Dave Meltzer At Y! Sports (Full Article)

The May 24 match between Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 from Las Vegas is among the most important matches of 2008.

Ortiz is a key component of a battle that ends with the last man left standing.

That battle isn’t in a ring or a cage, but a business war for supremacy of the mixed martial arts industry.

Ortiz is the biggest of a host of name fighters whose UFC contracts will be expiring at a time in which a slew of new rival promotions are in desperate need of big-name fighters.

For groups such as Elite XC, which debuts soon on CBS, and Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights, the key to challenging the UFC’s supremacy in the marketplace is having the right television exposure, the right stars, the right business sense and a degree of long-term planning and patience.

Only time can tell how big of an impact this will have. I do find myself coming to terms with the fact that the UFC is not the only MMA spot. There was definitely a time not too long ago when I would directly connect the two, MMA and the UFC. With the success of the show, ppv, and the impact Dana White has had on the industry, it is to be expected that other people would want to jump on the bandwagon and try to generate the kind of earnings that the UFC has been able to achieve.