BY MIKEY MIGO
Is the MMA fire starting to fizzle? For the past few years I’ve seen UFC and other MMA companies do very well for themselves. Websites that used to be dedicated to professional wrestling took it upon themselves to start covering this “real sport”. The thing is that I don’t think MMA and wrestling are that comparable. Yes, it’s “fighting” but it’s like comparing wrestling and boxing. Totally different worlds. From my perspective, MMA’s fan base and product is a cross between professional boxing and NASCAR. Outside of Mike Tyson fights, I never cared much about boxing. And I’d rather give drinking bleach a try before giving NASCAR as go. Still, I find myself giving MMA many chances. I am a regular internet user so it’s hard to avoid the hype. Certain companies, certain fighters, and certain fights are always pushed at us as if they’re really interesting. I’ve watched multiple companies, seen a lot of the “big name” fighters, and I have taken the time to watch a few of the big main event match-ups.
I still don’t get it. I watched “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson” on Showtime this past week. I’ve heard for years how Fedor was such a bad ass. I’ve seen a few clips that were impressive, but out of the few times I’ve consciously watched him fight it’s been boring or a letdown, sometimes a boring letdown. He and Henderson went less than five minutes. They punched each other. That’s all they did. They swung wildly and Henderson hit enough to jar Fedor. It’s as simple as that. The man who connected the most wild punches was deemed the winner of this big main event fight. But isn’t that was it mostly is? They do some amateur style type of wrestling stuff, but it’s mostly two guys hugging or “grappling” as they call it. Then someone grabs and arm or leg or neck and tries to break it. They’ll pretend there is some old ancient training and style, but c’mon. It’s all the same. It’s like when someone tries REALLY hard to intelligently explain why they like watching the Jerry Springer show. MMA is “Ninja Springer”. I watched the undercard too. Lots of hugging and frantic punches and reaches for random limbs. The most entertaining fight on the entire show was between two women. There was an actual submission finish as opposed to the three rounds of nothing the other fights displayed. There was My time was really wasted with this show. There is no redeeming quality when it comes to MMA. I’d rather watch boxing, professional wrestling, or even golf. Go ahead and get all macho or brute and say “why don’t YOU get in there and fight?” or “any MMA fighter can kick YOUR ass” all you want. It’s not going to change the fact that MMA is a huge waste of time the lowest form of athletic entertainment.
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