UFC Overshadowing The Sport of MMA: Is This Good Or Bad?
When someone mentions Mixed Martial Arts, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is UFC because it is the face of the sport.
MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and this is largely because of how much UFC advertises itself.
There are commercials about fights, there are ads in magazines, ads on the radio, billboards displaying the newest UFC fights. If there were only small organizations like Strikeforce the sport wouldn't be as popular.
MMA owes its popularity to UFC for making it known but not everything about it is positive. Many parents of interested trainers don't approve of it and there are several reasons why.
But without UFC, MMA would still be run by minor groups trying to make it big and there wouldn't be as many members. Who is to say that another minor company wouldn't be in UFC's position right now, but it's hard to tell.
Popularity: The Good
1 of 4
The good of UFC is the popularity it brings to the sport. Many people didn't even know what mixed martial arts was until a few years ago. The popularity of UFC gets a lot of people interested in the sport now a days and makes them want to start training.
This improves the amount of potential fighters and the size of the organization and the sport.
This also leads people to engage in other types of combat sports even if they don't contnue down the road to MMA.
The main positive of UFC controlling the sport of MMA is the popularity it brings it and the recognition is gets because of it.
Dana White: The Bad
2 of 4
Dana White does not give the best impression to people watching UFC matches.
Every other word that comes out of his mouth is aimed to offend people and he almost never finishes a sentence without cussing.
Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but it doesn't send a very good message about the sport when the main face of UFC is often inaudible on public television because of cussing.
Also, he often get into heated arguments with his own fighters, and this sends a negative message as well.
This would definitely turn off most parents from MMA and may restrict possible people from getting interested in training for the sport.
Some Inappropriate Aspects: The Bad
3 of 4
This may be thought of as a nit picking topic, but there are some inappropriate parts of the UFC.
This is looking at it from a parents' point of view. Many of the people that come to see the fights are drunk or don't even understand the sport for what it is. They would rather see people brawl and many don't care about the technical aspect.
I'm sure that watching a close up of a ring girl in UFC lingerie signal the start of a round by holding a sign isn't attractive for the parents watching the fights, even if its one of the benefits for the younger audiences.
The presentation of the UFC is aimed towards a younger audience but it can be interpreted as inappropriate.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Well-Paying Job: The Good
4 of 4
While the UFC does not display itself in the best ways, it does provide a well-paying job for many fighters.
Pay does depend on a fighter's reputation, which is why popular fighters benefit. Obviously new fighters don't gain reputation until they win, but more experienced fighters such as Chuck Liddell can earn 250,000 dollars even if he loses the fight.
Brock Lesnar usually makes a minimum of $400,000 per fight, even with a loss.
Fighters get payed money just to show and if they win, they get a healthy bonus. Even though it is an aggressive way to make money, there are serious financial benefits if one excels at the sport, and this is largely due to UFC.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
