MMA News: The Anti-Mixed Martial Arts Movement Strikes Again!

After reading an excerpt on Consider This With Fred Fiske: The Dangers Of Mixed Martial Arts, all I can say is, “wow”.

Fred Fiske is a commentator for National Public Radio (NPR) and hosts his own online radio show on American University Radio, covering everything from politics to, apparently, his disdain for a sport he obviously knows absolutely nothing about.

Fiske, like many of the other outspoken, Anti-MMA Movement supporters, is greatly misinformed, having taken most of his knowledge from the sport’s early beginnings which allowed for minimal rules and the use of head butts and groin shots, amongst other things.

MMA is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and one that Fiske feels “appalled and ashamed and a little revolted” by.

As to be expected from people who like to speak their minds about that which they have zero understanding of, Fiske trashed the sport, comparing it to the likes of the Roman gladiators who “…pummeled each other to amuse the ancient Roman emperors, or the cockfights, which were popular in the Middle Ages, or the dog fights, which sent Michael Vick to jail.”

The only reason for Fiske to feel appalled is for his public outburst on a subject he knows nothing about, and calling MMA fighters “dogs” is something he should feel complexly ashamed of, and yet, he considers himself “civilized”.

Based on Fiske’s choice of words, one could almost make the comparison of his thinking to that of a certain German army during WWII, but I won’t stoop to his level.

It only makes sense that a person would compare something that they do not understand to other subjects which they obviously, do not understand.

The Roman gladiators fought not only for the emperors, they fought for the people of Rome and packed the stadiums and coliseums, which numbered in the hundreds and spread vastly across the ancient Roman Empire. The gladiatorial events were a very important part of Roman identity, as they were a symbol of its conquest of the world.

Of course, today’s sport of MMA can only be compared to the ancient Roman games by the fact that people gathered in a coliseum to watch a sporting event take place.

The same can be said about the NFL, a sport that has been referred to as a modern day gladiator game and one that stacks up far more serious and career-ending injuries than all of the MMA bouts put together.

I will say that MMA is not for the faint of heart, especially if you’re the type of person who got his ass kicked his whole life and chose to do nothing about it.

I feel that MMA forces the average fan or viewer to ask themselves, deep down inside, if they could do what these great competitors are doing.

The incredible men and women who choose to step into the cage or ring to fight one-on-one with another athlete are by no means “savages” and have chosen the path of martial arts competition to better the lives for them and their families.

Fiske goes on to rant about the “risk and injuries” involved in the sport and “even death” all to accumulate “obscene salaries”.

MMA fighters gross “obscene salaries”?

Being that the majority of the fighters out there make less than $5,000 per fight and do so maybe 3-4 times a year, if they’re lucky, I have to question Fiske’s understanding of the word “obscene” or his fundamental math skills. But, I’ll give Mr. Fiske the benefit of the doubt and just chalk it up to poor journalism.

This guy is obviously so far off base that I think it’s time for him to put his 1940s SHURE model CX-60 microphone and reel-to-reel tape deck away for good.

Mr. Fiske, if you’re going to speak about that which you do not know or understand, try to back up your jibberish with actual facts instead of mindless dribble and consider that the people you are speaking about are actual human beings who choose to fight and are not prisoners, “dogs” or “cocks”.

Fortunately, people like you are the minority when it comes to the advancement of MMA and no amount of tired, old commentary is going to change the fact that MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world (not just the U.S.) and is so because the people have chosen it to be.

Thank God for freedom, even if it means we have to hear from the likes of you, Mr. Fiske.