Am I Being Unfair to MMA?

I boxed Brett Rogers once, and it was comical. Couple other unknown MMA heavies was a slaughter.

I dunno. I think that the very nature of striking in MMA means, they don't master boxing. They need to be good at so much, they just can't master it all.

But in straight boxing, they are not on a boxer's level, and this is both my experience and common sense.

If I was getting kicked at and shot at, I dont know what Id do.

 

Great post.

I'm someone who is a die-hard boxing fan / spectator, I think it is the ultimate competition to watch. But it's clear to me now that it is personal preference and what each show has to offer that makes fans of one or the other. It's purely a show.

I train in Wing Chung Kung Fu and BJJ though. The Wing Chun is very... 'street' wing chun too. We use a boxing jab and right cross because, well, the right cross is your best weapon generally speaking. So it's not strictly traditional which is great to me.

As a spectator, I don't think I am or you, the thread starter, are being unfair to MMA. The boxing show, everything there is to it, is just likable to me. When two guys are boxing for that prize of the winner there is nothing like it. It's what I and you like better. Simple as that.

MMA, to me, can get boring to watch, but the guys at the top of that sport are just as well trained, strong, athletic and deserving of attention as any boxer at the top of their game too. It's just a different style and different show.

What it is a question of I guess, is why is MMA seemingly more popular? And are us boxing spectator fans right in arguing with MMA fans in suggesting they should watch ours over theirs???

Recently here in Australia, an MMA pay per view is getting priority over the upcoming Mayweather fight as they're on at the same time and we only really have the 1 channel here - luckily another one has picked it up now though... thankgod!

But it's a simple truth - MMA would have sold more. I put it down to the system overall. The top MMA guys all fight each other. Rivalries are sorted out in the ring and there is less politics in getting fighters who SHOULD fight each other, to actually do it. Boxing is another ****ing universe in that regard and if it wants to compete, it needs to start doing more of what MMA does actually get right.

Either way to me, both of these (and all other sports) are a showcase of people who have reached the top of their game competing with each other. Boxing is the one that speaks to me over all others right now as far as me as a spectator is concerned.

 

As long as there are more combat sports than NASCAR or basketball, you should be happy.

 

I dont watch it and could be wrong but I think a big part of the rise of it is down to:

being marketed very well, ufc is an exciting brand which is taken on the road to widden the appeal.

top guys facing each other, and although we are seeing the top guys fight each other in boxing now this was not always the case.

satisfies folk with blood lust. no one really quits on there stool in it.

has gimmcks and mainstreme access. kimbo slice was a massive gimmick, dressed up as a street fighting internet legend. if you actually watch the videos that launched him, right enough he is a big fella but when he first came out there were Kimbo v Tyson threads!! he was soon found out in mma.

ufc reality show where fighters compete to get a contract! thats appealing to the american idol / condender generation and gives u a massive fan base before even started.

i dont think mma is a threat to boxing, if u love boxing u love boxing simple as that, there is room for both. and besides we all know what is the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1M_PIFW4wI

 

you can't really compare these two sports when it come to their respective "boxing":

pro/amateur boxing - you fight an opponent who will fight you whith straight-up boxing skills
mma boxing - you fight an opponent who will box you, then shoot for a take-down, elbow you, kick you, use muai thai, etc.

in mma, i admit that they don't look as fluid ( and sometimes awkward ) w/ their boxing. but that's beacause they have to use a stance that can adjust to their opponents next move. however it doess not automatically tell you that MMA fighters are inferior boxers.

for me it's like comparing NBA to international basketball. as good as NBA players can play ball, if they try to force their type of game on international basketball w/ international basketball rules. i don't think they can win a championship. the same way that international teams will most likely fail if they play w/ their style on NBA w/ NBA rules.

i also don't agree with "jack of all/master of none":
bj penn, silva, royce gracie = BJJ masters
lyoto machida = karate
brock lesnar = amateur wrestling ( yes. he did amateur before he did the "scripted" wrestling )

 

mma fighters on average simply dismiss the skill of boxing and what can be achieved and think its easy to throw a few punches think of the dumb jock who thinks he hits like tyson, their eyes havent been opened to the reality yet, i used to think i had a good punch on the street, i was a little heavy handed but slow and all over the place, i took up boxing for a few years and now im doin mma, , im droppin ****ers right and left because of my boxing, dont get me wrong i love mma , but its 'boxing' is its weak spot, some have great standup with amazing kicks knees..etc, but tend to with their fists i dont get it.

 

THe mods really don't like MMA

 

People who go on about boxers being able to KO an MMA fighter in a boxing match are idiots. It is akin to me saying that Lesnar would beat Waldo in an am wrestling match or that Nogueira would sub him in a BJJ match.

Of course they would as thats their specialist disipline. I appreciate both boxing and MMA, and any type of combat.

Odds are if any pro boxer went in against an MMA fighter in MMA they would lose, same the other way around.

 

Honestly... no disrespect but these types of threads/requests are getting old. If you don't enjoy watching the sport, then don't watch it. Personally, I am a HUGE boxing fan and I love boxing. I am also a huge MMA fan, and I love MMA. Then again, I have a long backround in grappling and I appreciate Grappling just as much as striking. However as much as I love boxing... it isn't even complete striking. Muay Thai or Kickboxing are even more complete forms of striking than boxing. Boxing is the most limited fighting sport in the world. You are only allowed to use two fists and you only have to be prepared for your opponents two fists. However... I still love it for what it is. It's also beautiful when you see a guy who has completely mastered the craft... just like it is for any sport, IMO.

I think that MMA is much too complex for many people to understand and enjoy. There are so many intricacies in MMA that many people simply aren't educated enough about all around fighting to appreciate. I am not only talking about the grappling aspect which is the obvious... I am also talking about trying to strike and look good doing it.. when you have so many other things to worry about coming back at you. Fists, elbows, leg kicks, body kicks, head kicks, knees, clinch striking, clinch grappling, outside takedown attempts, inside takedown attempts, set-ups, submission attempts.... ect... The uneducated person sits back and says "these guys are sloppy, weak chinned, without technique, ect..." The educated fan understands that you can't use most of the technical striking from boxing in an MMA match. It makes you much too easy of a target for takedowns.You have to change your stance, your movements, your commitment to your punches, your defense... it's all out the window unless you want to go for broke on one punch and allow yourself to be takedown bait. In other words... you can't shoulder roll a double leg takedown. You can't effectively shoulder roll with MMA gloves anyways, but you get the point. Also, of course you are going to be knocked out easier for the most part. For several reasons. Obvious ones being... the gloves provide much less protection. You also have to consider the fact that you have SO many things to watch out for that it is much easier to get hit with something that you don't see or anticipate. As a boxing fan, you know that those are the ones that knock you out. If you are expecting a takedown attempt and he lunges up with a shot to the chin as you are preparing for a low takedown... you aren't going to take that punch well. Just the same as if you are expecting something else and catch a high kick to the head... or throwing a kick of your own and eating a punch while it's on the way... ect... It's much easier to get caught and hurt/knocked out. Let alone the fact that you aren't given the chance to recover while your opponent isn't allowed to jump on you. Can you imagine how many boxers would have never made great comebacks in a fight if their opponents were allowed to jump on them and pound them when they were knocked down?

If you don't like the sport by now and you have already watched it, chances are you won't change your mind by what someone on this message board says.

 

Nice post, WiDDoW, well said! :good

 

To add.. MMA is also a much safer sport for the fighters as well. It may be very brutal in different types of ways during the fight. However, as I stated before... you are much more likely to suffer permanent brain damage from boxing. In MMA when you go down, your opponent is actually allowed to finish you. Rather than being forced to stand in his corner while you are given just enough time to recover in order to take more of a pounding to your already injured brain. Jumping on someone and finishing them might seem more brutal at the moment... but it is actually a much safer route than just letting an injured fighter recover for several seconds, get back to his feet... and suffer more and more trauma to the head.

 

Damn Widdow good post. Now if you could only show this level of objectivity when discussing Wlad.

 

So the world champion jiu jitsu competitors, national championship and olympic wrestlers and judokas, the kickboxing national and world champions are not masters of their trade?

More importantly, the best MMA fighters; regardless of their background are all masters of MMA, it is it's own sport, not just a combination of several. Sometimes you will see a person who is outqualified in one aspect, such as GSP not having the wrestling credentials of a Koshcheck, but getting the better of the wrestling aspect because he is better at MMA.


Funny how MMA haters always are the first to view something as homosexual, says quite a lot about you that you view one of the most basic manuvers in many different styles of fighting that have been around for thosands of years and from every corner of the world, as gay sex.

The rest of the world realizes it's a fight, they have since human fighting has existed, but when it comes to you you immediately think of gay sex. That is on you, not on the 99% of civilization with a brain.

 

That must be why Anderson Silva is 1-1 as a boxer

 

The "boxers are much better strikers than MMA fighters" argument is tired and inherently stupid.

Let's see... the guy who spends all day learning how to punch is better at it than the guy who only spends a little bit of time at it, is.

Well, no ****, morons.

Take away the boxing and what other form of fighting can they do? Oh yeah, probably none. Why? Because that's not what they train for.

And the idiots who just wave off the concept of MMA fighters having to worry about take downs or leg/body kicks as having nothing to do with anything are simply juvenile and ****ish.

THe name of either game is different in such a way that you can't expect one to venture into the other without their being a noticable learning curve. Only a pissant fool would think otherwise.