You can hardly turn on the TV or radio lately without hearing about Ultimate fighting, or MMA. Whatever you want to call it. I even heard a bunch of guys talking about it at church, about how great, how exciting it was. They get together and watch it all the time. I’d never seen it, and in the interest of not passing judgement until I had, I checked it out Saturday night.
What I saw was called the “Ultimate Finale,” and was apparently the culminating episode of the “Ultimate Fighter” reality show. I watched 3 or 4 bouts, and to me, they were neither suspenseful, nor exciting. It would start off with some boxing, with a few kicks thrown in, and would inevitably end up with the combatants rolling around on the ground wrestling.
I just thought it seemed like a legitimate version of pro wrestling. Instead of faking and slap fighting, they were actually pounding the snot out of each other. The main difference I noticed was that the trash talking seemed to take place more outside of the ring (or in this case, the octagon). So it’s real, for sure.
But I don’t get it. I’m no peacenik, but it just doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t like boxing, either. What’s so exciting about watching grown adults beat each other up? Yes, they’re magnificently conditioned athletes, but they make their living hitting people, and being hit in return.
I guess there are just some basic “guy” things that don’t work for me. This is one of them. Nothing against the people that do enjoy watching this stuff. I’d just rather read a book. Or almost anything else.
A Work in Progress 