The UFC continues to put record buy rates up pay-per-view after pay-per-view, EliteXC has a network television deal, and Affliction has shown some promise in putting together some big fights.
In the media's eyes, this means jack in the sense of MMA being accepted as a "real" sport.
Before I get on my soapbox about how I'm tired of people that may have seen a few MMA fights in their life being qualified to comment on the sport, I'm going to give you a little history on myself and my love of MMA.
The first fight I ever saw a UFC match was Tank Abbott v.s John Mutua at UFC 6.
I heard a little about the UFC from my brother, who was 19 at the time, and I was excited to see what it was all about.
Early one summer morning, I popped in the VHS tape and watched UFC 6 with my father.
If anyone has ever seen that fight, they know it ends with Mutua eating a few big bombs that Abbott earned his reputation on and was violently and chillingly knocked out.
His arms were stuck in the air and his body was as rigid as Fedor's personality. I remember thinking that I just witnessed this guy's death and even my dad, who grew up in the deep south during the civil rights era and has seen his share of disturbing things, had a look on his face of "wow."
That was my introduction into MMA.
As the years went by, I found myself not becoming overly excited for fighters like Abbott, Kimo, or other fighters who were thirty seconds of fury and then went about the fight like they just ran a marathon.
Instead, I found that I enjoyed the intricacies of the fights and the philosophy of building a game plan and going about executing it in the octagon.
Oleg Taktarov, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, and of course, Royce Gracie were guys I was impressed with. They were beating faster, stronger, bigger guys with technique and skill and that was something I could relate to, always being small for my age until I hit a growth spurt my freshman year of college.
Even though I was baptized by the brutal knockout, I worshiped the skill of MMA.
In the past five years, I have become the high priest of MMA. I love the sport and it's gotten to the point that when someone disrespects it, or talks about it without knowing what they are talking about, it upsets me.
Maybe some of you reading this can relate to me on this. If someone is curious about MMA and are just uneducated and they know it, I love trying to show them the small things that make me so passionate about the sport.
I'm all for discussing the debate on MMA and if it is legit or not, but if someone comes at me with incorrect information, ignorance, or the inability to understand what mixed martial arts are about, I take it personally.
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3 months ago
There was a death in the ring in Texas last year, MMA's first, Sammy Sanchez. I wrote one of my first articles here about it. After months of investigations they found the ring stantions (upright supports around the octagon) were not well enough padded and when Sammy was hit he fell and hit the back of his head against the hard rigid support. The rest can be read in my article.
3 months ago
I know of that death. In the article I was just refering to the UFC. I just get a kick out of media types who say mma is so much more violent, but thier has been more deaths in boxing in the lasy few years than there even has been serious injuries in mma as a whole.
3 months ago
There are many reasons people dislike MMA and ignorance is definitely one of them. I can understand early on why people stayed away because it was promoted as a free beer no-holds barred cage match but Dana White has done a great job in legitimizing the sport since then. Also even though boxing has a lot of strategy I think MMA requires a higher level of technical skill to be good at.
from 3 months ago
Thanks for the feedback. What the UFC is today should not even be associated with what the UFC was back then just becuase of how much it has evolved. Certain fighters gave it som credibility back in the day, but for the most part, you are correct on how they promoted it and what the fighters looked like and fought like didn't help as well.
I like boxing myself. Roy Jones Jr. is probably one of my favorite athletes, but boxing has so many issues that are putting it into the dilemma it is in right now. I just pray that mma doesn't follow in those same pot holes.
3 months ago
im glad ppl hate on MMA.It makes talkng to a true fan more enjoyable
from 3 months ago
I hear you there Kevin.
3 months ago
Good article just recently I cam across a mma hater, and I was forced to burn down any argument he may have had against the sport. He went on to say that he was more of a boxing fan but even appeared some what ignorant about certain people, figures, and techniques in boxing and went on to say that the reason no one has died yet in the UFC is because the sport is too new. I had to humbly inform him that the sport was over ten years old.
3 months ago
Thanks for the feedback Jared. I run into those people as well and sometimes I don't even blame them for thier ignornace because you have media outlets that give out incorrect information on what mma really is and people believe it.
Even other mma organizations (EliteXC) advertise Kimbo Slice as thier main draw, a street fighter that has really no ground skills and no condtioning as thier biggest draw. What kind of message does that send to the first time mma viewer? Jake Sheilds, should be the guy they build thier company around, but he doesn't have the name recongtion and when your trying to get your foot in the door, you'll do just about anything.
from 3 months ago
Exactly, right at this point I would say Elite XC is quickly becoming a shameless promotion looking to cash in on the bandwagon. I don't know if you've heard but right now they are seriously thinking about signing Sean Gannon for a rematch with Kimbo Slice.
from 3 months ago
I have heard that. That would be a dark day for mma.
3 months ago
Love the article and I couldn't agree with you more about the haters. I was 15 when I saw my first fight I have no idea who it was but I was starting to get tired of highschool wrestling then I saw the fight and I got really inspired to give MMA a shot. And so now MMA is the number 1 love of my life. FYI: John McCain is a huge advocate against MMA.
3 months ago
Love the article and I couldn't agree with you more about the haters. I was 15 when I saw my first fight I have no idea who it was but I was starting to get tired of highschool wrestling then I saw the fight and I got really inspired to give MMA a shot. And so now MMA is the number 1 love of my life. FYI: John McCain is a huge advocate against MMA.
3 months ago
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/28984-mma-bashing-mainstream-media-fails-to-research-before-drawing-conclusions
3 months ago
I love these MMA "underdog" stories. The MMA "hate" is not ignorance, it's a a reflection of reality. Kimbo slice and ex pro-wrestlers get top billing. There is no unified title, which seems to be a big problem in boxing, but not MAA. There is a constant barrage of MMA article trying to help people "understand" MMA, attack boxing and proclaim the greatness of MMA. It is is like pro-wrestling in the 90's, with fan boys constantly writing for legitimacy, following ratings and bashing all those who don't "undertsand." Vince McMahon, I mean, Dana White, saying that MMA is/will be/has always been bigger than soccer or the NFL., come on people, it's embarrassing. The constant mention of American Caucasian males, 15 -35 males, the only demographic in the world that counts, as proof of a world dominance is funny and narrow. The constant bashing of boxing is out of control, even wishing death upon boxers as a way to prove that MMA is safe/safer/safest thing out there. There are many MMA fans that just don't know the rich history of boxing, or the world-wide impact it has, even now. Pacquiao fights stops crime in his native country and gets great ratings in the USA, for christ sakes! Oh sorry, not males 15-35 from the USA, I forgot, that makes boxing skiing (skiing is dead don't you know) and everybody ignorant. I'm sorry.
I challenge all these MMA fans accusing boxing fans or non-MMa fans of ignorane, maybe they need a brush up on realty. Do a little readin, stop blogging, get a world view. You like MMA, good, like it and move on.
Oh , and Nathen, this is what I am talking about. McCain called MMA cockfighting before it got regulated. I know you think you and others MMA is are the center of the Universe, and this will influence votes somehow, but the "other" demographics don't give a rats ass. It's a drop in the bucket, get over yourselves.
from 3 months ago
Thanks for the feedback Sammy. You bring up some good points in your arguement, but I do think that your making assumptions on things that are not detailed in my article. For example you write;
1.) "There is no unified title, which seems to be a big problem in boxing, but not MAA"
First off, I'm guessing your refering to MMA and this will become a problem in mixed martial arts if it continues at the rate they are at. The reason it is not a big problem now is that one company (Zuffa) owns a 80% share of the top tier fighters at this point and for the most part, Fedor is the only fighter not under Zuffa contract that can stake claim to being the best in thier division.
2.)"There is a constant barrage of MMA article trying to help people "understand" MMA, attack boxing and proclaim the greatness of MMA. It is is like pro-wrestling in the 90's, with fan boys constantly writing for legitimacy, following ratings and bashing all those who don't "undertsand."
Where do I start with this doozy. I did not bash boxing, if you read my article (Which I assuming you did) it clearly states I like boxing and my direction of my article was to call out on people to get thier information correct before they call MMA more violent than boxing. The proof is in the pudding Sammy. Since 2000, 60 boxing deaths v.s 1 in MMA. You do the math. This was my intention of this article, not to bash boxing.
To compare MMA to Wrestling is assnine. Here's a little secret, the reason "fan boys" in the 90's had to try and legitimize wrestling was because it's fake. Coregraphed, pre-determined. I don't care if people don't "understand" why I love MMA, but if they are going to write articles, get on television, or write comments to people's articles on the Bleacher Report, then they need to know that MMA is no more violent than boxing and I'm guessing less violent than skiing (It's back don't you know?)
The rest of your article goes further into defending boxing, which I get. To use your own words, You like boxing, good, like it and move on. I've never wished death to any boxer and I'm certianly wondering how you got that from reading this article. As for my world view, I'm a five year graduate of college and working to get my masters in crimnology. I feel my world view is pretty expansive.
I don't want to get into a back and forth, I think I said what I wanted to. I think that you read into my article a little more on the side of bashing boxing and wanting people to love MMA. That was clearly not my intention. The ignorance of these media types I refer too are in regards to the fact that they dislike MMA because it is so violent and shouldn't be viewed by anyone. Sorry for the misunderstanding Sammy.
3 months ago
Fair enough, this my last post and you will get the last word. I'm here to educate, and that is always tough.
The fact that boxing is dangerous has nothing to do with the perception of MMA. Actually, the danger, blood, power bombs, cages and tribal tattoos are all marketed in commercials to draw your attention. Violence = ratings. So don't blame others' ignorance about MMA, when it is the same organizations that are promoting it as such.
Why is boxing always brought up? MMA was brutal in it's infancy and had no regulation. That's not a good thing, and neither is a Tough-Man competition, that has pretty much boxigesque rules, boxing fans BASHED Tough-Man. Yes there were differences in opinions both side were at odds at times in the early days. It's over. Now it's time to stop comparing boxing with MMA, and stop crying about how MMA gets no respect. Most catastrophic injuries in sports happen in contact sports like Football and Hockey. You can also include the extreme sports, go compare those. Boxing has been deemed brutal for over a century. Many in the medical communities have been calling for it's ban for years, so what you are saying is nothing new and has nothing to do with MMA. Boxing has always has had a stigma and that is part of the reason it's not on Network TV (and HBO/politics, not cause of popularity, as I'm sure many of you think, read up a little on this). What you are doing is promoting a 'us vs. the establishment mentality', and nothing more. MMA is the establishment,and the certain fans claims superiority in every facet of entertainment/sports.
BTW, sport mortality is not a cause of death classification in medicine. High school and collegiate Wrestlers do die, MMA practitioners may also, just not the major ones. Boxing has been studied to death, no pun intended, and is practiced worldwide, so off course it looks as if boxing is the worst of the bunch. But there is no chart that says:
cause of death
___sport
___boxing
And yes, I am comparing MMA to professional wrestling. Professional wrestlers are athletes, just because it's scripted does not mean they are un-athletic. Unless you are calling Brock Lesner a chump. My point in comparing MMA to the 90's wrestling include many fans and all the arguments put out, they are the same as when pro-wrestling was hot. MMA has the Tap Out and
the Mask, or what have you. Different promotions, ECW (UFC), WWE (WEC), WCW (Elite), and
Vince McMahn characters like Dana White. Watch a pro-wrestling documentary like Rise and Fall of ECW, for example. It's scary how, almost word-for-word they sound like the MMA heads. The demographics talk, the ratings, the every-body does not like us because they are ignorant, the "we are beating hockey, basketball, boxing and world cup soccer in prime time bla bla bla" talk.
Maybe some MMA fans are too blissful.
3 months ago
Fair enough, this my last post and you will get the last word. I'm here to educate, and that is always tough.
The fact that boxing is dangerous has nothing to do with the perception of MMA. Actually, the danger, blood, power bombs, cages and tribal tattoos are all marketed in commercials to draw your attention. Violence = ratings. So don't blame others' ignorance about MMA, when it is the same organizations that are promoting it as such.
Why is boxing always brought up? MMA was brutal in it's infancy and had no regulation. That's not a good thing, and neither is a Tough-Man competition, that has pretty much boxigesque rules, boxing fans BASHED Tough-Man. Yes there were differences in opinions both side were at odds at times in the early days. It's over. Now it's time to stop comparing boxing with MMA, and stop crying about how MMA gets no respect. Most catastrophic injuries in sports happen in contact sports like Football and Hockey. You can also include the extreme sports, go compare those. Boxing has been deemed brutal for over a century. Many in the medical communities have been calling for it's ban for years, so what you are saying is nothing new and has nothing to do with MMA. Boxing has always has had a stigma and that is part of the reason it's not on Network TV (and HBO/politics, not cause of popularity, as I'm sure many of you think, read up a little on this). What you are doing is promoting a 'us vs. the establishment mentality', and nothing more. MMA is the establishment,and the certain fans claims superiority in every facet of entertainment/sports.
BTW, sport mortality is not a cause of death classification in medicine. High school and collegiate Wrestlers do die, MMA practitioners may also, just not the major ones. Boxing has been studied to death, no pun intended, and is practiced worldwide, so off course it looks as if boxing is the worst of the bunch. But there is no chart that says:
cause of death
___sport
___boxing
And yes, I am comparing MMA to professional wrestling. Professional wrestlers are athletes, just because it's scripted does not mean they are un-athletic. Unless you are calling Brock Lesner a chump. My point in comparing MMA to the 90's wrestling include many fans and all the arguments put out, they are the same as when pro-wrestling was hot. MMA has the Tap Out and
the Mask, or what have you. Different promotions, ECW (UFC), WWE (WEC), WCW (Elite), and
Vince McMahn characters like Dana White. Watch a pro-wrestling documentary like Rise and Fall of ECW, for example. It's scary how, almost word-for-word they sound like the MMA heads. The demographics talk, the ratings, the every-body does not like us because they are ignorant, the "we are beating hockey, basketball, boxing and world cup soccer in prime time bla bla bla" talk.
Maybe some MMA fans are too blissful.
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