MMA vs. Boxing

My first post has to be about my new obsession: Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA. This is supposedly the fastest growing sport in the world, and I'm being swept up in the wave like everybody else. What's the source of this popularity? I think a lot of the MMA crowd is made up of people who have trickled over from boxing. Those in the boxing industry'll deny this, but the truth is they did this to themselves with their own greed. Most sports are at least half-decently run, but boxing is a total mess. Unscrupulous promoters, corrupt organizations, and greedy fighters single-handedly ruined the sport. Instead of seeing who was the best, it became all about making money. Interestingly enough, it is actually possible to do both at the same time (see MLB, NFL, NBA). It's like if the Cavs decided they wouldn't play the Spurs this year because they knew they'd lose, so they demanded $1 billion to continue the series, then formed a new World Basketball Organization and declared themselves champions. This is basically what boxing's become, so many fans have turned to MMA.

In terms of organization, MMA is already light-years ahead of boxing, especially with UFC's acquisition of PRIDE. The fighters will usually fight whoever the matchmakers decide, and although guys can still duck and price themselves out, this is much much much less common. This is probably why so few MMA guys are undefeated, since you can't just pick out guys you know you can beat. One thing I would like to see though is more weight classes, especially at the lower weights like in boxing.

In terms of entertainment value, MMA is much more exciting than boxing. Boxing was about seeing who "the baddest man on the planet" was. Watching Tyson KO everybody's ass in the ring, you thought this guy would be the ultimate bodyguard. He could beat the crap out of anybody he wanted to. Who knew that if he had tried to steal puny Royce Gracie's lunch money, he probably would've been rear naked choked, kimura'd, and armbarred into "bolivion".

That's not to say that MMA fighters are king of the jungle either. Reality is, the baddest man on the planet is probably some pudgy guy who's mastered eye-gouging, groin smashing, and sinking his teeth into flesh. Maybe this'll be the sport of the future, and we'll have announcers going, "He's going for the eye-gouge! It's deep! It's deep!" ... "Oh no! He left his groin open! Crucial rookie mistake!" ... "He's got vicious grab-and-bite!" I mean, look at Tyson vs. Holyfield. Who won the title? Who was the better boxer? Holyfield. But who really won? Tyson - he walked away with two intact ears.

MMA is safer than boxing though despite the knee and elbow strikes, since you don't sustain hundreds of blows to the head, leading to brain injury and death, and many fights simply end in submission tapouts. Like Dana White keeps saying, "There has never been a death or serious injury in the UFC." Unfortunately I can't picture a scenario where the next-generation biting, eye-gouging, and testicle-crushing sport will be safer than MMA, so MMA might be as good as it gets.