NFL Lockout: 5 Reasons MMA Wins If There Is an NFL Lockout This Fall
We’re now midway through June and the NFL lockout has continued throughout the offseason. There is still plenty of time for the now defunct NFL Players Association and NFL owners to come to an agreement, but with each day that passes, there is an increased concern about if it will happen in time to avoid missing any games.
This is not the first time that a major sport has gone through an offseason lockout and we have seen huge drop-offs in popularity of the sport when they finally do come back, even if there are no official games missed.
Though there are continuing talks between the players and owners, the league has a tremendous amount to lose in the upcoming weeks and months if they can’t get things done in discussions or the courtroom. Fans will only get increasingly frustrated from now until the season is supposed to start.
When the time comes that the season was supposed to begin and it doesn’t, all hell will break loose, unleashing the violent, angry mob of football fans.
Meanwhile, other sports may actually benefit from the NFL’s lockout if it happens. But one sport in particular, mixed martial arts, may actually benefit the most.
Here are the top five reasons that MMA “wins” is the NFL goes into an in-season lockout this fall.
5. Media Outlets Will Have More Time to Cover the Sport
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One of the biggest things that has always held mixed arts back is the lack of support it has received from the national media.
Sure, fighters like Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre and even Jon Jones have helped gain some national exposure. Even UFC President Dana White has done his fair share. But there hasn’t yet been a breakthrough to get mixed martial arts into the daily news feeds on the major sports networks.
ESPN often covers the main events of big fight cards, particularly when they have to do with the fighters I listed above, but that seems to be about it.
Unless it’s something crazy like Kobe Bryant showing up at a fight in Los Angeles, the national media just doesn’t seem to care about mixed martial arts.
But with an NFL lockout, suddenly the media’s biggest darling will be without any story aside from the obvious, “When will they be back?” debate.
They may have to start looking elsewhere for material. Particularly when the NBA, NHL and MLB go into their offseasons, MMA will have the potential to fill a huge void in the sports world.
4. NFL Fans Will Look Elsewhere for Hard-Hitting Action
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NFL fans are always looking for the big play and the dramatic moment during games, but we all know that our favorite part of the game is the bone-crushing hits that make us jump out of our chairs.
Though the league is trying to cut down on these types of hits, the entire sport was built upon this hard-nosed concept.
A lockout creates a huge gap in this type of action, particularly in America where we do not have a suitable replacement like rugby. Before you say boxing, let’s be serious—boxing is slowly dying. If it’s not Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, no one cares.
Mixed martial arts is the only sport that produces regular, year-round, hard-hitting action with superstar talents. Sure, its definition of “hard hits” are different from the NFL’s, but it’s the same overall concept.
3. Former NFL Players Have Already Been Successful in MMA
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As a big fan of the sport, I mean absolutely no disrespect to mixed martial arts as a whole. But the overall level of athletes in MMA is not anywhere near what it is in the NFL. In fact, even some “reject” NFL players have made a name for themselves in mixed martial arts in recent years.
Of course, the biggest name is former UFC heavyweight champion and Minnesota Vikings preseason team member Brock Lesnar. Lesnar wasn’t successful at making the Vikings’ roster after leaving the WWE, but quickly became the biggest star in all mixed martial arts.
Up-and coming heavyweight Matt Mitrione is another former NFL player who is now becoming a star in MMA. In fact, Mitrione even spoke to ESPN.com about why he believes the lockout would be good for MMA.
“Yeah, I think that this will be good for MMA for sure,” he said. “As for the other thing, honestly man, it really depends a lot on the individual players themselves. The biggest part for NFL or football guys coming into MMA is whether they can handle getting their a-- beaten in the gym and in front of 7,000 people. If you can handle that, you got to be pretty good. Athletically, I think they’re in a different league than most MMA fighters right now. If you can handle that stuff ego-wise, you’ll be alright.”
Even former Heisman Trophy-winning running back turned 49-year-old MMA fighter Herschel Walker has made a surprisingly impressive transition into the sport.
Simply being a former NFL player obviously doesn’t mean success in MMA, but the success of these former players shows that it’s a viable future career path for these players.
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2. Current NFL Players Have Showed Interest in MMA
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This is a bit of a splinter from the previous slide, but it is an important distinction to note that there are countless current NFL players who train in mixed martial arts.
Superstar players like Jared Allen, Clay Matthews, Ray Edwards, Patrick Willis and Brian Dawkins have already been training in the sport for quite some time. These are the kind of athletes who, with a little fine tuning, could make a splash in mixed martial arts based on pure physical tools alone.
Dallas Cowboys rookie running back DeMarco Murray also made headlines when he wore a UFC logo on draft day. The UFC returned the favor by helping promote his efforts to be the cover athlete for the NCAA 12 video game.
But it may end up being Chad Ochocinco’s crazy antics that expose even more NFL fans to the sport of mixed martial arts. Though Ochocinco has not participated in MMA, he has done outrageous things in the past like compete in a professional soccer game, race a horse and challenge UFC middleweight Anderson Silva to a fight.
If the CBA doesn’t get signed, these athletes are going to get bored. Some of them will also need income to support their lavish lifestyles. Mixed martial arts, and particularly the UFC, is a potentially great venue for them to get involved in athletic competition while they’re waiting for football to return.
Can you imagine the headlines that would be created if any of these NFL stars stepped into a UFC cage on pay-per-view? Talk about a massive win for MMA both financially and in the media.
1. States Will Be Pressured into Sanctioning MMA
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The debate raged on today about whether the state of New York should officially sanction mixed martial arts. In fact, Jon Jones released a letter he wrote in support of sanctioning the sport.
More and more states continue to legalize mixed martial arts, leaving just a few states outliers remaining that are standing their ground, refusing to allow what some have called “human cock-fighting.” Of course, the rules of MMA have come a long, long way since the early days of the sport, but that hasn’t stopped legislatures from telling us what is and isn’t good for us to view.
After all, it’s the government’s job to control our every move, right? (Please note the sarcasm)
But like everything in the world of politics, it always comes down to money. As soon as the money that the state has been pulling in from the NFL stops, there will suddenly be a huge need for extra cash flow.
And what better way to pull in huge money than allowing the UFC to hold the first-ever sanctioned mixed martial arts event in New York, on pay-per-view, at Madison Square Garden?
There may only be a few states that don’t allow mixed martial arts, but New York finally sanctioning it would likely be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the remaining states.
Breaking into the New York market may be what the sport needs to take over the hockey as the fourth-most popular sport in America. At that point, it will have secured its place in American history.
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