MMA: Spectacle or Sport ?

MMA: SPECTACLE OR SPORT ?

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Or is Mixed Martial Arts so "well-rounded" that is qualifies as both?

My best wishes to all for a Happy and healthy holiday season and New Year. I apologize for my absence, should anyone have noticed, but life became quite busy in many ways, so my ability to stop, focus, and write kind of took a vacation. So, that said, let me move on...

Over the past few months I did keep busy doing my comedic news series on-line, MMA WITH YAC & J, on weekly at BrawlersTV. Our year-ending special had us fortunate enough to get Legendary MMA fighter Frank Shamrock in studio to do an interview.

Frank has always been professional and gone out of his way even to participate in anything I've asked him to...see the viral Christmas video THE 12 DAYS OF XMMAS for proof of this.

One of the things we discussed was the categorization of MMA as either a sport or pure entertainment. Oddly, one of the sport's all-time best considers it almost entirely spectacle, not sport.

And while Frank Shamrock is as masterful at marketing and promotion as he is at submission fighting, he must agree that it at least holds water to be dubbed both sport and spectacle, taking into account the level of athleticism these fighters possess and need to possess, alone.

So I will go out on a limb and say IT IS both spectacle and sport. But what then are a couple of factors that sway the perceptions of some to adamantly determine it to be only one of those two things?

Oh and in the interest of fair play, in case you reading this feel strongly about it being one or the other, I'll make up a neutral word, labeling MMA "Sportacle."

I. REVERENCE

MMA is likely the only "sportacle" that does not honor, celebrate, and continue to build upon the pioneers and gladiators who forged through the nations of doubt to build the present, commercial empire when the spoils of their wars weren't very rewarding at all.

I find this particularly odd for the UFC to be a party to this, considering they hold a monopoly on that history. No other promotions really gained significant size other than they did, for the first 10 or so years of MMA.

So say what you will about how big an A-hole or cool guy either Shamrock or Royce or or Bas, or any of the first generation Mixed Martial Artists are, they still fought and bled for what was inevitably the better of the sportacle's future.

So what makes a lack of reverence a knock against considering MMA a sport? Because the NFL, NHL, MLB and even the would-be competition for MMA, Boxing, announce the presence of their sport's forefathers when at an event.

They give them proper respect and credit when talking about "all time" greats and about the past events in their given sports. Yet, the UFC seemingly takes a dump on guys like Frank Shamrock, their first ever Middleweight Champion, as if he was a journeyman fighter who almost made a dent in the league.

II. TRASH TALKING 

This aspect of combat sports in general, including boxing, just kind of unavoidably relates itself to WWE-style antics. Bad blood matches are not too common in any combat sport, but when it does happen, even when sincere, it has that run out from backstage and hit the other guy with a folding chair, kind of feel to it.

The true masters of talking smack can beef up sales and public interest in a bout without question. Shamrock vs Baroni in 2007 was one of the best examples of that that I've ever seen.

Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni built that fight up, starting on the Web boards over a year before the actual fight even happened. Both of them played the game brilliantly while preparing for the fight itself.

The result, to me, was a good fight that had people wanting to see one or the other getting their trap shut. This is something that Baroni and Shamrock could teach to others that think they can pull it off too.

Plus you don't see the same kind of calling one out, type of talk in baseball or other mainstream sports...it's almost looked upon as being totally UNsportsman like.

III. REGULATION

This one is a brief one but worth mentioning, considering there are still hardcore MMA fans who harken back to the times of "no rules." Without athletic commission regulation, there is no ability to commercialize. And without that, there is no Mickey's replay, Bud Light, CBS Primetime, or most other sponsors.

TapOut alone cannot back the entire sport. So, in having the folks to regulate boxing, doing the same for MMA, it aligns itself with an accepted "sport," giving this "sportacle" more of a push to be deemed a sport.

IV. ONLY TRAINED ATHLETES NEED APPLY

This is a huge factor in considering MMA a sport. In fact, to disagree with this is to align yourself with the detractors of MMA who think you stumble off a bar stool and into a cage to get down.

Simply put, you cannot prosper and win regularly in MMA unless you're trained well in the key individual martial arts AND trained physically to be in top condition to fight.

Even some of the sport's big names have shown this to be true in defeat. The heavily hyped, tough as hell Kimbo Slice looked lost on the ground against James Thompson. And this despite training under the likes of all-time great Bas Rutten.

Plus, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar succumbed to this factor when faced and was submitted by the Jiu-Jitsu skills of one Frank Mir. He wanted Mir on his back, motivated by his inner-wrestler, while Mir was more than willing to hit the ground, too.

V. SPORTSmanship

Hey, I didn't name this trait or behavior, but it does have sport right there in the name. And I'd argue with anyone that MMA displays a level of sportsmanship pretty much unrivaled in ANY other sport around.

The individual disciplines are all rooted on older traditions that preach honor, amongst other things, and that aspect is not lost in translation when those styles are fused in the cage wars of MMA. Any professional sport can take a page from this MMA chapter.

In the end, while many factors I may have not thought of or left out certainly weigh in on this debate, the "sportacle" of MMA is just that, both sport and spectacle. And love them or hate them, the athletes in Mixed Martial Arts, men and women alike, are some of the nicest, most charitable folks you'll ever meet.

PS: Please enjoy, if you've not already, the 12 Days of XMMAS video starring Frank Shamrock, on MMA with Yac & J on BrawlersTV.

click here for more videos like this

- Yacman