Is MMA starting to overtake boxing?

[stevedoc]

I don't think mma is even close to the popularity of boxing in Britain just open a newspaper ,other than the star I don't think any of the papers cover mma which tells me it's not as big as boxing .the odd show my might do OK just as the odd NFL game does but that's more out of not being able to see it normally it being a unique one off show .

[SAPFO]

Different sports. It is like comparing football to american football.

I heard a rumour that they are going big for UFC 200, and then Zuffa will sell for a few billion while they are on a high. Bellator are known for 'not paying up'. Although saying that, they are now have Scott Coker involved (Strikeforce), and have Viacom backing, which is huge. For the fan, a UFC monopoly is a good thing, as you get to see all the fights. For the fighters though, competition is the best way to secure better wages.

I watch an MMA card

I watch a boxing match


USA seems to be taking in more MMA than boxing these days as it is an easier transition for wrestlers & NFL stars, both of which are their bread & butter sports.

[Tomasino]

I found myself watching a build up vid on youtube for the jones fight which is the first time I have ever done that for UFC.
I really hope I don't start to like it.

Why not? I used to be right into it during the pride days and it was really entertaining. I hardly watch it now with all the wrestling although I do appreciate the grappling skills the George St Pierre style really put me off.

[Benelio]

Although I respect the technical ability involved...

The fact is that 'Striking' is a hell of a lot more fun to watch than 'Grappling'.

Imagine if Bruce Lee had been a judo expert instead of Wing Chun ... I don't think he would have been nearly as popular...

'Jesus, did you see Bruce Lee roll around with that guy on the floor in 'Enter The Dragon' on TV last night? What a hold he put him in!'

[stevieb_8006]

Although I respect the technical ability involved...

The fact is that 'Striking' is a hell of a lot more fun to watch than 'Grappling'.

Imagine if Bruce Lee had been a judo expert instead of Wing Chun ... I don't think he would have been nearly as popular...

'Jesus, did you see Bruce Lee roll around with that guy on the floor in 'Enter The Dragon' on TV last night? What a hold he put him in!'

See, I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about Bruce lee. He wasn't an 'expert' in wing chun, he didn't even finish learning the forms before leaving for America. When he returned to complete it, yip man was too old and he refused to study under any of his former classmates (thus showing he had quite an ego).

Also, being part German, there's a lot of people that don't believe he was even taught functional wing chun as the Chinese were very elitist back then.

That's not to say he couldn't 'fight', but the mythology around the man is ludicrous.

[reggaereggae]

Although I respect the technical ability involved...

The fact is that 'Striking' is a hell of a lot more fun to watch than 'Grappling'.

Imagine if Bruce Lee had been a judo expert instead of Wing Chun ... I don't think he would have been nearly as popular...

'Jesus, did you see Bruce Lee roll around with that guy on the floor in 'Enter The Dragon' on TV last night? What a hold he put him in!'

See, I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about Bruce lee. He wasn't an 'expert' in wing chun, he didn't even finish learning the forms before leaving for America. When he returned to complete it, yip man was too old and he refused to study under any of his former classmates (thus showing he had quite an ego).

Also, being part German, there's a lot of people that don't believe he was even taught functional wing chun as the Chinese were very elitist back then.

That's not to say he couldn't 'fight', but the mythology around the man is ludicrous.

I didn't know he was part German. But true, the mythology around a man who was fast, clearly talented etc as an 'impossible to beat' fighter, through watching scripted films is laughable.

[moogie101]

The reason people might have been talking about this Saturday's UFC is that it is a truly big fight & being hyped accordingly.

Jon Jones is the Light Heavy Champion & has looked quality, meanwhile he's taking on Daniel Cormier, an undefeated fighter who won a Heavyweight Tournament in Strikeforce & has since dropped to Light Heavy. He manhandled a top level fighter Dan Henderson to earn his title shot. Plus there was a scuffle between the two & they have had several war of words.

I think there was a time a couple of years ago when it looked like MMA would overtake boxing, but boxing seems to be putting on better events & more inclined to match the bigger names. Meanwhile the UFC appears to have overextended, far too many events which has led to a serious watering down of the shows.

I class myself a big fan, being following MMA since UFC when I was preordering VHS tapes of the events but I struggle to keep up with the events now & often don't know all the fighters, especially the prelim cards.

[TheLeprechaun]

The reason people might have been talking about this Saturday's UFC is that it is a truly big fight & being hyped accordingly.

Jon Jones is the Light Heavy Champion & has looked quality, meanwhile he's taking on Daniel Cormier, an undefeated fighter who won a Heavyweight Tournament in Strikeforce & has since dropped to Light Heavy. He manhandled a top level fighter Dan Henderson to earn his title shot. Plus there was a scuffle between the two & they have had several war of words.

I think there was a time a couple of years ago when it looked like MMA would overtake boxing, but boxing seems to be putting on better events & more inclined to match the bigger names. Meanwhile the UFC appears to have overextended, far too many events which has led to a serious watering down of the shows.

I class myself a big fan, being following MMA since UFC when I was preordering VHS tapes of the events but I struggle to keep up with the events now & often don't know all the fighters, especially the prelim cards.

good post. Yes I think the likes of Jon jones are a draw for the casual fan who watches the odd bit of boxing/mma. His finish against machida was spectacular. machida is another guy who has a bit of crossover appeal with some of my casual boxing/mma mates. probably because of his karate angle.

[Kilburn]

Been following UFC since around 2004 and have watched it get bigger and better, to the point where I'm probably 60/40 UFC/Boxing these days. It's the UFC fights I look forward to the most by far.

Aside from the consistent quality of the match ups and the depth of the cards, the TV show presentation is practically flawless IMO, the pre-fight synopsis is excellent. The atmosphere is built really well as the card moves along.

For sure not every big fight delivers but as boxing fans we are well used to that. As a spectacle I'd say the UFC is far more reliable.

Despite the subtle technical brilliance often displayed I can understand why the ground game side of things doesn't appeal to casuals, but equally I can see how an mma fan couldn't bear to sit through a boxing match aside for a rare, high profile hum dinger.

I'm looking forward to some big boxing cards this year and there are some really talented prospects / contenders on the world scene. But so much is based on hope, which is not something you need as a UFC fan. The biggest fights happen, end of.

My Sky Sports has gone, and I'm sad to say if I had to choose between BN and BT Sport it would be adios Buncey.

[Sklar]

This is a tedious, recurring subject. I liked Wanderlei era Pride and K-1. I like watching some fighters/matches in UFC and don't like others, it's largely style dependent. I personally don't like the UFC style of promotion and production but I do think it's ideal for their target market.

On the oft visited issue: irrespective of what the practitioners may claim, there's no getting away from the fact that the ground aspect of some hand to hand combat disciplines and sports is in large parts extremely homo-erotic and can make for uncomfortable viewing as a consequence. Because of the sanitised rules, certain positions that would normally not be assumed, at least not for long, outside of a Soho bedroom are maintained for what can seem like an cringing age. I'm not suggesting that kicking or stamping on a down opponents head/throat or headbutts, bites, gouging, groin strikes, small joint manipulation, glassing, stabbing, shooting, etc.. should be permitted but while they are not, and the rules are as they are, the gay looking stuff will remain. Nothing wrong with that if it's what you're into, as the ancient Greek gladiators usually were, but I can see why straight people may baulk. As G0mez alludes to, no amount of compensation measures can truly hide the fact rolling about on the ground for minutes on end with someone of the same sex is peculiar.

[Tomasino]

Well put

[Kilburn]

I find the whole idea of a "homo erotic" element to be utterly bizarre. I want to write it off as ignorance but feel the need to understand where this point of view comes from. Maybe I don't understand the term.

Just for clarity, are people saying these MMA guys get some kind of sexual benefit from what they do? I assume I am right in saying that rugby attracts the same opinions given the amount of "rolling around on the floor " that goes on? Or is just the spectacle that appears "homo erotic"?

I don't see any of it myself.

[mullenman]

Yes

mcgregor is bigger than any boxer in Ireland
he will fill a stadium next fight

[brian13]

Yes

mcgregor is bigger than any boxer in Ireland
he will fill a stadium next fight

The 50,000 Aviva Stadium is his next fight, not a hope he fills Croke Park. There is only one fight in my eyes which has any hope of doing well in Croker but that is a long time a way and it would be a boxing match and card.