Quote Originally Posted by Beanflicker View Post
Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
Boxing is above all a sport. You knock the guy down, he gets an 8-count while you go stand in a neutral corner. In MMA, heaven forbid the ref trips and falls while a fighter is pounding on a prone, unconscious opponent's face. Besides... once they go to the floor and it becomes wrestling, I lose what little interest I had in the first place.
The issue of a ref stopping a fight on time is a good point. Actually, MMA had a bad instance of that happen just last weekend. It was a dangerously bad stoppage and one of the worst I've seen in 15 years.

To be fair though, these days MMA refs are (for the most part) well trained and always in position to jump in. I've even seen many instances where a fighter will stop punching on his own because he recognizes that his opponent is out.

MMA's system allows, on average, for the losing fight to recieve much less damage to the brain, as if he's rocked and the opponent pounces, the ref will stop the fight. In boxing, a guy who gets dropped and concussed is given a count of 10 to try to clear the cobwebs and get up to take more punches to the head. You also have to factor in the margin of error for the ref, who may allow a guy who is out on his feet to wade out like a sitting duck for more blows. Frenkel/Macaranelli is probably the best example I can think of that.

Also, you have instances where guys are out on their feet and/or held up by the ropes and take vicious, unnecessary poundings. Morrison/Mercer, Pernell/Hurtado (I think) and Paret/Griffith where Emile killed the guy.


Clearly it's a matter of personal preference. Some like boxing and not MMA. Others like MMA and not boxing. And still others like both. My biggest beef about the MMA is the rules. Any "sport" that allows a fighter to pound on a prone opponent loses big-time points with me. Your points on the boxers who have died or suffered permanent brain damage is well taken. But the fact remains that boxing has gone to great lengths over the years to try and make the sport safer. Speaking of which... boxing is an ancient sport. One which has passed the test of time. People have spoken of the demise of boxing... but it always survives. It's a grand, old sport. MMA, on the other hand, is new. It has it's strong fanbase... but it's still new. Will MMA still be popular decades from now? Will it become a grand old sport, like boxing is?

Another thing. No one is claiming that MMA fighters are not tremendous athletes, as I saw someone post somewhere in the thread. Of course they're tremendous athletes. And that is to be admired. But as with all sport, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Frankly, I find it impossible to get too excited about an MMA match, because I just don't find it to be an appealing sport.

Maybe if the rules were tweaked... I don't know. I'm trying to be objective here. The other thing I don't like is the grappling on the floor. But then... I'm not too fond of Olympic style wrestling either. Again, it's a matter of personal preference.

Give me a good boxing match over an MMA fight any day of the week.