By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

The MMA landscape has changed drastically over the last five years. The sport has grown exponentially, heroes have fallen, stars have risen, it’s been a wild half decade to sum it up. None of that however changes the fact that there have been some extremely significant happenings since 2005.

#5:

The IFL Falls:

Just a few years ago, the MMA team concept was tackled by promotional neophyte the International Fight League. The concept was intriguing, if flawed on a number of fronts. While fans were able to see quality fighters enter the ring, and MMA legends in the coaching seat, the overall concept failed to catch on. Poor marketing strategies ultimately lead to the promotions burial, which is a bit disappointing considering the potential the IFL had, if only a bit more capital was handy to the promotion, we may still be able to catch the IFL on network television.

#4:

CBS Involvement:

There’s no doubt that one of the most significant things to touch down on our beloved sport was the sudden involvement of CBS. CBS initially flirted with the now defunct EliteXC, airing multiple events and drawing extremely large viewing numbers. Since EliteXC has disappeared, CBS has picked up business dealings with the surging promotion Strikeforce. Should the business relations between Strikeforce and CBS continue to draw viewers, and earn significant revenue, we’ll likely see CBS dive further into the combat sports field. That is, as long as the Nashville post-fight melee between Jason Miller and the Caesar Gracie camp hasn’t left too foul a taste in their mouths.