****The author is a Marine Corps veteran and actually served under Maj. John Caldwell who is cited in this article. The author's opinions are not that of the Marine Corps and have no official endorsement by either the Marine Corps or the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is purely a matter of personal opinion shared by a Marine Corps veteran and journalist for U.S. Combat Sports****

All good things must come to an end. And in the case of one of the most recognizable partnerships inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Octagon, the U.S. Marine Corps and the UFC have officially cut ties.

The three-year partnership between the two came to an abrupt halt November 30 after a push from members of Congress, women's groups and labor unions. The Marine Corps Recruiting Command came under a lot of pressure after labor union, Unite Here, launched a massive campaign to ban and prohibit spending on marketing and advertising expenditures with the UFC.

UFC President Dana White is finally warming up to the idea that women have a place in his organization. White, who had previously been extremely critical over women inside the octagon, now entertains the idea ever since he laid eyes on one, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey.

Rousey, currently the women's bantamweight champion for the Zuffa owned Strikeforce, has been destroying her opponents each within the first round of competition and is currently ranked the number one female fighter on the planet.

Of course, before Rousey there was Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, but Santos derailed her own train after testing positive for a banned substance. The one-time queen of the featherweight division was stripped of her title and banned from the sport for one year.

There is no sport more demanding than wrestling. Wrestling is a team sport that requires individual effort to accomplish the ultimate team goal of being successful.

This is a sport that has been around longer than any other high school athletic activity and dates back to the beginning of mankind, which requires strength, power, speed, and mental toughness.

If you're a high school student and find your self interested in staying in shape or bored during the winter, check out your local high school's wrestling team as all high schools are always looking for individuals to participate on the team.

Last night the unfortunate and saddening news broke that rapidly rising featherweight Erik "New Breed" Koch was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title bout against 145-pound killer Jose Aldo.

Koch, who was pegged to be the first Roufusport fighter to ever fight for a UFC title, was obviously extremely disappointed by the situation. But what did other fighters, promoters, and fans think about Koch being replaced by former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar?

Check out some reactions from people in all walks of life about the injury to "New Breed" and the new UFC 153 main event from the industry's best including Koch, Edgar, Dana White, Anthony Pettis, Ariel Helwani, Mike Straka and more.

Watching fights nearly every weekend is a hardcore mixed martial arts fan's dream. But sometimes dreams are interpretations of a reality that easily drift too far away.

The recent cancellation of UFC 151 not only sent shockwaves through the sport and ultimately may define fighter legacy in Jon Jones, but it may have also brought UFC executives back down to earth.

The perennial king of MMA, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has been promoting one to two or sometimes even three events per month. Who could complain about that, right?

Wrong. The sport is evolving so much, and so quickly that the list of well-rounded fighters on the roster is continually growing.

Take a look back at the world of mixed martial arts five years ago. Middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva was just beginning to create his legend within the UFC, televised MMA was a privilege not a right, and youth MMA was only a portion of what it is today.

With the combative sports world continuously growing each day, read along as US Combat Sports Reporter Carl Lange recounts the firsthand observations he has witnessed within the fight scene on a handful of topics.

This statement couldn't be truer in the world of mixed martial arts because there is always a next level. With mixed martial arts, the learning never plateaus, and there is always something more you can learn to better yourself mentally or physically.

If you’re like many others and struggling to find a great fitness program that’s challenging and keeps you motivated for the long run, then you may be missing something from your regime. Simply going to the gym day in and day out doing the treadmill and elliptical or taking spinning classes and lifting weights may keep you coming back for a while, but you may soon tire of the same routine and give up!

If you’re looking for a program that gives you health benefits and is great for any age and sex, then you may want to consider an Indianapolis BJJ coach to get you on the right track. You should keep in mind that regardless of your age or fitness level, you can achieve a total body workout with Jiu Jitsu. Even if you’ve been going to the gym for years and using the equipment, you can still find the sport to be challenging and completely worth it once you’ve been doing it for a while.

Even if you’re not looking for the overall body tone, you may want to consider Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for other reasons such as self defense and greater confidence. Many of us will find ourselves in scary positions every now and then, and it’s important that we know how to protect ourselves and get out of trouble fast.

This Saturday night in Atlanta the drama-filled feud between Jon "Bones" Jones and "Suga" Rashard Evans will finally be settled the way men handle problems, with their hands. These two former teammates will meet in the Octagon with the coveted UFC title on the line.

As the fight draw closer, the indecisive guessing of who will be the better man continues by fans. Much like having a favorite football team, fans attach themselves to a fighter supporting them through their careers. Both hailing from New York, which one these empire state fighters will have the upper hand in Saturday night's title match?

While no one can deny the power of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the growth that Zuffa has shown since taking the company over in 2002, the recent departure of Brock Lesnar to the WWE may suggest that Dana White has a bigger fight on his hands than anyone thought.

Lesnar, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and WWE World Champion, left the professional wrestling world to go after MMA in 2007. He set the MMA and UFC world on fire and in just his fourth MMA fight of his career defeating UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture for the Heavyweight Title.

The media sensation defended his title twice before losing the belt to Cain Velasquez in October of 2010. After a second round of diverticulitous canceled a matchup with Junior Dos Santos, Lesnar ended his UFC career against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 where he was finished just 2:26 into the first round. Immediately after the bout Lesnar announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.