OK, I have to get this off my chest as a die hard fan off MMA. I have watched since UFC-1. In fact, I have seen every UFC event. I have seen every Pride event. And I have seen virtually every other event out there from Strikeforce, Affliction, K-1, Bodog Fights, IFL, etc, etc, etc. I go to all my local events and support my training partners. I have trained for over 7 years now and have even had a couple fights just to say I did it.
In doing so, I have seen the evolution of MMA from what early opponents called human cock-fighting to what we now know as MMA today. MMA today is a legitimate sport. It is not a bloodfest. It is a sport with skilled opponents and strategies. There are rules and judges. It is no longer the old, two men enter one man leave scenario. MMA has evolved into a mainstream spectator sport.
This is what bugs the crap out of me. For years MMA, mainly led by the UFC, has struggled to become legitimate in the eyes of the licensing committees and fans alike. The goal was to take away the perception that you had two knuckleheads in the cage trying to gouge each other’s eyes out and bleed all over each other. Thus, making it a sport like baseball or basketball or whatever. For the most part we have succeeded. Most educated fans understand the conditioning involved. They understand the training involved. They understand the strategy involved. For the most part, this forum (unlike others that shall remain nameless (Sherdog)), has a good deal of educated fans of the sport. So, when I see threads bashing fighters that didn’t make an entertaining fight, it bugs the heck out of me. Just follow me here.
What is the goal of the fight? Is it to win . . . or is it to entertain? If it is to entertain, then why are we fighting to become a mainstream sport? Why have rules? Why not just become like professional wrestling and have scripted fights? They are in fact entertaining right? But if the goal is to win your fight, what in the world is wrong with a fighter employing strategy to win? I mean, that is the goal right? Let’s take for example the GSP/Hardy fight. Why are people saying that GSP did not come to fight? I think he answered it himself . . . he came to win . . . period. Did he succeed? So what, it was a little boring. Is that really his problem? What about Jon Fitch? All his fights look the same. Is that his problem? Should he change the fighter he is to accommodate the fans? I mean, he is winning . . . so why change? Yes . . . he is boring to watch at times. But, who cares? Again I ask, is the goal to entertain or win?
I get so sick of hearing “fans” talk about fighters not coming to fight (when they win). Or when someone says they have lost all respect for a fighter because they stayed away from another fighter’s strength to actually win the fight. If we are indeed a real sport, then strategy is a key component of any good fighter’s gameplan these days. Why should fighters feel like they need to apologize after a fight, because the fans didn’t like it? How many times have we seen a Superbowl that was less than entertaining? It happens people. Get over it. Sometimes fights are boring. Sometimes a fighter is smart enough to realize they are stronger in an area than his opponent and they choose to stay away from their strengths. To me, that is a smart, professional fighter.
The bottom line is this. If you are truly an MMA fan, then you have to take the good with the bad. You also need to understand that fighters should only be concerned with one goal . . . winning. If organizations like the UFC were only interested in entertainment, then our sport would look very different today. We would probably have a roster full of guys like Tank Abbott that just stood in front of each other and wailed on each other’s face until one fell. But, MMA is a sport. There is skill, conditioning and yes strategy. If you are a true MMA fan you should realize this. If you don’t like a fighter because of how they fight that is fine. But for heaven’s sake, quit bashing an opponent for winning . . . even if it wasn’t pleasing to you. Enjoy the good fights, and respect the fighters for doing what they do when it’s a boring one.
Sorry I just had to get that off my chest. Respond as necessary!
In doing so, I have seen the evolution of MMA from what early opponents called human cock-fighting to what we now know as MMA today. MMA today is a legitimate sport. It is not a bloodfest. It is a sport with skilled opponents and strategies. There are rules and judges. It is no longer the old, two men enter one man leave scenario. MMA has evolved into a mainstream spectator sport.
This is what bugs the crap out of me. For years MMA, mainly led by the UFC, has struggled to become legitimate in the eyes of the licensing committees and fans alike. The goal was to take away the perception that you had two knuckleheads in the cage trying to gouge each other’s eyes out and bleed all over each other. Thus, making it a sport like baseball or basketball or whatever. For the most part we have succeeded. Most educated fans understand the conditioning involved. They understand the training involved. They understand the strategy involved. For the most part, this forum (unlike others that shall remain nameless (Sherdog)), has a good deal of educated fans of the sport. So, when I see threads bashing fighters that didn’t make an entertaining fight, it bugs the heck out of me. Just follow me here.
What is the goal of the fight? Is it to win . . . or is it to entertain? If it is to entertain, then why are we fighting to become a mainstream sport? Why have rules? Why not just become like professional wrestling and have scripted fights? They are in fact entertaining right? But if the goal is to win your fight, what in the world is wrong with a fighter employing strategy to win? I mean, that is the goal right? Let’s take for example the GSP/Hardy fight. Why are people saying that GSP did not come to fight? I think he answered it himself . . . he came to win . . . period. Did he succeed? So what, it was a little boring. Is that really his problem? What about Jon Fitch? All his fights look the same. Is that his problem? Should he change the fighter he is to accommodate the fans? I mean, he is winning . . . so why change? Yes . . . he is boring to watch at times. But, who cares? Again I ask, is the goal to entertain or win?
I get so sick of hearing “fans” talk about fighters not coming to fight (when they win). Or when someone says they have lost all respect for a fighter because they stayed away from another fighter’s strength to actually win the fight. If we are indeed a real sport, then strategy is a key component of any good fighter’s gameplan these days. Why should fighters feel like they need to apologize after a fight, because the fans didn’t like it? How many times have we seen a Superbowl that was less than entertaining? It happens people. Get over it. Sometimes fights are boring. Sometimes a fighter is smart enough to realize they are stronger in an area than his opponent and they choose to stay away from their strengths. To me, that is a smart, professional fighter.
The bottom line is this. If you are truly an MMA fan, then you have to take the good with the bad. You also need to understand that fighters should only be concerned with one goal . . . winning. If organizations like the UFC were only interested in entertainment, then our sport would look very different today. We would probably have a roster full of guys like Tank Abbott that just stood in front of each other and wailed on each other’s face until one fell. But, MMA is a sport. There is skill, conditioning and yes strategy. If you are a true MMA fan you should realize this. If you don’t like a fighter because of how they fight that is fine. But for heaven’s sake, quit bashing an opponent for winning . . . even if it wasn’t pleasing to you. Enjoy the good fights, and respect the fighters for doing what they do when it’s a boring one.
Sorry I just had to get that off my chest. Respond as necessary!
