MMA facing opposition from top Republican candidates

So Senator John McCain (R-AZ) was one of the first big-name opponents to MMA, namely the UFC, branding it as 'human cockfighting'. McCain has challenged cable providers to stop offering UFC pay-per-views, and supposedly McCain has gone so far as to strong-arm the Arizona Boxing Commission into bullying and even shutting-down MMA shows in the state. In his own words, McCain claims that "ultimate fighting competitions are not legitimate sporting contests." As one of the frontrunners for the Republican Presidential nomination, McCain's opposition to MMA is of no small concern to those who are involved in the sport.

One of the interesting things about Senator McCain is that he is heavily entrenched with Anheuser-Busch. McCain famously involved himself in the Cardinal Tempe Stadium debacle, which led to Budweiser getting an exclusive sponsorship and advertising deal with the Arizona Cardinals. The distributor for AB just so happens to be the Hensley Company, chaired by Cindy Hensley McCain. Budweiser, as you well know, is one of boxing's biggest brands. But I'm sure this is all just a coincidence.

Well not to be outdone, Mike Huckabee (R-AR), relegated to being the other right-wing religious nut candidate beside talking mannequin Mitt Romney, has now also come out against MMA (once again misclassified as 'ultimate fighting'). Huckabee wants to ban the sport entirely. Now, hold on to your prayer beads, 'cause this one is a humdinger: who is the most visible and outspoken supporter of Huckabee for President? Chuck Norris. Yes, the Chuck Norris of Chuck Norris Facts fame.

Let me tell you a little about Norris, who I'm sure is in Huckabee's ear about the dreaded UFC:

Norris is a Machado Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a longtime practicioner of Tang Soo Do, a South Korean fighting art. He eventually took what he had learned and created Chun Kuk Do, which he promotes as a mixed martial arts style incorporating wrestling, jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, Muay-Thai, Shotokan Karate, and more. The black belts in Chun Kuk Do go up to tenth degree, and I'm sure you'll appreciate that the only 10th degree black belt in Chun Kuk Do, the martial art Norris created, is Norris himself. Naturally.

So if Norris himself promotes mixed martial arts, why in the hell is he getting into Huckabee's ear about killing the UFC?

Did I mention Norris has his own MMA promotion?

Politics are a dirty business, my boy.

Norris created the World Combat League in 2005. This is from the WCL press release:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Norris has organized the world's most experienced martial arts producers
to make the vision become reality. Chuck Norris, as the creative head, has joined
together a number of innovators to present the next major American sporting league,
and the next generation of martial arts combat entertainment.</div>

What more is there to say?