Why is MMA a threat to boxing?

[El Kabong]

people in the MMA circles tell me that theres more skill to it

i think that can be disputed but whether there is or there isnt the bottom line is, more often than not, MMA is boring

they spend most of their time lieing down

the best MMA fights i have seen are when they spend more of the time on their feet throwing punches (when it is more like boxing)

Just to be objective here
#1 There is skill to MMA but there's not more skill in it than boxing, it's just different...there are a lot more raw undisciplined fighters in MMA than in boxing and this is obvious in the fact that the fighters usually get away with flaws that if a boxer showed they would be KO'd right away. These flaws include: dropping the jab after throwing it, moving back in a straight line instead of circling out, standing in front of your opponent after you've thrown a combination, sticking your chin up high, and throwing wide looping punches. Now not every MMA fighter does those things, but I see those a lot and eventually one MMA fighter will learn to counter those things.

#2 MMA fans appreciate wrestling, ju jitsu, etc....I can understand and respect those martial arts individually but coupled with any kind of striking martial art it creates a mess

#3 You're a boxing fan, of course you like it when people fight more like that.

I'm not a huge MMA fan as it goes against my morals as a gentleman, for example I do not agree with kicking and I do not agree with hitting someone while they are down...I think especially in the hitting someone while they are down sets a bad example.

[Zelley]

people in the MMA circles tell me that theres more skill to it

i think that can be disputed but whether there is or there isnt the bottom line is, more often than not, MMA is boring

they spend most of their time lieing down

the best MMA fights i have seen are when they spend more of the time on their feet throwing punches (when it is more like boxing)

Just to be objective here
#1 There is skill to MMA but there's not more skill in it than boxing, it's just different...there are a lot more raw undisciplined fighters in MMA than in boxing and this is obvious in the fact that the fighters usually get away with flaws that if a boxer showed they would be KO'd right away. These flaws include: dropping the jab after throwing it, moving back in a straight line instead of circling out, standing in front of your opponent after you've thrown a combination, sticking your chin up high, and throwing wide looping punches. Now not every MMA fighter does those things, but I see those a lot and eventually one MMA fighter will learn to counter those things.

#2 MMA fans appreciate wrestling, ju jitsu, etc....I can understand and respect those martial arts individually but coupled with any kind of striking martial art it creates a mess

#3 You're a boxing fan, of course you like it when people fight more like that.

I'm not a huge MMA fan as it goes against my morals as a gentleman, for example I do not agree with kicking and I do not agree with hitting someone while they are down...I think especially in the hitting someone while they are down sets a bad example.

Agree with your "hitting someone while they are down" comments, the only saving grace is many of them do not hit with extreme power and appear to be arm punching. If one of the MMA fighters can get all of the elements of effective punching then hits somebody on their back on the cage flloor then somebody will be seriously hurt and one can now understand why the Canadian Medical Association wants MMA banned.

[Drago]

over the past 2 weeks i have watched 10 ufc events

the last boxing match i saw on tv was mayweather/mosley

i now see loads more ufc than boxing, & its not all thru choice

[rjj tszyu]

over the past 2 weeks i have watched 10 ufc events

the last boxing match i saw on tv was mayweather/mosley

i now see loads more ufc than boxing, & its not all thru choice

To be fair though mate, we have just come through the quietest time of year for boxing traditionally.

[Drago]

over the past 2 weeks i have watched 10 ufc events

the last boxing match i saw on tv was mayweather/mosley

i now see loads more ufc than boxing, & its not all thru choice

To be fair though mate, we have just come through the quietest time of year for boxing traditionally.

its lack of uk tv coverage as well, happy wlad peters is gonna be on tho

[jamiebhoy]

As far as a direct threat , we will always have the arguments about which sport is better but that's not the real concern for boxing. The two sports stand alone and are completely different, where we see some better things from MMA and I use the UFC as the example are the clever marketing strategies.

They have a reality show where you get to see the upcoming guys which culminates in a bout between the trainers. They do not have 100 different weight classes so as previously said they don't have people pissing about avoiding each other for years.

Here in Australia they show old bouts every week on TV and get people hooked , then they dangle the carrot of the PPV, but even then you still get to see some good stuff for free if you don't want to pay.

Walk into most DVD rental places here and you will find loads of UFC stuff, but for boxing you might get a couple of old documentaries.

Who is to say that in years to come MMA fans will be having the jitters about some other sport, the guys involved right now can't fight for relatively small purses and make a load of cash to retire on unless they stick around for a long time. There's a lot more chance of an injury to them that could end a career.

The first sign of it slipping IMO will be when the introduce more weight classes , when they rely on the James Toney's going into it to get viewing figures. Then it just becomes a bit like some wrestling where you never quite know what's real any more.

Boxing needs to be back on TV, small to middle cards to get you watching up and coming guys , then you might want to pay as you will have followed their careers. The weight divisions are so over the top now we even allow catch weights ( another subject!!) It's going to be a case of votinf with your feet, don't show up to or pay for PPV events any more where you know it's a rip off , be more selective .

Start building into contract the rights for fighter to release more to DVD, I for one would buy a heap of stuff if I could find it.

MMA is a threat to many sports not boxing alone. Let's see what we think in 5 years , when people know they heavyweight champ in UFC and can name him without being a big fan, then you have a threat. Boxing had that impact in its heyday, not now.

MMA has a long way to go, it's a long slow climb to the top but it's a quick fall down to the basement.

Rant over.
Cheers

[Drago]

ufc is giving the fans what they want

unlike boxing