I recently watched 'Iron Fist' for the first time and as a Black Man first, hardcore MMA fan second was appalled by BET putting this "garbage" on the air... mostly Black MMA fighters without a clue, Black coaches without a clue, and a bunch of rappers that did a lot of smack talking, but also were ignorant to the sport of MMA.  My initial reaction was one of shock and anger because WE as people and MMA as a sport had done so much to come so far and this was and obvious setback and embarrassment to both. But after I got over that and started thinking, this is what I believe and hope is going on:This show was an attempt to be the first to introduce MMA to a certain demographic(under 30yr old black folks) and cash in on the MMA phenomenon.

  The producers thought that by injecting hip hop artists they would be able to draw the interest of the audience they were looking for. By looking at the majority of the posts in this blog it obviously worked.  Most of these posters are obviously new to MMA (LOL at "Mayweather will beat Shonie Carter") which is actually good for the sport because now people that otherwise would have not taken any interest in MMA have had their first taste of it(despite lack of quality that the hardcore fan looks for).  The goal here is similar to that of 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality series: reality TV was hot when that show started and the powers that be at UFC capitalized on this by combining their sport with reality TV which widened their fan base exponentially.  The decision to air that series is a major reason why the sport is so popular today.  The creators of 'Iron Ring' are hoping that this show creates the same buzz in their target demographic.  So my message to hardcore MMA fans is give them a break, because yes there are noobs to the sport as you once were, it took this show for some to ever see MMA, and hopefully they will become more seasoned fans now that their interest has been piqued.  My message to the new fans is if you really like what you've seen thus far there is higher quality MMA out there that will have you hooked on this sport for life and all you have to do is use the internet to see some events (TV, PPV, and even live).  My message to the producers is that if there is another season profile better fighters (I know the WOW! factor of watching a wannabe get knocked out is entertaining though), find more seasoned MMA coaches (any MMA coach that believes standing  toe to toe throwing haymakers is all the sport is about and any form of grappling is taboo needs to stay as far away from young fighters as we can keep them), and finally its ok to use hip hop artists but do us all a favor and actually interview them for the show to make sure that they are at least knowledgeable about the sport (there are artists that are true fans/historians of the sport)... the current "stars" have put out some decent music but they don't know jack about MMA (T.I. claiming that the guillotine choke is his signature move and his preferred fighting style on the "street" was his use of submissions is a joke)