How will region respond to sanctioned MMA?

There probably won't be protests. That much seems obvious.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of how the city and the region will respond to the first-ever sanctioned mixed martial arts card in South Dakota slated for tonight at the Sanford Pentagon. Most of the stigmas surrounding the early stages of the sport seem to have disappeared – at the national level mostly due to the refinement and popularity of the UFC and locally because of a little success (David Michaud, Shayna Baszler, etc.) and the involvement of large corporations such as Sanford Health, American Ethanol and Poet.

Clearly, the local MMA community – there is one and it's growing – is amped to back this and subsequent cards. But that's the obvious part.

The casual sports fan is more interesting and perhaps more important in the sense of being able to – cliche alert – grow the game, meaning getting to the point of being able to host UFC cards of some sort. And there's little doubt that's on the list of future goals; the MMA players in Sioux Falls are connected and ambitious.

The RFA 17 card has plenty going for it in terms of imported talent (because there's bound to be plenty of inherent support for participating locals): There are guys from big-name gyms like The MMA Lab and Power MMA; there are guys with legit success in traditional sports (wrestling, track, football); there are guys that will wind up in the UFC – maybe shortly after this card. Plus, organizers have enlisted help from the likes of MMA legend Anderson Silva and NBA player Mike Miller to show up and help create fan and media buzz.

Some of those elements are likely to appeal to casual sports fans, folks that like expanded entertainment options – right?

We're going to find out over time; one show won't make or break MMA in this city or state. But it's hard to imagine that setting the bar so high to start won't somehow impact where things go from here.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.