Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko in BusinessWeek 'Power 100' 2010

When it comes to mainstream acceptance, followers of MMA often mention the sport's success in television ratings with the sought after demographic of males 18-35, or the increasingly growing number of pay-per-view buys each UFC event garners.

And rightfully so.

But while those numbers have a huge impact on the general public's perception of the sport, to truly be accepted as a relevant sport to the American mass, respect in the sporting community isn't the number one goal. Respect of business leaders, influential voices in the media, and most importantly, prospective sponsors with deep pockets, is the sport's ultimate measuring ground.

Progress toward that goal may have been made today with the release of Business Week's "Power 100 Athletes" list. Two of MMA's biggest stars, Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar, also happen to be two of the sporting world's biggest stars.

"The Last Emperor" came in at number 82, beating out such names as Danica Patrick and Floyd Mayweather. Brock just cracked the top 100 coming in at number 96. If you're a little surprised with Fedor taking down Lesnar in this particular heavyweight battle, remember that Emelianenko has a far greater global appeal. 

While Lesnar was blasting UFC sponsors last summer, Fedor was starring in an incredibly funny Snickers commercial that aired in Asia.

But to properly measure the significance of this perceived breakthrough, we have to combine the appearances of both Lesnar and Fedor in this esteemed list, not compare them.

So what does it all mean you ask?

Well, really, it's quite simple. See, this list wasn't created by a sports focused publication like Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine, it was created by a business-focused publication. And the business world, whether it be UFC, Strikeforce, or some other MMA promotion, is where the sport will make its next strides toward mainstream acceptance.

Along with the recognition of the sport by such a distinguished publication as Business Week, comes the respect, in time, by those who routinely consume the magazine's material. And you can bet the types of people who I mentioned earlier, business leaders, influential media members, and prospective sponsors, make up most of the publication's consumer base.

When a rankings list produced by Business Week has Fedor only three spots behind tennis superstar Andy Roddick, and has Lesnar two spots ahead of a person who is in front of the camera as much as Chad Ochocinco, people will notice.

Hopefully, for MMA's sake, it's the right kind of people.