Mixed Martial Arts: Sensible Brutality (FREE WRITE)

A bag of M&M's and a glass of milk. That's my brain trust for this evening's topic.

In the beginning there was an idea. Locker room talk of which discipline of martial arts was superior and what would happen if you put conflicting styles against one another. Boxer vs. Sumo, Wrestler vs. Muay Thai? These questions become dollars for the young entrepreneurs of the UFC in the first ever, "no rules", pay-per-view tournament. It was bare knuckle fights with the option of knock out, tap out, or referee intervention and the results were stunning. Three years into the sport, John McCain received a video tape of a UFC bout and attempted to get the company banned from exhibition opportunities in all 50 states. "Barbarism" was one of his favorite words in his crusade against the young sport. What's hypocritical about this is that McCain was a fan of traditional boxing, which research has shown to be a far more "brutal" and, dare I say, savage option for fighters of fortune. Granted there is more blood, faster action, and hightened aggression in a mixed martial arts fight there is the single most key principle, that when a man is knocked out, the fight is immediately over, end of story, and fights never last over 25 minutes In boxing a man can go over 40 minutes of constant trauma to the brain, get knocked down and thus, knocked out, several times and still be allowed to fight. One need only listen to a rant from Sylvester Stallone to understand what permanent brain damage can do to someone.



Because of all the political pressure over the last 15 years there have been modifications to the sport. Gloves are worn, crotch shots and hits to the back of the skull have been made illegal, weight classes were introduced and excessive blood loss or impaired vision can lead to a fights end. Late last year McCain even reversed his original stated opinion, though considering his presidential election hopes, little anyone says in his position is believable. Fighters are far more versed in defending themselves against a number of attacks and submissions and generally have longer careers than traditional boxers. Although MMA has lost some of its original appeal and the variety of fighters has become watered down, the sport is still growing and a number of competitor companies such as Pride and WEC is proof of the increased demand for this style of fighting.
In the end, guys like watching other guys beat the crap out of each other.

Pictured Left, and by left I mean right: Brian Stann, 1st Lieutenant USMC, MMA light heavyweight contender, certifiable Capt. Awesome.