I was an on and off fan of mma for a while but in the last year I have really gotten into it. I started off loving the stand up battle because of the action. However, in the last year I have learned a great deal about the more technical side of the sport and now I find the stand up less exciting and love to see the ground game. I now notice the subtleties of how a person defends from bottom and the technique of passing guard. I recently realized this and wonder if others have noticed that about themselves.
I have been a fan since UFC 1 and I loved the stand up UNTIL I saw that small guy in the Gi taking everyone out! Then I became a huge fan of submissions. Now I lean more towards the striking again. I still love sick subs like the one Ryo Chonan threw on Anderson Silva but they are too far and in between.
The ground game is what kept me as a MMA fan. I was from a striking art and felt submission were next to useless in a real fight. I was convinced that while an opponent was getting a position for a sub I'd be able to elbow the shit out them long before they could secure a hold.
After watching UFC 1 I still didn't respect the ground arts, felt Royce got lucky, and if given the oppurtunity a good Thai boxer would kick his head clean off his shoulders( I mean c'mon, look at the guy, he's gawky, awkward, not at all athletic, his stance is bad, and he's a buck 80 soaking wet). There weren't any knock outs so I wasn't really interested in ordering future events and would just stick with K1 etc. Fortunately Pat Smith was back for UFC2 and thankfully that prompted me to order.
While watching UFC 2 I had Pat Smith picked to win the event, but I was starting to pay more attention to what Royce was doing and it made a hell of alot sense. Before the final bout I had already seen that Royce's style of fighting was far more effecient, easy, applicable, and didn't require strength, speed, or really any athletic ability at all. Going in to the final bout Smith vs Royce I knew Smith was going to lose, and had a completely knew respect for ground fighting.
UFC 2 was definately my martial arts epiphany, and I have been hopelessly addicted to MMA and especially the ground game and submissions ever since. I love to see the knock out, but my favourite bouts are still the ones where an opponent is submitted quickly with out almost a single strike being thrown.
Unfortunately for the new fans they may not grasp the intricacies of ground fighting as quicklly because watching todays fights is like watching the early events on high speed. Generally when I have friends over that are new to the sport I pull out the old events instead of the new ones and I have found they grasp the ground game, submissions, and positions alot quicker then by watching rescent bouts. In fact when friends of mine bring someone new over for a PPV event, friends that I once showed the older events to ask to do the same for their friends, and they explain positions etc etc with out me even having to, we refer to it as the "remedial course in UFC".