MMA vs Boxing

This is a subject that has caught a lot of attention over the years, and with the Mayweather fight competing against a UFC card this weekend bringing things to a head, I thought I’d share my opinion on the matter.

First I’ll pick a side. MMA is the future of combat sports. It’s the fasting growing sport in the world and has done its exponential growth in just 15 years. That’s unheard of for any sport. I cannot think of another sport that catapulted to worldwide success in such a short period, and don’t be mislead, it is worldwide. The sport has piqued popularly in South America, Japan, UK, Russia, and now predominantly in the U.S. What is so great about the UFC in particular is that in this worldwide market, they have created the Mecca of all MMA. Any fighter in the world yearns to become a part of “the biggest MMA organization in the world”, and we should be proud that it’s American based. We are able to see the best fighters from around the world compete in our own cities for top honors amongst the ranks of UFC legends.

So why the debate? Can’t these sports coexist, absolutely, just as basketball and football exist together with no problems to speak of. The problems arose once the UFC began shattering pay-per-view records and put boxing on notice. The threat came hard and fast and the boxing promoters responded poorly. Instead of working to better the sport and put on stronger fight cards that would bring the fans back, they simply went on a verbal tirade about how MMA was a sissy sport, with a bunch of homosexuals rolling around with each other, this was actually said by a long time boxing promoter. You add Floyd Mayweather’s big mouth yapping about how MMA athletes couldn’t hang with boxers and don’t train nearly as hard. I don’t think he realized how idiotic he sounded. Anyone who catches Ultimate Fighter, or watches one of the countdown shows on Spike will get a taste of some of the most intense training in the world. Former NFL players who’ve switched to MMA have openly said the training is more intense than any football camp they have been to. With MMA on a constant rise and boxing losing revenue the question became is boxing dead? This obviously had boxers and their promoters against the ropes and ready to fight back. I completely understand their reaction, but here’s why everyone should just calm down. Boxing isn’t going anywhere; it’s been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be. They just need to respect that MMA is here and will continue to grow into a colossal combat sport that’s going to give them a run for their pay-per-view dollars. Very simple, no need to argue over it, boxers saying that MMA fighters can’t hang with them is beyond ridiculous. We’ve seen what happens to boxers in the cage, once their on the ground they’ll either swallow some teeth, or lose a limb. A mutual respect of ability would be nice, and then move on to your respective camps.

One of the biggest things that sets these sports apart to me is money. Boxers make an absurd amount of money per fight, as Mayweather feels compelled to share with the public anytime a camera is around. He’s even ridiculed MMA fighters stating they aint making real money for fighting. What they don’t realize is that this is what is ruining them. The more money involved the more a chance of corruption. The highest paid MMA fighter pulls in maybe 500,000 a fight, whereas in boxing it’s more like 5 to 10 million. This has made boxing too expensive to watch or order. MMA fighters are everyday guys who just want to fight; they work hard and aren’t soiled by greed yet because those ridiculous paydays still elude them. I’m afraid to think of what may happen to the sport when we get to those unnecessary payouts. Right now these guys fight harder than any combat athlete on the planet for a fair purse, and we respect them for it.

The appeal of MMA is easy to understand. It’s a black hole that sucks you in after one event and you can’t escape it. What makes this sport so great is the many ways to win. Initially, hesitation comes from a misunderstanding of the ground game. I suffered from this at first, getting angry every time they ended up rolling around on the ground. “What the hell are they doing?” Once I started listening to the commentary and watched Ultimate Fighter I better understood that even the smallest move –like moving your hand an inch too far- would cost you the fight. These guys are so technical that you have to be on guard everywhere, on the feet, against the cage, or on the ground. The fighters have to master several disciplines to be great, kickboxing, boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, wresting, judo. If they lack skill in any area it will cost them in the cage. What makes it so exciting is that you never know what will happen. A guy could get pummeled for the entire fight and then find his opening and win. I remember watching Tim Silvia beat the snot out of Antonio Nogeira for three straight rounds, and then Nogeira pulled Tim to the ground, swept him, baited an armbar, flipped Tim over and locked in a guillotine choke. A few seconds later Tim tapped. This is just one example of the excitement witnessed. I’ve seen more exciting fights in MMA than I ever have in boxing. The fighters are explosive and very technical, causing you have to watch closely or you’ll miss a knockout or slick submission. MMA is the closest you’ll ever get to real life legalized combat, and there are fewer injuries in MMA than in any other sport.

As in all things, I always say, “If it’s not your cup of tea…don’t sip it.” But don’t take away from the superior athletes that compete in this great sport.

Era of Entitlement

The attitude of people nowadays is an attitude of entitlement. Honesty, this behavior sickens me. No one wants to work for anything anymore. Everybody thinks hey should get something for showing up. That’s bullsh**. A lot of people don’t feel compelled to work hard to get anything anymore. I see this everyday and I’m blown away by it. I know I’m from Generation X, and we were supposed to be the out of control X factor. Since us, there’s been Gen Y, Gen Next, and whatever other clever names society has come up with. A large part of these generations believe that mediocrity should be rewarded. WTF! I hate lumping people together, but I’m losing faith as the days go by. My exposure to such stupidity is constant. I was taught that if you work hard, you’ll be rewarded, competition breeds excellence and all that.

I blame the schools, and I’m not joking about this. It started with the “everybody wins” slogan. Kids no longer have to compete for ribbons and trophies, everyone is a winner. At every school now they’ve done away with the competitive environment of Field Day. Telling our children that you don’t have to push or strive for excellence, you just have to show up and you’ll get the same as the strongest competitor. This is ridiculous. Without a sense of competition how the hell are we as a nation supposed to compete globally in anything. We’ve already seen our standings slide in science, math, and now Olympic athletics, with a few exceptions. I thought the schools couldn’t get any more outrageous when they did away with Halloween, and stop doing Christmas activities.

People get on their podiums and claim to have the children’s best interests at heart, but haven’t seem to recognize the long term affects of their righteousness. “We don’t anyone to feel inferior. We don’t want their spirit to be crushed.” You’ve set that up already. By not teaching them the pain of defeat, and the drive for excellence, or just to do their best in competition, what have you left them with, a fragile spirit that can crumble from a strong vibration.

I remember the presidential fitness award as a kid. I wanted one so bad, but couldn’t complete the tasks. I couldn’t do all the push-ups or pull-ups. Eventually I worked hard and got my patch. I was so proud. From there I maintained a competitive spirit in sports and whatever else I did.

Watching my son go through school, I was surprised by what I saw. He didn’t even have a serious physical education class until 6th grade. I remember asking him to do jumping jacks when he was ten and he couldn’t. He said he was never shown. Fortunately my son chose to compete in sports at the age of four and has been actively competing ever since. This has kept him coordinated, healthy, and driven. What the hell is happening in our schools? I had physical education in first grade (and learned to do jumping jacks then). We are crippling our youth.

I may be completely misinformed and it might just be the district my son is in, but I know a majority of the schools have adopted these practices.
People need to be accountable for the work they produce. Know that hard work is rewarded, and just getting by will leave you…just getting by. From I’ve seen from people lately is that we’ve lost our edge and it’s costing us in more ways than we care to acknowledge.