www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/sports/othersports/06fight.htmlBRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU IN THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWSPAPER
A Sport Out on the Edge Takes Aim at the Mainstream
In the primal pursuit known as mixed martial arts, Renzo Gracie may be the closest thing to a philosopher one will find.
To Gracie, everything in life can be likened to a fight, which is why, if he had his way, there would be no rules, no restrictions and no holds barred. It would be two men going at each other with bare feet and bare knuckles.
But Gracie is also a realist. He is 40, and as one of the pioneers of the sport, he has watched mixed martial arts grow from an underground phenomenon condemned by critics like Senator John McCain to a potent moneymaker. And he recognizes that for it to reach an audience beyond its base of 18- to 34-year-old men, and for it to attract sponsors and more lucrative television deals, it must continue to make certain compromises.
“Everything is an evolution,” he said.
And so, a few blocks from the sparse basement gym that bears his name, an odd congregation of businessmen and professionals is seeking to pull the sport even further toward the mainstream. Led by Gareb Shamus, who made his fortune in comic books and collectibles, the International Fight League has introduced several twists to make mixed martial arts more palatable. It has outlawed elbows to the head and face to try to minimize bleeding and injury. It has shortened the length of the three rounds to four minutes from five, and — largely to make advertisers and international audiences more comfortable — it is holding fights in a ring instead of a cage.
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