When many people hear the terms “cage fighting,” “ultimate fighting,” or “mixed martial arts” (MMA), the first thing that enters their mind is an image of two enraged, heavily muscled barbarians beating each other into oblivion, whilst a crowd of bloodthirsty fans viciously scream for more carnage. In the early 1990’s, they weren’t very far off the mark. However, let me interrupt myself briefly to state that I am a huge MMA fan. I am a 29-year-old female from an upper middle class family, and I watch nearly every UFC event with my twin brother. I only mention this because it may not reconcile with society’s idea of what constitutes an MMA fan (i.e. a testosterone infused meat head). But I digress.
In 1993, the UFC, in its infancy, offered real, no-holds-barred extreme fighting, and was less sport than spectacle. The limited rules did little to tame the savagery of the sport, making it the target of Senator John McCain (an ardent boxing fan), who successfully orchestrated its banning in all but three States.
Cleaning up its act, the sport reemerged in 2001 by implementing the “unified rules of conduct,” which are governed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The new regulations served to help legitimize MMA by making it a much less dangerous and far more lucrative sport, considering it was more palatable to a wider demographic.
In 2005, the sport went mainstream when Spike TV aired the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” (it is now on its eleventh season), a reality show following 16 men on their quest to become, you guessed it, the “ultimate fighter.” Up until that point, I hadn’t really watched more than a couple fights. But after one episode, I was hooked.
There was something that drew me to it. It had the typical drama of reality television, and it was interesting to see who these modern gladiators were, and what led them down this path.
But that wasn’t all. For the first time, I got to see just what the sport was all about. MMA is not only a physical contest, but it’s an intellectual sport, as well. It requires good analytical skills with respect to ground fighting and submissions, necessitating a good knowledge and understanding of anatomy and body mechanics. These were extremely skilled and expertly trained world-class athletes.
A fine example of a successful MMA artist is former UFC Middleweight Champ Rich “Ace” Franklin. He holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UC and taught at Oak Hills High School. (An interesting fact: around 80 percent of the fighters in the UFC have a college degree, dispelling the whole meat head myth.)
Franklin likens MMA to a chess match, where strategy is used to gain advantage over one’s adversary. He also founded the “Keep It in the Ring Foundation,” which advocates non-violence to youth by utilizing after school sports, martial arts and life skills programs.
I can’t disagree with the fact that MMA is a violent sport, but so is football. If we didn’t already have such an appetite for violence, come Sunday, we would be watching flag football instead of 300-lb. wrecking balls colliding with one another. And just like football, MMA is a sport that requires hard work, dedication and talent.
It is because of all of this that MMA is the fastest growing sport in America. And considering all of the changes the sport has had to endure to gain this mainstream acceptance, I believe Ultimate Fighting has earned the right to emerge from the shadows, and take its turn in the spotlight.