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 
MMA is just like anything else where one person competes against another. It makes more sense if you know the finer details of the “sport”.
I have to admit that an annual event for me is watching the Tour de France. If I can start watching the race at the beginning, I’m hooked. I can talk breakaways, the condition of the peloton, and what jersey is being worn by whom at any point over the next three weeks. (BTW: Warning for Lorana – it’s starting up on July 5th.) I become a total cycling geek-boy and I admit it. Without a little inside knowledge about the race or the riders, it is just ab0ut as exciting as watching paint dry though.
Ultimate fighting has a lot of insider stuff too. Like knowing what fighting style one fighter has as opposed to his opponent or paying attention to what happens when the are grappling (or rolling around on the ground wrestling). Sure, a lot of guys watch it for the sheer bloodiness and for the thrill they get of watching one dude knock the snot out of another. For others, it can be like watching a chess match, especially if the opponents are well matched, seeing the contestants test each other and looking for the slimmest amount of leverage to turn the whole bout.
It’s also a little like how pitching duels in baseball can be exciting or mind-numbing, depending on the person watching.
You would NOT believe the money we make on those stupid fights! Last one I had to analyze (back when I worked in programming), we made over $2M just on one fight.
I don’t get it either…
and look how long it took wrestling to fade. What, 25 years? MMA is gonna be around for a while. It has that whole, “realistic combat” thing. And the bros need an outlet for their aggression….
You know, I guess it breaks down like anything else: it’s about preference. I know people that despise baseball, which is probably my favorite sport. I think what I saw was not the regular UFC, so maybe that was part of it. Plus, like you said, I don’t know a lot of the details. But that’s cool. Never really liked watching fights much, anyway. I like “ball” sports the most.
Never watched Tour de France, but I’ve seen a few cycling movies! There was this one with Kevin Costner that was pretty good. I think the race was called “Hell of the West,” or something like that. But I digress….
I did “discover” a new sport I enjoy watching over the past few months–golf. I always thought it would be boring, but I’ve seen a couple tournaments now, and I like it. Also watched the NBA finals, and enjoyed that a lot, too (I was rooting for the Celtics).