Recently in Beijing Olympics Category

Ben Askren, a collegiate wrestling star at the University of Missouri and a 2008 Olympic competitor, will be making his debut in MMA next month, probably as a welterweight. Here's what his wikipedia entry says: "He is known for his incredible pinning ability (he holds the single-season NCAA pin record); his massive afro, and his "funky", or unorthodox, wrestling style." And here's the latest entry from Askren's Web site:

So if you haven't heard by now and you likely have I am debuting in the cage on February 7. I don't know who my opponent is yet, I just had one back out. I think we have another one locked in but nothing is for sure yet. The fights are on Feb 7 at the Holiday Inn Expo center in Columbia, MO.

I have been training very hard for my debut, my jiu jitsu is going to new levels and I keep getting better everyday. Great news is we now have a striking coach at ATTMO his name is Lucas Lopes and he is great so far. His English isn't the best but I am learning some Portugese and we communicate what we need to, plus Kiko helps with the language barrier.

Also fighting on the card are my BJJ coach Kiko France, Training Partner Zach Lenon, Former teammate at Mizzou Tyron Woodley and UFC Vet Din Thomas. If you want more info about that you can check www.headhunterevents.com

Ok, so the Olympics are about to start in China - who here is gonna watch?

*crickets*

Seriously, I might catch a few events, but all that talk about so-and-so is "poised to medal" and the emotional back-stories is a bit overwhelming ... and since when is the word "medal" a verb?

When you think about it, some of the major components of MMA are already at the games: wrestling, judo (throws and submissions), boxing and tae kwon do, which begs the question: is it really a stretch to just put those sports together and make a place for MMA at the Olympics?

Knowing the International Olympic Committee's stringent requirements for accepting sports into the games, I suspect not. It's too barbaric, they'll say, but really, isn't that how the games started, with armed and unarmed combat inside a coliseum, a blood-thirsty crowd and fights to the death?

Here's an excerpt from the pankration - the ancient Greek sport that uses throws, takedowns, strikes and submissions - entry at Wikipedia:

"In the lead-up to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, a modern non-nude version of pankration was tipped as being a new sport in the Olympiad, especially due to its being an event in the ancient games. However, its application was not approved. The International Olympic Committee was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new medal sports and pankration missed out."

My conclusion is that it's OK that MMA is not an Olympic sport, because - even though it's now on network TV and legal in many states - it still has that air of a fringe sport, which, I think, for me and many others, is part of its attraction. It's not for everyone. Not everyone can handle it. And that's fine - it will thrive without everyone's blessing - and they can go back to curling or badminton.

If you get the urge to talk Olympics, check out the York Daily Record's blog on the Olympics, called "The O-Zone", here.