BRIAN Adams is victorious.

He stands tall, his hand held high by the referee, declaring him the winner.

Beneath the surface he may be bruised and exhausted but the look on his face is one of pure glee.

It was a hard-fought victory, as the battered appearance of his defeated opponent shows.

But Brian has punched, kicked, elbowed, wrestled, choked and pounded his way to the top C for tonight, anyway.

The fight is an FX3 event held in Reading. FX3 is one of several fighting circuits for up and coming sport mixed martial arts (MMA).

Its been tagged human cockfighting and there are regular calls for it to be banned.

But MMA, or cage fighting as its more commonly known among the uninitiated, is an incredibly rapidly growing sport, which some predict will soon overtake boxing in terms of popularity.

To its detractors its little more than a legalised brawl, but for the sports supporters, and competitors its a complex and highly skilled form of fighting.

As the name suggests, MMA is a blend of different forms of martial arts.

It combines boxing, kickboxing, jujitsu and wrestling resulting in what its supporters say is a far more realistic form of fighting than other martial arts.

It is a legitimate sport, with bouts taking place in the same sort of venues as boxing matches and big cash prizes becoming increasingly available.

But it is still perceived as somewhat shady in some circles: for many the mention of cage fighting, or ultimate fighting as it is also known, conjures up images of the underground fighting rings seen in the movie Fight Club.

To an extent this was true in the early days of the sport when there were few rules and it was largely unregulated.

But today it is fully regulated with a long list of rules which ban a host of activities.

No-goes include gouging, spitting, head-butting, fish hooking, small joint manipulations and some of the fighting circuits (there are several vying for dominance in the UK at the moment) dont allow fighters to hit with their elbows while on the floor.

Acceptable moves include punching, kicking, hitting with your knees and elbows, wrestling moves, chokes, locks and hyper extending joints.

Advocates of the sport argue that it is actually far less dangerous than boxing.

Twenty eight-year-old Brian from Gosport, who fights on the pro circuit and runs his own MMA gym, South Coast Submissions, is certain that despite the sports rough reputation it is less dangerous than some other forms of professional fighting.

Lots of people die from boxing. I know its a bigger sport but to be hit in the head 600 plus times with 16oz gloves by guys who really know how to hit, youre going to acquire brain injuries, says Brian, who won the Light Heavyweight title on the WIW MMA circuit before dropping to middleweight.

But with mixed martial arts, you can take one clean shot and the referee will stop the fight because your eyes will roll. In boxing you hold in and take more and more punishment.

But I suppose some of the promoters play on the idea of it being ultra-violent to get people through the door, he acknowledges.

That said, it is a serious sport and its clear that injuries do happen.

During my visit to one of Brians classes he oversees a sparing match between two of his students.

The blows they rain down on each other in the form of kicks and punches look brutal, as do the slam downs onto the mats or against the padded walls and the struggles as they vie for superiority on the ground look exhausting and deeply unpleasant.

It reminds me of the kind of fights youd have with your elder siblings when you were a child C them sitting on your chest and you desperately trying to wriggle out while getting increasingly close to tears.

Talking to the students in Brians class, their injuries include sprains, torn ligaments and the odd broken nose C not pleasant but far from life-threatening.

MMA is clearly the kind of sport you have to be committed to in order to have a hope of holding your own.

The young men in the class mostly train five times a week and several have aspirations of reaching the pro fighting circuit themselves.

While Brian fights in pro tournaments C he has been on the pro circuit for around two and a half years, taking part on some of the UKs biggest shows like Cage Rage and FX3 C he doesnt yet earn enough from fighting or sponsorship to turn fully pro and works as a welder.

There is money in it at a certain level, when you get to the very top, but at grass-roots in this country people dont really fight for the money. They fight because they want to test themselves, he says as he takes a break from coaching.

There are a select few who have been able to make it to the top in the UK and go to the big shows out in the States but theyre few and far between.

But the sports growing so much that money is starting to become available, people are getting sponsored and the level has just shot through the roof in the last 18 months. Its not where it should be yet, its not where it is in America or Japan but were getting there. The fighters are coming over and sharing their knowledge.

Brian thinks that a combination of television coverage and fans disillusionment with other forms of sport fighting are to thank for MMAs rapidly growing popularity.

MMA is incredibly realistic, he says.

With a lot of other martial arts, theyve got stuff that just doesnt work.

With MMA the proofs in the pudding. If something doesnt work you discard it.

Ive done other martial arts before but I became disillusioned. I was like what do I do if this happens? and the instructor would say oh, dont worry about that. Id be thinking well that may happen, I cant just have a blank spot there. I wanted to learn more and I was lucky enough to come across a great trainer.

The debate surrounding MMA is set to rage on for some time, as it becomes increasingly popular and opinion on it is always going to be divided.

But once you get beyond hype and the terms like cage fighting and ultimate fighting arguments suggesting it is more dangerous or violent than such sports as boxing dont seem to hold up.

If you are opposed to fighting sports youre never going to think MMA is acceptable.

But if you accept the likes of boxing and karate as legitimate sports, MMA deserves its place alongside them.

ñ For more information about Brians gym, South Coast Submissions, visit www.southcoastsubmissions.co.uk