Great points guys! I see Nephilim's point and agree a little (just like I did with ThaiGuy) but I can't fully embrace it. The sport is changing and reaching more people every day. That being said it's only a matter of time before we have a unified rule set (like I suggested 10 posts ago and Nephilim reiterated). The fact that the MOST prestigious boxing sanction body, the WBC, now includes MT is a HUGE step and a sign that change is coming. All that being said, MT has had a VERY slow development mainly because of lack of interest and the biggest sin of all...poor marketing. Westerners (especially we Americans) need to have shit gift wrapped and neatly presented to us with lots of bells and whistles with smokes and mirrors in order for us to embrace anything. I remember a few years back (before I was banned) how I made the same point I'm going to repeat now...MT will never be as big as MMA because MMA has better marketing and more mass appeal. MMA is sexy, from the ring card girls, to the brutality, the music and trash talking to yes, even the fighters (no homo). You don't see any of that in MT. Yeah there are some shows like 'SuperLeague' (if that even exists anymore), 'Its Showtime' and K1 to name a few that have hot chicks and some corny dancing girls in between rounds, but even that feels contrived and robotic. It just doesn't flow with the MT culture and more important it’s NOT MT. Most MT fighters are humble and don't really like to trash talk and the fights have a build up that's as quiet as a catholic mass (I should know I’m a bad catholic). Coupled with the fact that MT in general has this spiritual/ancestral/ritualistic/tradition laden feel that most people don’t care for and will never accept. That is, unless they do as my friend AndyC said and they take the time to learn more about the sport and its nuances. But AndyC (and me included) are rare creatures, we actually take the time to learn about something and all its nuances in order to fully appreciate it because our appreciation and curiosity runs a lot deeper than the layman (I won’t bother mentioning fighters in this group of enlightened fans because its obvious the fighters embrace all aspects of MT). In the end, all these little details make MT too boring and unappealing to the mindless drones that outnumber all of ‘US’ the smart people and the MT community. Face it people, the world in 70% idiot and 30% smart and the idiots are out breeding us. That being said we need to package MT like a happy meal if it is ever to gain any real exposure.
K1 has done a great job of marketing MT but K1 rules are not MT but it’s the best middle ground available for now. MMA is good for MT because it is a core requirement to be a good MMA fighter along with BJJ (which is actually a lot more important). Taking all that in mind, the MT purists need to swallow their pride and accept the watering down or complete removal of MT tradition and spirituality or sit quietly and watch MT remain in its infancy (on the global scale) and eventually fade out of the media as whole.
Until MT can find marketing scheme that is high octane, brutal, trash talk filled, and ego-maniacal fighter dominated with lots of Tits and ass to boot, the fans will not come and as a result the money will not flow. In this global economy money is and always will be everything and the ultimate deciding factor in the MT calculus.

PS

Is this THE AndyC from back in the day?

El Capitan
Love, peace and aceite de coco grease!