TRENT205

well let me start off by saying, MMA isnt really a "classy" sport it is a sport where to men or women beat the piss out of each other. i dont know what part of the sportis classy or ever was classy or will ever be classy. dont twist what the sport is. if you want classy try polo. or horse back riding!

davidm724

I think you've hopped on the wrong forum. I suppose boxing is a classless sport too?

TRENT205

please my friend dont fool your self! i ama fighter, and i know this sport better than most! people can say boxing or whatever brand of MMA is classy, but the fact still remains, in a sport capible of such violence, please tell me where do you find the class, but better yet tell where to look for this so called, "class"! i just think people should stop trying to romantisize this sport and leave it alone. dont get me wrong i love this sport but lets see it for what it is.

davidm724

I guess "class" would be a matter of opinion. Any sport can be classy. I believe that's partly what makes a sport a sport. There seems to be more respect between two fighters than there is between entire teams, whether it be in Basketball, Baseball, Football, Soccer, Hockey, etc. The nature of MMA can lead one to think it is a brutal sport, or "human cockfighting" as US Senator/Presidential candidate John McCain put it, but no matter how gritty an organization can be, the sport of MMA itself is very classy simply because of the immense respect its competitors have for each other. Of course you've always got your epic bad-blood battles, where the fighters loathe each other, but typically when that fight is over, the fighters still congratulate each other and show respect. Again, these are my opinions, and you might have a different view of what constitutes class. Your opinion of a classy sport is Polo or Horseback riding, whereas I view them as pretentious. I do not deny their classiness, but I don't believe the "high society" status makes a sport classy. I also train to fight, but I love the sport for more than the fact that we get to beat the hell out of each other. There's so much respect and sportsmanship involved, and that mixed with extreme pugilism makes MMA the most beautiful, dynamic sport of all (in my opinion). You can say I am "romanticising" the sport, but I believe there is much more to MMA than sheer violence.

TheSpartan

The class in MMA comes from the fighters the ones that will hug or hi 5 their oppenent after a fight and continue on being friends and so forth thats my opinion the fact that 2 men can go head to head in a gladitorial match that brings people to their feet, and still come out of the cage to be cool guys and friends thats how its classy unlike boxing where they beat the hell out of each other get out of the ring and hold a grudge you can disagree if you want but fact of the matter is MMA has class

Fedor>all

I'd say there's a level of class involved in fighting, it's not like these guys are bums like Tank Abbott coming off the street and into the cage. Being a "fighter" yourself, you should realize that training itself requires discipline and in order to be classy, you must have some kind of discipline.

The fighting itself is not classy, but I fail to see how any sport doesn't require some level of class. The class comes between competitors, and I think it's most profoundly evident in MMA.

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Forum Betting Record: 5 - 0

Ferdelance

The first thing that came to my mind is the fact that everyone always spoke of what a fine gentleman Joe Louis was.
Usually champions of boxing were traditionally spoken of as fine gentleman.
I realize that perhaps Mike Tyson has a somewhat different public image, but in general, people like jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, or John L. Sullivan....Look at the article that appeared sometime ago on the last bare knuckle bout in the US, the epic battle between John L. Sullivan and Jack Kilrain.Look how they said that woman journalist/news reporter spoke of what a fine gentleman John L. Sullivan was...
Also, I am no historian, but if I am not mistaken, boxing at one time was considered an aristocratic sport, the same as jousting for knights, that boxing as a sport was something that was undertaken by members of the aristocracy as a manly,gentlemanly way of keeping fit...there are illusions to this in the classic novel Trilby by Du Maurier.
But before I go on, just to make sure that we are on the same page:
Define "Class."????
Okay?
Respectfully,
Ferdelance

davidm724

We are definitely on the same page. I agree with you completely that boxing is a classy sport. That's why I used boxing as an example to pose a question to TRENT205, who was stating that MMA is not classy, nor is it meant to be classy. I disagreed with him, and asked him "I suppose boxing is classless too?" It was an example, which illustrates my view that both MMA and boxing are classy sports. Of course I love MMA much more than boxing, but by no means was I saying boxing was classless. I agree with you, Mike Tyson was the only boxer I can think of off hand that was truly classless. He used to be extremely classy, until he lost it.

Anyway, I believe "class" requires the display of respect toward your opponent and other fighters who enter the cage. It requires respect toward fans of the sport, as well as the acknowledgement of those who helped you get where you are. A classy fighter follows the rules, and does not blatantly cheat inside or outside the cage (ie. using performance enhancing drugs). Also, a classy figher loses gracefully, and shows respect and congratulates the winner. On the other hand, a classy fighter wins gracefully and (somewhat) humbly. Any winning fighter will be very excited, and may seem like they're not humble, but they don't talk down to their opponent. An example of a fighter who displayed a lack of class after "winning" would be Biping vs. Hamill. Bisping said "go back to wrestling" which was far from appropriate, seeing as how he definitely did not get a solid win. Bisping is normally a classy guy, but lost his composure after that fight. He was clearly exhausted, so I don't hold that comment against him too much. I don't like him as a fighter, but he is still a classy guy other than that one slip-up. Showboating after a fight like Tito and Grove's gravedigging is pretty retarded, but I believe showmanship is part of the sport, and doesn't necessarily mean they are classless. I can't stand either one of them though.

I have a habit of rambling, sorry. So that's my idea of class, but I'm sure I forgot something.

Ferdelance

And you know something?
How did we forget the two most obvious examples of them all:
Mohammed Ali.
And Bruce Lee.
Is there anybody out there who is going to say that Ali doesn't have class?
And when I thought about it, it seems to me that much of this whole MMA is really a part of Bruce Lee's legacy, when you think about it.
Yes?
No?
And who is going to say that Bruce Lee didn't have class?

davidm724

Absolutely. If I compare these guys as well as other fighters to professional athletes in other sports, I believe I'd find more class among fighters. Of course we have our Michael Jordans and John Elways who are great sportsmen, but among all athletes in each sport, I believe class runs deepest in combat sports. It seems unlikely for such a sport as MMA, which is thought to be brutal and barbaric in some eyes, but I think it comes from the fact that a fighter typically has the utmost respect for anybody who is willing to step into the ring or cage. I believe MMA is the ultimate sport among men. In my opinion, it is as noble as knights in a jousting tournament, only in modern times. Anyway, I guess I've wandered off topic. So, how about them ring girls?