MMA Culture
It’s clear, based off the success this
past weekend from UFC and WEC cards that the sport of mixed martial arts
is evolving right before our eyes. The MMA juggernaut Zuffa (parent
company of the UFC/WEC) held back to back nights of MMA events (with
UFC 101 and WEC 42) for the first time in the company’s history. Clearly
the growth of this sport wouldn’t have transpired without the ever
growing demand from both the media and the fans. News networks for example,
like Global
TV here in Canada, are starting
to give coverage for upcoming UFC events, which only proves that at
least a strong minority of the general public understands this sport
isn’t just bar room brawling . But one of the most interesting facets
of this sport is its seemingly diverse culture, which has both facilitated
in its growth, and also hindered it.
UFC 101 took place last Saturday in Philadelphia,
the city of brotherly love. Clearly there wasn’t much love going around
that evening. While much of the talk water cooler talk this week surrounded
Anderson Silva’s brutal knockout of Forrest Griffin, the “other”
story was the brawl (video
here) that took place in
the crowd during the Shane Nelson/Aaron Riley fight. Was it entertaining?
Absolutely, but to the casual sports fan; this type stuff only perpetuates
MMA as being this caveman sport with “no respect”. Now don’t get
me wrong MMA, like hockey or football is aggressive by nature. Fans
of these sports get pleasure in seeing combatants inflict physical harm
on one or another in a competitive environment. Hits and fights are
glorified on Sportscentre highlight reels on a nightly basis. With that
said, it’s no surprise that fans sometimes resort to fighting during
events as the mix of booze and passion can sometimes be a recipe for
disaster. A brawl happens at a hockey game, it’s not a big deal. The
same thing happens during a MMA bout, a sport that many consider barbaric;
it only adds fuel to the fire. Seeing a brawl like this at a MMA event,
hinders the growth of the sport and highlights the types of pinhead
fans I’m sure most of us could live without
Clothing has become synonymous with the
growth of MMA. The founder of the clothing company Tapout, Charles “Mask”
Lewis (May he rest in peace) created a business from a couple of t-shirts
sold in the trunk of a car, to one of the most popular brands worn by
fighters and fans today. If Mask were still alive, he would be frowning
upon those who wear Tapout to exude a persona of the “I’m the tough
guy, lets fight” type of fan. These are the idiots, who ruin the great
sport of mixed martial arts to feed a testosterone filled ego. You know
the type, dawning
(mainly) Affliction and Tapout
shirts, trying to pick fight with strangers at clubs/bars for a night
of fun. These are also the same type of people who truly believe when
they dress in these shirts, they morph into Chuck Liddell and have super
human knockout power. It’s embarrassing after watching a night at
the bar and walking home, having some wannabe tough guy trying to pick
a fight with you because you happen to be wearing a shirt that’s MMA
related. These idiots are also extremely uneducated and will usually
be seen making comments like “GSP would totally destroy Fedor in a
fight” excluding the fact that a fight like this would never happen
due to different weight classes.
From these antics, we see articles in
the paper
like “Gangsters love of UFC”, which basically outlines that aggressive males (like those who watch
UFC events) are usually involved with crimes. But what the article doesn’t
identify are the fans of MMA who admire MMA for competiveness of the
athletes and the dedication these warriors put into every fight. Who
will wear a Tapout, Affliction, or Silverstar shirt, not because they
want to exude toughness, but because they are fans of Rashad Evans or
Georges St Pierre and support them. It’s the same people who will
not just watch the UFC, but will also tune into Strikeforce, M-1 and
DREAM because they are fans of the sport. These are the fans that love
the sport for what it is, not ones who try and emulate it.
There are many of the MMA fans out there
today were once pro wrestling fans (or still are) and take pleasure
in the entertainment aspect of the sport. There is much anticipation
for the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter not just because the
coaches Rashad
Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson will put on a hell of at fight at the end of the show, but we get to
see a firsthand build-up of these two personalities leading up to their
bout. Entertainment is important for the UFC and it’s even more important
to create stars that will eventually become household names. While many people disagreed with the post fight comments Brock Lesnar made
at UFC 100, his comments (which were somewhat inappropriate) also garnered
much discussion from hardcore fans and the general public, which I think
is a positive thing. The UFC isn’t pro wrestling, but there are certainly
aspects of pro wrestling (like highlighting fighter personalities) which
can draw more attention.
When breaking down the sport into dollars
and cents its unfortunate these pinhead fans are the ones who are buying
the majority of tickets and ordering the pay per-views. They might “boo”
a boring technical jiu-jitsu matchup, but are aiding in the frequency
of MMA events per month. It will be interesting in the next few years
to see how the culture grows with the sport. As the fighters continue
to be excellent ambassadors, its only hoping the mainstream media can
focus on those elements, not the bar room brawling.
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