It's obvious that the UFC and mixed martial arts in general are exploding across the globe. People pack local pubs to watch fighters such as Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, and Kimbo Slice beat each other into submission.
When they're done, they look as though they've put their faces through a meat grinder.
I understand the raw intesity and the primal interest the UFC sparks in viewers. People love these cathartic releases. The ability to watch violence without being connected to it.
In essence, this is the same reason hockey fans love watching fights. Fighting in hockey is a way to change momentum, send a message, and spark your team. Fighting in the UFC is all their is.
Boxing has forever been a popular sport and people pay unthinkable prices to attend matches, or even to watch them on Pay Per View.
Defining where the UFC sits on the sporting spectrum is difficult. Is it a sport? Is it a spectacle? Is it just violence? I have to say it falls somewhere along this spectrum, but not all the way into the sport category. The fact that it has been labelled as a mixed martial art does imply that it is a sport, and the technical side of the UFC and the physical strength it takes are definitely in the sport category.
The thing in my mind, that is holding the MMA back, is when they dip into the spectacle sport category by allowing the likes of Jose Canseco and Herschel Walker to fight. When these characters are allowed to perform on a large scale in mixed martial arts, it pushes MMA toward World Wrestling Entertainment. From sport to spectacle.
Yes I understand that the UFC is just a facet of MMA, but they're being dragged down by the reputation of similar organizations.
Until mixed martial arts comes up with a system to keep these goofs out of their sport without properly qualifying, they will not gain the respect of other leagues and organizations.
I want to be a UFC and MMA fan, but seriously? Jose Canseco? That's just a joke.
Let the games begin.
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