Why I don't really respect MMA

[Beanflicker]

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.

[Gandalf]

I don't respect MMA because it is a grunt sport, it is what failed boxers do.

It has no finesse, technique, nothing. Why would you care about it unless you wear Y fronts and get a hard on over bizarre, male positioning, erotica stances?

Rubbish sport, like synchronised swimming. And wheelchair hockey.

[TitoFan]

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.

[VictorCharlie]

Tito,

I'm not suggesting that boxing is on it's last leg but I work everyday with 18-24 year old males. Very few of them can name more than a couple champion boxers nor could they tell you when the next major fight is going to be. Just about all of them can tell you when the next UFC is and multiple champions. Even my Hispanic Soldiers watch more MMA than boxing. At least in the US boxing is losing the marketing fight for the young male demographic. Only time will tell how this plays out in the future.

[Spicoli]

I don't know. I've come off my soapbox a bit when it comes to mma, although White is in fact an utter shitbag with a little man complex. If I was a fighter within I'd be more concerned with the way he seems hell bent to canabalize other 'groups' (?) and huddle under one tent that is a Ufc.

If its a good fight...its a good fight. I like good fights and the individuality of sport. Shit I watch Muay Thai and tennis likewise ha. Boxing as a sport and craft reigns supreme for me and I watch literally every card I find. Its not all bar room brawls and frankly any idiot can swing for the fences and bark about caving in heads. It burns me when you have fans booing and belching and its only a round or two in. Boxing is indeed a science..you see a boxer thinking. Both have crap matches and politics, Mma is here to stay though and frankly its funny to sit back and watch it in its infancy on a massive media stage and suffer some of the same infaction bullshit and ups and downs Boxing did and will continue to see. People who think mma will "take over" are sniffing glue. Its a babe in the woods compared.

[Julius Rain]

I like both boxing and mma. I hate kung fu or actors and naive movie fans.

My stance on winning a fight is knowing; boxing, kick boxing, wrestling and jiu jitsu - which is basically mma.

People say mma is boring because of the ground wrestling its like saying pure boxers are boring. Other dislike the ground game but imo those naive people don't realize most real fights will end up on the ground struggling for a dominant position.

I think those who dislike mma scares them, never been in a real fight, kung fu movie naive fanatics.

UFC is actually very civil compare to mma's roots but the truth still remains - BOXING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN MMA!!!!!!!!!! Casualty difference is about 12,235,245 - 1 BOXING!!!!

[IamInuit]

Not a big fan. To much ground game. Reminds me of a street fight to be honest but in a cage. Never really understood the draw. Brutality I guess. We all want to slow down when driving past an accident scene.

The only combat sport I enjoy other then boxing is K-1.

[Beanflicker]

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.

I'm totally cool with personal preference. I don't fault people who don't find MMA appealing. I realize that MMA goes against a lot of long-standing notions of what a fight is, IE hitting people while they are down. I've been a fan of MMA for 11 years, and I STILL find a lot of the ground fighting boring.

My post was mainly aimed at the people here who disrespect the hard work, dedication, technique and skill that MMA requires. And it's a two-way street: I post on MMA forums too, and I often have to defend boxing from MMA fans who say boxing is dead, or that it's two guys fighting with pillows on their hands.

I just kinda wish everyone could chill out and enjoy the fights. A good fight is a good fight, at least to me.

[El Kabong]

In hindsight, yes I could have worded the thread title differently and that's my fault, I take responsibility for it. I never meant to make this a hate thread about MMA just because we've had those threads before and everyone has their own opinion when it comes to what they like and all (as well they should).

I think as fans of Boxing & MMA we should hold accountable the fighters who take the time to diss either sport because let's be honest it's highly unlikely that a boxer will win in MMA or an MMA fighter will win in boxing, we've seen any number of examples that support that idea. It's no different than an NBA player calling out an NFL player, 2 different sports, 2 different types of training, different focuses, different goals, etc.

JDS is a solid MMA fighter, he's the heavyweight champion and that's nothing to scoff at. He perhaps thought a bit too highly of himself when making the comments in question, but it's no reason to hate the entire sport just because he had one slip up in an interview and I wasn't suggesting that.

The point is JDS should not have said what he did, and I expect 100% of people agree with that assessment whether they like MMA more or boxing more, JDS knows he'd never hold a candle to Wladimir Klitschko's boxing ability.

[Beanflicker]

The main thing I hate about JDS's statement is the fact that he's making a claim that can NEVER be backed up, because he's under contract to the UFC and would never be allowed to box Klitschko (it's not good for the UFC to have it's HW champ take a beating). If he was saying this to hype a potential fight, I wouldn't mind.

To the people who never seen JDS though, he's got the best boxing in MMA IMO. He has great range, works well behind a stiff jab, and has quick and heavy hands. He's even got praise from boxing champs. I know he spars with olympic boxers in Brazil, maybe he should visit a Klitschko camp and see how he stacks up in sparring. I think he would probably change his tune.

“JDS is a very strong fighter,deserves to be world champ,he jabs like my brother Wladimir,so is learning from the best" - Vitali Klitschko
"“Do ur thang tonight @junior _cigano Long may you Reign The King of the Big Boys! Your boxing skills are World class! Big KO!”" - David Haye on Twitter

If you're a boxing fan, JDS should be your favorite MMA guy, because he's KILLING guys with pure boxing. For a long time, people said boxing was obsolete on it's own, that if you didn't throw kicks you'd get destroyed in MMA. Junior destroys guys with boxing. Junior shows what boxing can do in MMA.

[Master]

Watched the start of Enter the Dragon and Bruce Lee fights a guy and it is just like MMA. Still do not like it.

[Beanflicker]

Bruce understood the value of a good ground game.