were instituted. Outfits were cut back for traditional shorts. Shoes were removed. New rules were enforced. The sport had to adapt to become relevant to the general public.

When the UFC was bought out by Zuffa in 2001, Dana White was quoted as saying, “I want this sport to be the biggest in the world.” By the time The Ultimate Fighter was broadcast on Spike TV, in 2005, MMA was in dire straights. They needed something big to finally get them that exposure they so desperately needed.

And thankfully, the TUF Finale delivered just that. In what is hailed as the greatest fight in UFC history, both Stephen Bonnar and Forrest Griffin showcased what MMA was all about in a three round war. There were no losers on that night. Only winners. The UFC, the fans, the fighters, the world.

Since then, MMA has begun to permeate the very fabric of our culture. Walkout T-shirts and other forms of MMA apparel are the norm among people today. When questioned, 8 out of 10 people will tell you they watch MMA on a regular basis. The other two have heard of it, but “haven't had the chance to sit down and watch it”.

We are without a doubt living in the golden years of MMA. And what's better is the future has never been brighter for the sport and the fighters.

In regards to the fighters, they themselves have gone through a lot to become accepted in the sport as well. At the time of its inception, MMA was thought of a mixture of boxing & kick-boxing without set rules. Pretty much considered a standup sport.

Wrong. At UFC 1, Royce Gracie showed the world that while every MMA fight begins standing up, 80% of them go to the ground. And it was here that MMA truly highlights what makes the sport so great.

It's not about who the best striker is. It's not about who the best jiu-jitsu practitioner is. It's about who can combine every aspect in their arsenal to be the absolute best in the world. You mention someone like Anderson Silva as the best. Why does he deserve this honor? Because it doesn't matter where the fight goes, he is skilled in every piece of the puzzle that makes up a Mixed Martial Artist.

In its hayday, most people believed that you needed either one or the other to be successful in MMA and while a part of this is true (see Dan Severn, “Tank” Abbott, Royce Gracie), it has been those that bring multiple facets to the table that have been the most successful.

You can't be a great striker if you have no wrestling defense. On the same note, you can't be a submission specialist on the ground, if you can't weather a storm of punches and shoot for a take down. You need it all!

And it took a while for fighters to understand that in order to be tremendously successful, you needed to be able to train in every discipline. Chuck Liddell was a great striker, who had some of the best take down defense ever. Matt Hughes could grind out on the ground, but could also knock you senseless while standing up.

Guys like George St. Pierre evolved and brought new training techniques into the game. While they were considered hair-brained and unusual, they worked. And since then, a Mixed Martial Artist is truly that; skilled in all aspects of fighting.

And training techniques aren't the only thing that have changed over time. The fighters have changed as well. If you look at today's top fighters, you will see very different people than 15 years ago. No longer does race, color, creed, religion, or even sex matter.

No longer will we look at a fighter and say he or she can't succeed based off of whatever their heritage is. Their background, as far as beliefs and personal ideals go, is irrelevant. Whatever a person's skin color is, has no effect on whether they will be able to cinch in an omoplata.

All that matters now is, what they do when that bell rings. And that's all should have ever mattered.

So, does the message of Dr. King reflect in MMA? It is through time and acceptance of new ideals, thoughts, training habits, and an open mind that we, the fight community, have become a part of the greatest sport on this planet.

And all of us have one goal in mind; to make MMA the biggest sport there is.

A good friend of mine likes to say, “We may not all walk the same path, but we all have the same goal.” He has never been more right.

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