MMA is Real

            Mixed Martial Arts, known as MMA, has become a popular sport around the world. It is still growing and has not quite reached the level that sports like football (soccer), basketball, or tennis has reached, but it is growing at quite a rapid rate. Little by little, you can start to see UFC highlights creeping their way into Sportscenter. When it was first conceived, the UFC was promoted as a blood sport. However, they adjusted their rules and tried to sell it as an actual sport. These fighters train like other athletes and it is not as simple as street fighting. There is great skill needed that comes from natural ability and years of practice just like in any respectable sport. Where MMA does not gain its respect is in the fact that it is perceived as just two men beating the crap out of each other. But it’s something more.    
            How can MMA be criticized as being violent with the things that go on in ice hockey? I don’t have a problem with what goes in hockey, I love hockey. But I have to admit, there are some ridiculous aspects to the game. For example, the fighting. I think it’s great. Two dudes getting angry at each other, so they throw down. The best part is that the refs let the fight happen. This is completely opposite to what people are taught about good sportsmanship growing up. “Don‘t fight, play nice.” However, when it is part of the sport, then I guess it really isn’t all that bad now, is it? If fighting is condoned in ice hockey, then why can’t fighting be a sport itself? Also, the fighting in hockey isn’t even good. It’s so sloppy and they try to act like they have some sort of etiquette to the fighting but it just looks like two pissed off guys throwing inaccurate punches. MMA is more than just punching and kicking. It includes wrestling and grappling which are respected aspects of sport. The sport of boxing doesn’t have this and boxing is far more dangerous than MMA. There have been far more deaths and more health issues related to boxing.
            There are people who don’t want to hear it and will never accept MMA as a real sport. But the fact is, it’s the most real sport there is. Forrest Griffin, a UFC light heavyweight, once said that MMA fighters could be playing football and basketball and be getting paid millions, but they love what they do. Its hard work and they’re not fighting just for money. These guys are definitely athletic enough to be in more popular sports and be paid far more money. The heart these fighters show is incredible. An example of this is from a fight this past weekend between Dan Hardy and George St. Pierre. Twice St. Pierre bent Hardy’s arm in two different types of submissions to almost breaking point. It was unbelievable. The pain is so unbearable in these types of holds that the fighters must tap. But Hardy never tapped. When asked why he never tapped after the fight, he responded, “I never quit. I don’t know the meaning of tap.” His face showed how much pain he was in but he never gave up. The heart he showed in this fight is almost universal to all these fighters. Most of them would tap in that situation, but the amount of work they put into what they do shows how much they love what they do. It might not be seen as a serious sport to some people, but it’s serious to them.