Ultimate Hose Job and Matt Hamill

Watched the fight from London the other night featuring the Brit Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill, the Loveland guy who made his mark as a world-class wrestler. It was a joke.

If mixed martial arts intends to go mainstream -- if its goal is to broaden its fan base beyond testosterone-fueled, quasi-adolescents and the 18-35 male demographic -- it needs to judge its bouts with a whole lot more credibility than it judged this one.

Three rounds, 5 mins apiece... Hamill dominated Round 1, won Round 2 and broke even in Round 3... yet the three wise guys judging the farce saw it as a split decision in favor of the local, Bisping. No wonder... Hamill comes into the arena to a chorus of "Born in The USA'' and boos from the crowd... Bisping is cheered so loudly, my TV shook. When it was over, the fans cheered Hamill, partly because they knew the result was idiotic and felt sorry for him. Hamill, to his credit, handled it well, saying Bisping "won fair and square.''

Uh, not exactly.

I wasnt a huge MMA fan going in, but because I know Matt, I had a rooting interest. After the decision, I'm still a fan of Matt. The "sport'' remains on the outside, looking in.