I've seen so many injustices in athletics over the years that I oftentimes get jaded and focus on the negative dimensions of sport. But the reality is, athletics have shaped my life more than anything else, and I hold a deep love and respect for the athletic world. As I got more and more interested in mixed martial arts and started conducting research on this rapidly evolving sport, my feelings for MMA grew in much the same way I have grown to love other sports, such that any criticisms I provide are intended only to make the athletic world less corrupt and that much better.

But in a sport as rough and violent as MMA, is there really beauty? In conducting research for Fighting for Acceptance, I always felt it was crucial to get opinions from fighters from a wide array of backgrounds. Yeah, interviewing the biggest superstars is cool, but they certainly are not representative of the burgeoning pool of MMA athletes across the world.

When I interviewed MMA veteran Allan Goes, he actually used the word "beauty" to describe MMA. At one point I stated to Goes, "...some politicians and media say the sport is barbaric, it's like human cockfighting. What would you want to say to those people?" Goes responded by saying, "I believe they (are) not very informed about this sport. I believe when they really get inside of this sport, they (are) gonna find the beauty of this sport ... That's what I truly believe. They should change their minds, open their ears because God give us two ears. Otherwise they (would) give us two mouths to talk more than we listen. Then they should open their ears and listen."

I thought Goes's method of saying we as a society need to listen more than preach was a little humorous, but also pretty profound. So go ahead and use your two ears (or in this case, your two eyes). What I've provided here are some quotes that did not make it into Fighting for Acceptance. I hope as you read what these men have to say, you can also hear their voices. Hear what they have to say about the beauty that lies within and emits from the sport we all follow so intently. Appreciate the ways these men, who are so commonly typecast as criminogenic thugs, effectively articulate their thoughts and feelings on how they have grown as people specifically because of their participation in mixed martial arts.

Guy Mezger (HDNet Fights President and UFC XIII Champion): I think that any combat sport gives you the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself. You have to face a lot of fears and stuff like that. To be honest, I always grew up kind of an angry guy, and you know, it really gave me a tremendous outlet, all the combat sports I was in ... It's just MMA happened to be where I ended up. It's given me lots of blessings. There's a tremendous amount of sacrifice. People think you live like a rockstar, and you kind of do but only part of the time. And then you're not another part of the time because you're training and everything like that. There's a tremendous amount of dedication to do that, and the beautiful thing is that because of MMA, I've got to travel the entire world. You know I've got to spend time in Japan, seven years in Japan. I've been to Russia. I've been to Europe, all over Europe. Been to Brazil, Canada, all sorts of places like that because of what I did. And it's a blessing most people don't get. I've also got to make a living at something I really love to do. There's not a day that I don't get up in the morning and not enjoy what I do, even as an instructor now. And I've always been an instructor as an MMA guy, even as a fighter. So I'm blessed that way, and I understand how blessed I am, without a doubt, I realize how blessed I am. And MMA was the driving factor in allowing me to have these dreams and see these things.

Chris Leben (UFC Middleweight): You know it's interesting. You lose two fights, everybody says you're done. You win two fights, everybody thinks you're ready for a title shot. So the thing is I'm a martial artist. I'm a fighter. I don't worry about that. Win, lose, or draw, I go back. I look at the tape. I say I can work on this, I can improve on that. I did this good. And I go back in the gym and train. I try to be the best martial artist I can be. And then I coach and try to help other people be the best they can be.

David Mayeda: Is it an emotional roller coaster?

Chris Leben: I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. I work hard to make it not though. Since fighting is what I do, I try not to stress myself out. I'm gonna continue to do it one way or another, so I look at it more as a calm intensity as I go in there to fight. Not that I'm nervous. I'm intense, I'm focused, and that's what drives and motivates me.

Chris Reilly (Muay Thai trainer of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Jason "MayheM" Miller, and Gina Carano, and Co-Owner of Legends Gym in Hollywood, CA): I look at these fighting arts as exactly that – as an art. And to me, what it means to be an art is that it's very rich and complex and deep, and that there are a whole myriad of attributes available. I really try hard not to pick and choose which of those attributes I'm going to give to my students. In other words, I try to the best of my ability to make them all available. And that's why I love mixed martial arts so much, because there are so many different options available ... I would certainly encourage anyone who's not familiar with the sport to give it a shot, whether you just want to go in and train, just for health and fitness, or watch and become a fan, but I think this is definitely something that people need to be exposed to and get on some level familiar with because one of the cool things about it being an art form, is I really think there is something for everyone. And you know, a lot of people are initially turned off by it because of some of the media perceptions that have been created. But I really think it's not an accurate one, and like I said, there's something in the sport for everyone.

Randy "The Natural" Couture (Multiple Time UFC Champion and UFC Hall of Fame member): I think that anybody that takes the time to get past that initial impression or to take a closer look at what's going on when these combatants step into that cage [will] realize there's a lot more to it. It's not just human cock-fighting, it's absolutely a sporting event like any other sporting event, it just happens to be in a combative environment. So people get hit. People get knocked out. You know, it's no different than boxing or kickboxing or any other Olympic martial arts combative sport.

Michael Frison (Manager and instructor at Orange County Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts): This is my life. This is what I do, like I said, I'm a way more confident individual. Public speaking, much better. It's changed my life. Not to mention, I just feel more confident walking around the street, going from my car to my house, and then I've taught so many other people along the way, women's self-defense and everything like that, that I've been able to pass it on ... The main thing I'd just like people to do is just take a look at MMA from open eyes and from an historical perspective. That it's an advancement, that people are trying to take it more from a scientific viewpoint, put it in a laboratory, test it, see if it works. Whereas before, it was just adherence to tradition ... now people are gonna look at it and ask, "Does it really work?" Yes or no, okay, let's test it. If it works, they keep it. If it doesn't, they throw it out. And you know, that's what Bruce Lee said a long time ago, is hey, take it, test it like a science, see if it works. It might work, it might not work for you. It might work for someone else better than it works for you, depending upon your attributes. And, you know, keep it if it works. And we've seen that evolution in MMA.

Chris Bowles (Athlete for HDNet Fights): I just wanted to add something. Those finite minutes when you're in the ring, what you learn about yourself. For me, there's always a point in there where you're not sure what's gonna happen, when you think to yourself, "I'm in a bad spot, this could go either way." You know, you find out whether or not you can fight through that, and I know that I can get through those points, where I'm not gonna lay down. That's the one thing you learn when you're in the fight itself. When I'm in there, fighting, I know there's a point where this guy will want to give up in will, and I just gotta get past mine, and him to his. That's all I do, I get past mine. I get him to his point and then watch him fold. And I can feel it, and you can see it in their eyes sometimes too, which is what I like ... I had a guy this last fight, you know, he caught me with a good shot, I was coming in. He caught me with a nice jab, and I basically panicked and shot, took a bad shot, and he sprawled out on top of me ... he came around behind me to suplex me, and I switched him, put him on his back, and I could tell right then when he got on his back and I mounted him, that the fight was over. It didn't matter how much time was left ... he was just putting his arms up trying to survive. And he wasn't gonna make it. So I got through mine. He didn't get through his, but I know that I can get through that most of the time.

It was an absolute pleasure to interview these men, and I honestly can't quantify how much I learned from them aside from saying I learned a great deal. Furthermore, I didn't simply learn about the strategy that goes into MMA training and fighting. I also learned a great deal about life. Of course, Chris Bowles's quote, above, applies to competing in MMA, but for me, it is also a metaphor for life. Not necessarily in the sense of beating out a competitor in a working environment, but in terms of being in that bad situation and knowing, "I'm not gonna lay down."

True, many MMA organizations portray the sport predominantly in a violent manner in order to up ticket and pay-per-view sales, and I feel that's a big problem. But there's a lot more to the sport than what's cast on television. Or perhaps Allan Goes said it better, "People (will) change their mind to this because many organizations (are) still showing just the violence of the martial arts, but they don't show the beauty, the finesse, the technique, what is behind the athlete and what they go through to be there." Well said Allan.

David Mayeda, PhD, is author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society, the first research-based political book that examines mixed martial arts through in-depth interviews conducted with 40 MMA athletes, including Randy Couture, "Rampage" Jackson, Dan Henderson, Chris Leben, Guy Mezger, Antonio McKee, Frank Trigg, Travis Lutter, and Chrs and Mike Onzuka, and many more. Forward written by Jason "MayheM" Miller.