ESPN's MMA Coverage: A Review and Wishlist

ESPN is a network that loves colorful personalities and in-depth stories that (sometimes) are accentuated by results on the playing fields.

If you think of it, a lot of the people they fixate on are just like some of today's MMA stars.

They have their T.O. (Terrell Owens) and we have our T.O. (Tito Ortiz). They have their aging popular veteran (Brett Favre) and we have our aging popular veteran (Randy Couture).

They have their somewhat-disliked quotable figurehead (Hank Steinbrenner) and we have ours (Dana White).

I always jot down notes for future columns, and some months ago, I wrote down "Step up with MMA coverage, ESPN." I was frustrated with what I perceived to be light coverage as compared to other sports, especially at what's been such a growth period over the past few years.

I complain a lot about ESPN at times on my other site, but I also know how important increased attention to a sport is and how more regular coverage can make traditional sports fans stand up and take attention. Major events become part of the rotation and the transactions and storylines are intertwined with all of the other transactions and storylines. Coverage is expected—instead of being a nice surprise.

But then, Lesnar vs. Couture happened and suddenly I realized that The Worldwide Leader has been making some heavy strides toward covering MMA like (gasp) a real sport. Here are some examples of what we've seen in 2008:

Heavy pre-fight coverage of UFC 91: Lesnar vs. Couture including guest spots by Dana White, Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture on Mike/Mike, Jim Rome is Burning, First Take and more. I suggest checking out this White vlog to get more in-depth on his ESPN experience.

Like it or not, Kimbo Slice was on the cover of a mid-May edition of ESPN: The Magazine, the first time a mixed martial artist has been on the front since Chuck Liddell was on the May 2007 cover (seen above). Must be something about the springtime?

Discussion on the power block of Around The Horn/Pardon The Interruption about the Slice/EliteXC situation. They interviewed Slice on PTI, but also were quick to bury him after the loss to Seth Petruzelli. Mike Wilbon even dressed up like Slice for Halloween. This type is good and bad, but that's part of playing with the big boys.

E:60—the network's 60 Minutes-style program—ran features on Slice, Gina Carano and Lesnar this season. Surprisingly, the features didn't attempt to slight MMA, but treated it as a sport, not a spectacle.

The introduction of MMA Live in May of 2008, a web-only 30 minute show with the usual high production values. Kenny Florian and long-time writer Franklin McNeil help provide depth on this effort. Over 30 episodes have been produced.

An Outside The Lines piece on children's MMA that I covered earlier this year here.

Some outstanding articles in ESPN: The Magazine, including this one on cutman Jacob "Stitch" Duran from Chris Jones that I highly recommend.

All in all, I give them a lot of credit, as they've made a genuine effort to acknowledge MMA and treat it objectively, even if their post-fight analysis of Lesnar's win over Couture was weak at best. But there's still a long way to go if they are truly going to kick it up to the next level.

Here is my wish list for the future:

Include MMA in the listing of all sports on the new ESPN.com

In case you hadn't heard, ESPN is launching a redesigned version of their website which looks freakin' awesome. However, digging around a bit on the beta version led me to this page—and lo and behold, there is no MMA section.

However, boxing is right there.

Hopefully, this is just an oversight as they begin to migrate the information over. Even on the current site, attempt to find the MMA page in the main navigation. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Hire two full-time reporters to cover MMA

The afore-mentioned McNeil (seen here) works for The Star-Ledger in Newark, NJ, covering mostly boxing. However, his MMA talents really shine with his news and opinion pieces for ESPN and the MMA Live show. I'd bring him in full-time and at least one other journalist that gets the sport, not just a convert from another sport.

There's no shortage of talent out there that would jump at the chance, including myself. By committing reporters, you say that you're serious about respecting the public's interest.  And really, who couldn't use more 18-34 males in their demos?

(By the way, Yahoo Sports really upped the ante on MMA coverage. ESPN is definitely lagging behind.)

Drop the alliance with Sherdog

This isn't a slight on the good folks at Sherdog, but I'm not a fan of asking another entity to provide your news for you. It reeks of laziness and a lack of effort on ESPN's behalf. Instead of investing in your own personnel, you introduce a third-party to the mix that you could cut ties with at any time, providing an easy out.

I'm sure Sherdog loves the arrangement, which is fantastic for them exposure-wise. Maybe ESPN just hires some of that crew since there's a good relationship there.

Educate on the sport

This is probably the toughest of all, because so many of the older set that discuss sports and pull in ratings doing so (Michael Wilbon, Around The Horn panelists, Sports Reporters) didn't grow up with mixed martial arts and just don't get it.

Boxing? Not a problem, because they lived through the heyday of the sport. But when it comes to anything in an octagon, they're lost on the subject because they can't relate. PTI's Tony Kornheiser (seen left) has openly discussed his lack of knowledge, and said he probably wouldn't like MMA, but he appreciates its success.

This will continue to be a problem with the older generation of sports journalists, who are stuck on the more traditional sports and don't even want to attempt to understand MMA. Instead, they dismiss it as "barbaric" and "violent" without even watching a full match or asking others what the fuss is all about.

Why? Because it's easier to dismiss something by using dated public sentiment if you don't understand it or even have an interest in understanding it.

But they need to understand there is a movement that has been happening for years and the editors and higher-ups at ESPN should be more vigilant in not just letting them sweep MMA coverage under the rug. Guys like Tony Reali and Jim Rome are very MMA friendly—too bad the rest of the network's power players are not.

The ball (or five-ounce gloves?) is in their hands. Let's hope they are ready to answer the bell.

Josh Nason - josh [at] ropesringandcage [dot com] - has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!