Tubeless has gained a lot of momentum for a couple reasons. One is the ability of sealant to handle thorn punctures, which in some areas is a huge issue. Another is the ability to run lower pressures without a risk of a pinch flat, improving traction and allowing the tire to "magic-carpet" the wheels over small bumps.
Be aware that you can still dent a rim, and it's possible to "burp" a tire too. This year I got a tubeless wheelset (NoTubes Alpine rims) and picked up some reputable tubeless tires, and burped them in two back-to-back races. I'd been pretty stoked on laying my pinch-flat history to rest, but the cure was worse than the disease, so I went back to tubed for the remainder of the race series... it's no fun nursing a squashy 10psi tire to the finish line.
Second race w/burped tire went like this:
If I'd lost places as a result of nursing the bike through stuff, I would've been very ticked. As it was, it didn't change race outcome.