They still represent a high amount of a worldwide sport though. I don't see how its a relevant question
Yes without a doubt America's athletic Legacy is not in question
however...
Some might suggest we invent our own sports to avoid competing in things like rugby soccer and wrestling however my primary focus has always been the Combat Sports and I think it's very interesting to see America's precipitous decline in the realm
Remember back in 1955 your local community center would have Judo wrestling and boxing available at little or no cost thanks to your tax dollars at work
Over the decades slick politicians have hustled these Public Services out from the control of the democratic electorate and handed them over to the for-profit industry where Combat Sports don't necessarily represent the best risk vs profit analysis
Meanwhile in Russia the old Soviet Bloc infrastructure still exists where athletes can participate in low-cost high-quality Combat Sports and this allows everybody from the poor farm boy to the wealthiest of individuals equal access to high-quality martial arts training
You see currently in the United States in order to attain high quality martial arts training you have to spend a fair amount of money at your local for profit gym
For someone who is raised internationally I had an opportunity to experience what martial arts training was like throughout the rest of the world and when I came to the United States and realized that my only chance to trade punches with the local Fighters was at the strip mall I was dismayed and thought to myself how could America compete with the rest of the world with this type of model
Here we are some three decades later and it's clear America's influence in the international Combat Sports scene is declining rapidly as our performance in wrestling Boxing Judo and all kinds of other Combat Sports has fallen off the deep end
Soon we will see the Soviet Bloc countries take over what's left of our mixed martial arts pay days and that will leave America's sitting on the sidelines wondering what happened to all the American fighters we used to root for
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...omination-of-mma-is-on-your-doorstep.4070851/
American folk style Scholastic wrestling is literally the last publicly-funded combat sport in the United States
As it declines so will our share of MMA Glory
Non American athletes are already taking over our biggest mixed martial arts paydays