Ten years ago, MMA was considered little more than a freak show. Boxing enthusiasts refused to even refer to it as a sport, and even those who inhabited the fairytale world of WWF looked on with a mixture of horror and distain.

Yet today, MMA is not just accepted, it is giving wrestling, and even boxing, a run for their money as one of the most high profile contact sports on the planet. Clever marketing, changing viewing patterns or a sign of the times? Let’s find out what, or who, has driven MMA’s success.

Conor Who?

It is impossible to talk about the rise of MMA without discussing its most famous and controversial character. When a sports star is loved and hated in equal measure, he is on the road to stardom. And when his name becomes synonymous with the sport, it is safe to say he has arrived there.

When Conor McGregor faced up to Floyd Mayweather last year, the fight itself was nothing to write home about. But the hype that surrounded it did more to cement the UFC’s most famous son, and by implication MMA itself, into the consciousness of sports fans worldwide than anything else.

Worldwide Appeal

Another factor that has played in MMA’s favor is the changing face of the sport’s fanbase. 21st century technology allows fight fans to stream bouts live, or to bet on the outcome via apps or websites such as www.leovegas.com. Today’s MMA followers are technologically savvy, and, dare we say it, more sophisticated than boxing and wrestling fans of old.

The UFC has transformed MMA from an unedifying free for all, in which a 600lb sumo wrestler might take on a 180lb karate black belt, into the slick, well-organized and most of all, well packaged sporting product that we see today.

Traditional Values With a Modern Twist

If the phrase “slick well packaged product” sounds like 21st century corporate speak, that should come as no surprise. Perhaps the biggest clue to MMA’s popularity lies in its ability to tap into our most primal instincts but in a way that appeals to today’s technologically advanced global society.

Dana White has become to UFC what Don King was to boxing, a comparison that was being drawn in certain quarters as long ago as 2010. And he is equally fond of a memorable soundbite. Whenever he’s asked to explain UFC’s popularity, he trots out the same old answer: “I don’t care what color you are, I don’t care what country you’re from; we’re all human beings and fighting’s in our DNA. We get it, and we like it.”

It might sound trite, but White has tapped into this universal appeal in a way that other sports have failed to do. As well as the online coverage and the live betting, there is the non-stop globetrotting roadshow that is UFC itself. From London to Moscow and from Rio to Vegas, UFC sells out venue after venue wherever it goes, gathering more followers and publicity along the way.