Knock yourself out

[DesertFox]

Greg Crosby
JWR
17 Mar 06


Professional prize fighting, otherwise known as boxing appears to be declining in popularity. As time goes on, it appeals less and less to the younger sports fans. Famous boxing promoter, Don King, blames an aging demographic, the loss of recognizable names in the heavyweight classes and a disappearance from network television for the downward trend in the sport’s popularity. King was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying, “Since network television left boxing, people can’t identify with the fighters.” ...

For those who have often thought that the sport of boxing was far too brutal, this decline in its popularity will no doubt be good news. But wait. Here’s the bad news. Another sport appears to be taking its place – a far more brutal sport. It’s called “Ultimate Fighting” and it makes boxing look like patty-cake.

More (http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/crosby1.asp)

[nene]

I'm a fan. I believe I've seen Ultimate Fighting volumes 1 - 55.

[Riverboat]

It's a stupid sport. There's nothing remotely sporting about someone hitting someone else. That said, it's a talent to bob and weave and take the punishment long enough to be able to deliver a blow to some other schmuck who used to steal bread to feed the family and take home a check big enough to pay for the neurologist who is on speed call.

Oh, and if they think the rest of us weren't paying attention when they let that feral animal Mike Tyson back in the ring after chewing an ear like beef jerkey, maybe boxing truly deserves the fate it's now suffering.

[DeclinetoState]

Ultimate Fighting? Is this a set of White House videos taken during the Clinton administration?

"Hillary! Put that lamp down! Noooo! . . . Missed me!"

"You cheating son of a b--"

"But Hillary! We need to talk--"

"About what? Someday this will be mine!"

[LiberalHunter]

My nephew fights King of the Cage(its like the minor leagues of ultimate fighting)His record would look like he is not very good but the fact is he fights alot of guys who are in ultimate fighting,has lost a few of those (some on questionable calls) he has also won a few,the reason he fought the ultimate fighters it was suppose to help him get to the ultimate fighting ranks quicker,that hasn't worked out that way though.He really is a good fighter and very humble about it,and we are proud of him.If you are interested check out his profile on one of the king of the cage websites,his name is Brendan Seguin

[S-T]

John McCain wanted to pass federal regulations on Ultimate Fighting a decade ago. (Yet one more reason not to vote for this Leftist in 2008.) Whatever one thinks of Ultimate Fighting, the federal government has absolutely no role in regulating it. The states can regulate it to their hearts content.

If you read Mick Foley's books, professional wrestling used to be a less "professional" environment where the guys intentionally hurt each other for real. Bret Hart, who is known as one of the greatest modern wrestlers, touts that he never injured anyone as arguably his greatest accomplishment.

I've not seen any UFC events and I haven't done much reading about the subject, so I don't have enough knowledge to form an educated opinion. AFAIK, the sport/"sport" has only really been around for a little over a decade, so I expect it will evolve over time. What you see in 2020 may be entirely different than you see today, and for the better.

Or it may be worse.

[Incident_command]

"Boxing done correctly isn’t about hammering; it is more like a physical art. Ultimate Fighting is all about beating the other guy into the ground. No finesse, no subtlety, no dancing. Just aggression and anger. No wonder the younger generation is so into it, it’s like a real-life video game."


BAH
MMA fighting is an art. This guy hasn't a clue. When you combine forms of fighting it turns the sport more to a thinking mans game than boxing. Now you not only need to pick your opponents striking form and learn to counter it, you need to think of take downs, holds and counters to those holds.

Boxing is on the decline because of the Don Kings and Bob Arums. I can name 10-12 fights I would love to see but wont due to their promoters. Anyone see the Toney Rahman fight last night. Its the best they could come up with. Two fighters, one a dull nothing who's claim to fame is a single punch knockout from nowhere over Lewis, and the other a fat blown up big mouth middleweight.People thought it was going to be a great fight and are surprised now that it turned out to be a snoozer.On top of that they called it a draw.

Add to that that many of boxings fights are PPV. 49.95 to see a dud fight isnt helping thing either. Sure UFC are PPV but you get 6-7 good fights without the politics we now have in boxing. And as Wyatt and others have stated before, its a much safer sport.

[DesertFox]

For my money, ultimate ighting ain't a sport and I don't give a hoot if it is. It appeals to the instinct in all of us to want to know who of two guys is tougher. UF is just anything-goes fighting, despite the "rules." The idea is to hurt somebody, beat him senseless, kick his ass. The fighters know this when they get in the arena and I don't see how it's anybody else's concern.

[Incident_command]

Do you consider boxing a sport?

[DesertFox]

Yeah. Rules and refs and all that. Ultimate fighting has them, too, but no pillows on the fists. That is the main thing that makes boxing a sport because it limits the damage it's even possible to inflict.

[Incident_command]

I've seen them all from UFC 1 and I've never seen a serious injury. Cant say that about boxing. I think boxers have a greater chance for injury due to the increased punishment they take. When a fighter goes down from a strike in UFC its usually all over and the fights called. In boxing if he gets up by 10 the beating continues and thats where the damage is done.

[DeclinetoState]

Ultimate fighting? Let them use guns--real ones, with bullets and everything. There would be no doubt who the winner was.

[DesertFox]

Good point. I haven't seen but one UFC video and it looked pretty damaging to me, but one video isn't much to judge by. Also, as you point out, if they stop the fight when a man goes down, that stops the punishment.

[Kathy29]

Boxing isn't violent enough for todays young. Ultimate fighting is what they do on the streets every day.

[Wyatt_Junker]

Good point. I haven't seen but one UFC video and it looked pretty damaging to me, but one video isn't much to judge by. Also, as you point out, if they stop the fight when a man goes down, that stops the punishment.

The refs in Pride and UFC have hair triggers on stoppage. They will stop a fight quickly if they see that a fighter cannot defend themself, quits trying or gets his bell rung. Its much safer than boxing, long term.

Short term, cage fights look worse. Lots of blood. Boxing is much more dangerous because of the pillows on the hands. Its an illusion. And what's worse with boxing, instead of knocking your opponent out, you concuss his brain. Little ruptures form on the blood vessels of the pia mater surrounding the brain. Its a greater risk for hemmorage.

Contrast that to a doctor's stoppage due to a cut over the eye, an arm bar or even a knockout. Boxing should be outlawed, imo.

Shifting gears, MMA is also loads more fun to watch. Its more creative. There are more options. You can shoot. You can grapple. You can fake a flying knee and then bring down a hammer fist. Its not one dimensional. And the refs in MMA are more committed to breaking up the clinch if its serving no purpose. Its not brutal. Most folks just aren't used to seeing tiny 4 oz. gloves and assume its barbarity. But I'd rather get my head spun and go to sleep than stand 10 to 12 rounds with my brain slowly bleeding out.

[Beowulf]

If McCain and the rest of the Liberals want to ban violent programming then we need to ban the evening news. I see more violence there than any T.V. show has to offer!

[S-T]

Yeah. Rules and refs and all that. Ultimate fighting has them, too, but no pillows on the fists. That is the main thing that makes boxing a sport because it limits the damage it's even possible to inflict.
Haven't people been killed in boxing matches? Padded gloves ("pillows") or not, these guys have amazing power. Getting blasted in the head by Mike Tyson will do serious damage with or without the gloves.

Defenders of UFC have said that boxing is more dangerous because it encourages head shots. If a fighter punches someone with a bare hand, it hurts the guy delivering the punch more than it would with a padded glove. I remember reading an analysis years ago that the headgear in ameteur boxing actually causes more injuries because it makes it more difficult to get out of the way of an oncoming fist, even if ever so slightly.

UFC will need to avoiding the trap that nearly destroyed professional wrestling early last century. The matches were "worked" (predetermined outcomes, kind of like skating events in the Winter Olympics) but the audience thought they were "shoots". When that was exposed, pro wrestling took a nosedive. Now, they don't even pretend it is "real". What is fortunate for UFC is that it is much more difficult to pull one over in today's 24/7 media cycle, so there is less of a temptation to do it.