"If early mainstream media coverage is an accurate indicator, Mayweather-Marquez will crush UFC 103 tomorrow night in PPV buys. Then again, mainstream media have shown lukewarm interest in UFC despite its constant growth and popularity."

The above comment is taken from the status of New Jersey Star-Ledger Boxing and MMA writer Franklin McNeil's Facebook profile. Yes, we're friends.

While the thought reminds me of why I am a fan of Franklin McNeil in the first place, it also brings up the constant debate between boxing and mixed martial arts and the coverage they receive in the mainstream media.

Settle in, this one is going to take a while.

Both portions of McNeil's status update are true; the Mayweather-Marquez fight has been earning 10-8 rounds against UFC 103 for the entire week, if not longer.

Though the UFC delivered their usual strong Countdown show on Spike, the M&M show has garner 24/7 coverage, both literally and figuratively from ESPN and most other major media outlets.

While the UFC can't get a sniff of main page attention from the websites of the two sports superpowers, Mayweather versus Marquez is batting leadoff and sixth on ESPN, in addition to holding down the three hole on Sports Illustrated.

Adding up all the attention the sweet science is receiving certainly gives the impression that the championship card of boxing will score an impressive TKO over the UFC tomorrow night.

But is that impression legitimate?

This is where the second part of McNeil's doubly-truthful observation comes into play.

Saying the mainstream media has shown lukewarm interest in the UFC is like saying Angelina Jolie is decent looking; both are gross understatements.

Outside of UFC 100 and Brock Lesnar's post-fight shenanigans, the mainstream media has only shown an interest in MMA when the story is just too huge to ignore.

Affliction's demise got a little bit of ink, while the Fedor Sweepstakes and the Gina Carano - Cris Cyborg fight both scored reasonably well, but other than that, the coverage has been minimal outside of the pages and columns dedicated to the sport.

And let's be honest with each other: we all know why the Gina Carano fight got as much attention as it did...

I just call them like I see them.

Back to the matter at hand, predicting who will come out ahead in the pay-per-view grudge match taking place tonight based on mainstream media attention is drawing conclusions from a compromised collection of data.

Although Mixed Martial Arts is growing at a rapid pace both globally and domestically, many mainstream media outlets refuse to give it the same coverage they offer boxing.

Despite the fact that boxing fans have to wait four to six months for a worthwhile pay-per-view event, in comparison to monthly cards courtesy of the UFC, MMA continues to be treated like the redheaded stepchild of the sports world by the media.

Even though Mayweather has been out of the ring for over two years, the returning former pound-for-pound king is garnering the sport coverage equivalent of being Jon Gosselin, while Rich Franklin and the rest of the UFC 103 fighters can't even make it on TMZ, yet alone Showbiz Tonight or Access Hollywood.

Everyone knows what Mayweather had to eat for dinner last night, while Franklin and company have to hunt down the paparazzi themselves if they want to have their pictures taken.

Drawing realistic conclusions is awfully hard when the information...

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 103 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!