UFC - Sport for Street Thugs?

I just love UFC fights. Especially when they are reduced to fighting in the missionary position and they start throwing forearm shivers to the head. Why don't they just call it for what it is, sport for street thugs?

The martial arts were created for ultimate combat and defense, not for sport and entertainment.

These men have allowed their skills to be degraded to base human acts.

The same could be said for basketball if you really want to look at it like that. Basketball played today really isn't played the way it was intended to thanks to 'street hoops'. Things change...

I agree. Things do change, but wrong is not right.

They should really bring back the bare knuckles and head buts. That should get some red stuff sprayed all over the first few rows of seats. I'd pay money to see that.

What ho! T'were Sean Sutton and his band of merry Cowpokes to fall to an opponent of lesser stature, then perhaps he and Bill Self - that fair-headed huckster of the north - should engage in a spirited match of brain and brawn! Whosoever should emerge victorious would then be named captain of the young Aggie basketball squad, and the fisticuffs would surely provide an amusing diversion to all! Between rounds in this most magnificent of bouts, entertainments would be provided by the OAMC military band and their outfit of ukulele, mandolin, and flattop guitar!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Calloo! Callay!


(I just wanted to say that. Carry on.)

Hmmm....judo, karate, tae kwon do, jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, and just about any other martial art out there have sport matches for entertainment. Good to see you feel qualified to speak on behalf of the entire martial arts community about what their arts were "created for".

It is every bit as regulated and controlled as any of those other martial arts. Fewer opponents are seriously injured in MMA than just about any of those other sports.

Don't like it? Don't watch. Then your delicate sensibilities won't be offended.

+1. Not to mention one on one combat has been around since the dawn of civilization. When you go to work you use your gifts/knowledge and when they go to work they use theirs. It is as much a mental game and as it is sheer brutality. What a Fedor figth sometime and tell me he is not thinking about everything going on before he sees an erro in his opponent and counters.

Change the channel if you hate it.

I dont watch Country Music Television (CMT) and its a channel I have.

To say that MMA is a sport for "thugs" is a statement of pure ignorance and quite frankly makes a person sound like a snob.

That is a tough marriage!

sorry I had to do it.

Back to the topic at hand, I love the UFC fights! Being a Jujitsu practitioner I would rather see grappling/tap outs than street brawls. I find it interesting to see what grappling techniques actually work when being tested in a "real" fight environment.

I liked the UFC better when it wasn't so commercialized. I think the fighters where better because they where doing it more for pride than for money or fame.

It sounds a whole lot like those people that dismiss collegiate wrestling as "nothing but two guys in tights rolling around and grabbing each others tools."

I have to quote 2 great people I heard on the radio when talking about UFC, Andrew Scilciano (sp?) and Phil Hendrie.

Andrew calls ufc the raiderfan-ization of boxing. Its for people that don't have enough of an attention span for boxing, have some weird blood lust, or just think there are too many blacks and latinos in boxing.

As a Raider fan, I was amused and in agreement that it is a dumbing down of boxing. It also has more appeal to me in that the promoters don't manipulate the sport, yet.

I also think there may be something to the racial aspect of it. I know a lot of white boxing fans that will cheer for any white guy in the ring. Its a bit of the Rocky syndrome.

Now, Phil Hendrie has said that ufc fans were basicly just guys that never get into physical fights, but live vicariously through others. I also agree with that. Next time you find a big time ufc fan, ask them when was their last fight.

Personally I have had my ass kicked and also given a few real ass whippings. I think the best thing to do is find a legal way to get that aggression out, instead of feeding it through watching ufc.

That being said, I have a great amount of respect for the actual fighters. Its a very grueling and dangerous sport. The athletes I have interviewed that compete have all been solid cats.

Pretty much.....

All I know is that the world of MMA is littered with the bodies of "real thugs" who thought just because they were a bad-ass out on the street meant they could have a career in legit MMA. They get a very rude awakening when they find out what the sport is really about and the level of dedication it takes to succeed.

That is ridiculous, every UFC fighter has a background in either martial arts or wrestling of some sorts. Dana White is a very smart man and would not allow someone to just walk in off the streets and have no background in anything and fight in the UFC. You obviously just watch the fights and do not follow the UFC, and in that case you shouldn't even talk about something you know very little about.

I don't want to speak for Fireman, but he does know what he's talking about, he's a big fan of UFC, and you misunderstood his post.

My bad then, I thought he was trying to say that the UFC was full of fighters who had no backgrounds. You can disregard my remarks then and move on with the regular scheduled programming. Nothing to see here!

As a realtive newcomer to MMA, UFC, etc and someone who also enjoys high level boxing I would say in their present states the MMA scene is by far better than boxing. The one thing I have noticed about MMA in the short time I have been watching it is the honor and respect these men seem to have for each other and their craft. Boxing has become all about the show where as I see MMA as all about the competition. I look at guys like Couture, Rich Franklin, & especially Anderson Silva who represent these qualities. These guys go to absolute war for 15 or 25 minutes & then have nothing but repsect for each other. Its also way more cerebral than people realize. I bet its pretty darn hard to stratagize once the fists start flying or a dude gets you in a choke yet they still manage to do it.

Neither you or Siciliano know what you're talking about. I'm a huge fan of boxing, but the mental aspect involved in MMA is much more involved and extensive than that in boxing. Comments like this are coming from guys that don't understand the ground game of MMA. In no way is it the dumbing down of boxing. In fact, it's the opposite. It's boxing with more intelligence and technique.

I'm a big UFC fan, wanna ask me the question? I haven't been in a street fight for ages, but it's not because I live vicariously through others. It's because I'm smart enough to avoid situations requiring the necessity to resort to unregulated physical violence and mature enough to understand that the measure of a man isn't purely physical combat.

As far as "living vicariously through others" by UFC fans....how is that any different than any other sports fan that gets enjoyment from the accomplishments of others? It's not. I enjoy the sport because....as you said...I have much respect for the skill of those involved in the sport. I admire their dedication and skill. I find the ground game combined with striking to be more interesting intellectually than exhibitions involving only grappling or striking (though I enjoy watching and participating in those too).

He was saying the opposite. He was saying someone without training...a street thug....wouldn't last a minute in the ring with a properly trained MMA practitioner.

I said the "world of MMA" not UFC.

UFC is a BRAND NAME and MMA is the sport itself - mixed martial arts. So the "world of MMA" is a lot larger than the UFC.

Most fighters have to pay their dues in much smaller shows before the get to the UFC. What I was referring to when self proclaimed "bad asses" or "street fighters" walk into training facilities with legit, skilled and hard working fighters and think they can just continue to kick everybodies ass. They often times get embarrassed by the superior athletes and never come back or if they actually make it to a sactioned fight, lose to a real fighter. They quickly find out there is a LOT more to it than what they were doing "out on the streets".

I really gained a lot of respect for real fighters and learned what the sport is REALLY about when I was encouraged by a friend/co-worker to start MMA training strictly as a form of exercise to keep in shape. Although I have since retired with a record of 0-0 (that's a joke) what I learned really helps me appreciate what MMA is. I've actually become pretty good friends with 3 guys who have recently fought in the UFC and have learned a lot from them also.

These idiots are what toughman contests are for. If they just go in and throw haymakers against someone with just a little training, these jackasses get really, really hurt.