First Ever MMA mainstream TV ratings score higher than NHL Finals?

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by J pold

Ugh UFC or MMA or whatever its call is just awful

It’s organized bar brawling and I don’t know how people are entertained with it

To each his own. I'm sure you've an interest or hobby someone else would be puzzled or disgusted by, different strokes for different folks.

I assume boxing is equally grotesque? As well as all other applied martial arts? Under what circumstances would human combat not be 'organized bar brawling'? Is a bare-knuckled brawling in hockey more acceptable, and if so, why?

[Flashpoint]

Do they have 82 fights a year to qualify for the championships? If they do, and they are drawing bigger numbers then I suppose that yes, they are bigger than the NHL.

What does MMA stand for anyway? Is this like that "Ultimate Fighting" stuff? I'm sincerely asking because I don't know.

[Machiavelli]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

That's all I know

[DementedReality]

what i dont understand is why some commentators claim that until the NHL removes fighting, it wont catch on in the USA.

if anything, the NHL needs to glorify its violence if it wants America's attention.

i never understood and this just proves it. fighting is big.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

To each his own. I'm sure you've an interest or hobby someone else would be puzzled or disgusted by, different strokes for different folks.

I assume boxing is equally grotesque? As well as all other applied martial arts? Under what circumstances would human combat not be 'organized bar brawling'? Is a bare-knuckled brawling in hockey more acceptable, and if so, why?

The way I see it, if it is a fight to the death with a third party (ref) making sure no one dies, it is a barbaric non-sport.

I realize that most/all combatants would let-up to the point of risking losing the fight if they realized it got to that point - I remember a fighter begging the ref to end the fight so he could release his hold, or holding a punch while staring at the ref - but broadly speaking it's still a fight to the vulnerability-of-death.

Hockey is violent, but it's still a skill sport with an element of violence, violence itself is not the skill. I morally oppose any "sport" where inflicting violence is the key skill. That includes boxing.

All that said, I still watch.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

what i dont understand is why some commentators claim that until the NHL removes fighting, it wont catch on in the USA.

if anything, the NHL needs to glorify its violence if it wants America's attention.

i never understood and this just proves it. fighting is big.

I don't know if I am sold on the violence being what Americans want. Baseball and basketball are wildly popular and aren't violent. Even football, which has hitting, it's that violent in the sense that they don't allow fighting.

[Resolute 14]

More often than not, when I flip past MMA, all I see are two sweaty guys hugging and rolling all over the floor. Not my cup of tea, personally.

That said, it has totally destroyed poker as the lastest fad.

[Hemmer]

I don't think MMA is a fad.. its only getting bigger and its here to stay.

I love MMA. Its like that typical 'what if' scenarios you think of.. like 'can a wrestler beat a boxer?' or 'can a Jiu-jitsu fighter beat a brawler' etc.

There are some fighters in MMA that just love brawling, like Kimbo. Then there are others who train all their lives to master their techniques. Many of the fighters are the nicest and most class act guys you'll meet.. like Georges St Pierre and Jason McDonald.

[J pold]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

To each his own. I'm sure you've an interest or hobby someone else would be puzzled or disgusted by, different strokes for different folks.

I assume boxing is equally grotesque? As well as all other applied martial arts? Under what circumstances would human combat not be 'organized bar brawling'? Is a bare-knuckled brawling in hockey more acceptable, and if so, why?

Boxing requires intelligence, skill, dexterity, and tactics some of the best athletes of all time and the best sporting moments ever time have come from boxing its an art

While MMA is just two guys who throw some punches until they get tried so the dry hump on the floor, why not throw in a grizzly bear vs. a mountain lion? It would be same barbaric behavior

And fighting in hockey is justified in my mind because it’s a part of a bigger purpose in terms of the sport and plays a big role

I recall when they had a sole hockey fight competition a couple of year ago, that would be just as ridiculous as MMA

[Hemmer]

J Pold... its pretty obvious that you don't watch too much MMA. I think all those good things you described about boxing also applies to MMA matches. MANY of the MMA matches involve technical skills and intelligence and is not your idea of two cavemen punchin each others lights out.

[CaptainCrunch]

I don't even know if you can call that Kimbo Slice fight anything resembling a good fight, especially after all of the hype that they put onto this guy.

There were no tactics to his game, he looked completely lost in the ring, when he was grounded he didn't know how to defend or counter, and it was apparent that the guy that he was fighting was a bit of a cream puff with a glass jaw.

That main event was as close to professional wrestling as its going to get. If Slice gets into the cage with any of the top guys, hes done and fast.

The fight before though that ended with the finger in the eye was an excellent fight.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by J pold

Boxing requires intelligence, skill, dexterity, and tactics some of the best athletes of all time and the best sporting moments ever time have come from boxing its an art

While MMA is just two guys who throw some punches until they get tried so the dry hump on the floor, why not throw in a grizzly bear vs. a mountain lion? It would be same barbaric behavior

And fighting in hockey is justified in my mind because it’s a part of a bigger purpose in terms of the sport and plays a big role

I recall when they had a sole hockey fight competition a couple of year ago, that would be just as ridiculous as MMA

Oh come on now, it's the same damn thing -- two guys trying to give their opponent a concussion. You can dress it up all you want, but MMA and boxing are similar sports and neither one is more noble (or less barbaric) than the other.

And if MMA was really like bar-brawling it wouldn't only be bigger than hockey, it would be bigger than football.

[Hemmer]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I don't even know if you can call that Kimbo Slice fight anything resembling a good fight, especially after all of the hype that they put onto this guy.

There were no tactics to his game, he looked completely lost in the ring, when he was grounded he didn't know how to defend or counter, and it was apparent that the guy that he was fighting was a bit of a cream puff with a glass jaw.

That main event was as close to professional wrestling as its going to get. If Slice gets into the cage with any of the top guys, hes done and fast.

The fight before though that ended with the finger in the eye was an excellent fight.

They should put Kimbo Slice up against someone like Frank Mir.. and have Mir crush his MMA dreams like he did to Brock Lesnar

[Muta]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Oh come on now, it's the same damn thing -- two guys trying to give their opponent a concussion. You can dress it up all you want, but MMA and boxing are similar sports and neither one is more noble (or less barbaric) than the other.

And if MMA was really like bar-brawling it wouldn't only be bigger than hockey, it would be bigger than football.

Exactly. Boxing and MMA are on almost the same level.

Boxing, they use their fists, and as such, are limited in full-body mobility.

For me, however, MMA is infinitely more exciting, because you get a chance to see fighters not only use their fists, but also their elbows, legs, knees and feet. It's quite entertaining to see an elite fighter pull of spinning kicks and other extremely difficult techniques that you couldn't do in boxing.

Plus, if anyobdy follows MMA fighting, they would know how exciting it can be when two fighters of different styles go up against each other - for example, a Brazilian jujitsu fighter vs. a Japanese submission style... or whatever it is. There's just more going on, and thus is more entertaining, in MMA than in boxing IMO.

Hell, you could throw boxing gloves on MMA fighters, and it'd still be more entertaining.

[corporatejay]

That title is completely and utterly misleading. Those numbers are for the LA market only, here are the actual NATIONAL numbers.

On Saturday, FOX's 3.1/6 was the best of a tightly bunched field, with CBS (2.8/5), ABC (2.7/5) and NBC (2.6/5) all close behind. CBS' night featured the debut of its mixed martial arts series, which drew its best numbers after 11 p.m.

Destroys? Hardly....they edged out hockey, and who knows people might have tuned in out of curiousity (Remember the XFL). The title of this thread should be changed.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap...,1270406.story

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Hemmer

J Pold... its pretty obvious that you don't watch too much MMA. I think all those good things you described about boxing also applies to MMA matches. MANY of the MMA matches involve technical skills and intelligence and is not your idea of two cavemen punchin each others lights out.

Your response to that uninformed post was much nicer than the one I was going to write. Thanks.

J Pold. Please do some research before you post about MMA again. You make it painfully obvious in your statements that you really have no idea what you are talking about. Sure there are some fighters that don't have the skill level of other fighters but I have seen many boxing matches go the distance in a display that more resembles hugging than boxing.

[Hemmer]

When people who don't know much about MMA see two fighters on the ground fighting.. they think its 'dryhumping the ground'. Whereas, true fans know that theres just as much action going on on the mat as a boxing match. Theres many submissions and positional battles going on on the floor.. its almost sometimes like a chess match. As much as I like to see a knock out.. good ground battles are awesome to watch too.

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Prottotype

Seems like to me that most of the UFC heavyweights are the brawlers... or more than any other weight class. Light Heavyweight to a degree have their's too, but anything below that, you're looking at technical fighters. I like a good knockout, but I like the anticipation of a tap too.

Sigh.

Antonio Nogueria(Interim Champ): BJJ/Incredible Cardio
Randy Couture(HW Champ): Wrestling/Clinch
Heath Herring: Standup
Frank Mir: Submissions/Standup
Brock Lesnar: NCAA Wrestler/GnP
Fabricio Werdum: GnP

There are plenty of fighters who are not 'Brawlers' in the heavyweight division. This is just in the UFC. There are plenty more fighting in Japan and other promotions as well. I am also not including in the group the best heavyweight of all time, Fedor Emelianenko, who can beat anyone.

[Montana Moe]

Now maybe some of you understand the difficulty I have explaining why hockey is such a great sport to many Americans. Some folks have a pre-conceived notion, and aren't going to be swayed.

[J pold]

Yeah I know I should go learn about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Kung Fu or Praying mantis than I will appreciate the sport right? Wrong

I have watched UFC or MMA matches before and to me there is nothing atheistically pleasing watching two guys roll around in submission

But I know I’m in the minority here that’s fine, if people want too watch former security guards sponsored by porno production companies punch peoples ears off so be it

And no boxing and MMA or not the same, even the best fighters on both sides admit that they couldn’t beat the other at their craft