My take on why boxing will always be better than MMA and why MMA is a little overrated:
5. Submissions. Submissions just aren't all that exciting. Right when a submission is locked in, the match is over in 90% of the cases. Plus, watching two submission specialists fight can be a lot more boring than watch two technical boxers box because of the technique involved in trying to secure a submission. It usually involves a lot of grappling and holding on the ground which can be very boring and can be drawn out an entire five minute round if the ref doesn't call both fighters to their feet.
4. History. There just isn't that much history in MMA. A lot of the elite fighters now can arguably be the best in the history of MMA because there is not that much history. You can look at this in a positive light or a negative light. It can be positive because you're watching history right now, it can be negative because at times you feel disconnected from fighters because you can't compare them to anyone great from the past. You can compare Floyd Mayweather or De La Hoya to Sugar Ray Leonard or Henry Armstrong and see how they measure up, but you can't compare Chuck Liddell to anybody. There are hardly any legends in MMA yet boxing has a Hall of Fame. It takes away a certain level of validity and nostalgia from today's MMA fighters. Boxing will always have this and will always be ahead of MMA, because it will take MMA at least twenty years to get what boxing has now.
3. Being undefeated is underrated. People in boxing cry about being undefeated is overrated. Well that's complete bullshit because being undefeated is one of the most interesting things in sports. When the Indianapolis Colts are 12-1 no one cares, when the Colts are 13-0 closing in on the Dolphins record, people start paying more attention and there's a certain awe about something hasn't been beaten before. That's exactly why Floyd Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler, Miguel Cotto, and others are some of the biggest stars in the sport. People either want to see if they can stay undefeated or if they can be beaten. In MMA, everyone pretty much has been beaten. I love Chuck Liddell but I know that he can be beaten. I don't know if Joe Calzaghe can be beaten so I follow him a little more closely than I would Winky Wright. Granted, some of the biggest stars in both sports have losses, but there's just something unexplainable about being undefeated. MMA just doesn't have this.
2. Length of matches. The fights in MMA are too short IMO. I understand that MMA is more physically taxing than boxing due to all the wrestling involved but fights should at least be six to eight rounds not four or five rounds. And there are waaaay too many high profile matches that end in the first round. I understand that's just the nature of the sport but come on. If Pacman vs Morales only lasted one round, or if Marquez vs Barrera only lasted one round, I couldn't help but feel the fight was a bit anticlimatic. You don't wait for months to watch someone submit a minute into the fight. That's the great thing about boxing, when you get two elite fighters together, you know that you're usually gonna get 12 rounds of action or a mid to late round KO. Some big MMA fights end before the fight party even begins (Ortiz vs Shamrock II).
1. The most exciting boxing match will be better than the best MMA match and the worst MMA match will be worse than the worst boxing match. It's that simple. While MMA is the new rage due to the blood and sheer violence, MMA matches just don't flow. I've watched both sports and boxing flows much better, there are momentum swings, a sense of nervousness when watching a fight, and in truly special fights, there are times when you are left speechless (Corrales-JLC I). As you can tell, there's something unexplainable about an awesome match. MMA is really herky jerky, the action is so sudden and quick that there is no chance for sustained action. I've seen a lot of MMA, even back when Gracie was the king, and I've never been speechless. Which leads me to my other point. If you thought a bad boxing match was unwatchable then you haven't watched a bad MMA fight. Have you watched two fighters hug each other on the ground for two minutes straight throwing tiny elbows. The UFC has been getting better about breaking up fighters when the action stops but it's still pretty bad at times. Imagine a clinch lasting for an entire minute in boxing and that's how bad some UFC fights can be. Simply put, watch both sports, and you'll see that the ceiling for a boxing match is much higher than a MMA fight, and the floor for a MMA match is much lower than a boxing match.
Boxing will never die.
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