UFC Thoughts – Part 2

Part 2 of my hard-hitting commentary on the Ultimate Fighting Championship is up… next!

So, I've talked about the rise of the UFC, and why it remains popular. But I didn't talk about the actual product – which I witnessed (live) for the first time on Saturday.

A UFC Event

A UFC production is actually a lot weaker than its competitors. Wrestling tapes amusing promos, and spends weeks building towards another anti-climatic pay-per-view. Boxing features solid play-by-play man Jim Lampley, the funniest old man on television in Larry Merchant (who pushes the "I'm an old guy, no boxer is going to take a swing at me" theory a long way, especially when criticizing ex-cons like Bernard Hopkins to his face), and the over-the-top Max Kellerman.

UFC? It counters with Joe "The Career Arc" Rogan. Yes, that's the same Joe Rogan who was the technician on News Radio. Or the host of Fear Factor. Or the stand-up comic.

As I mentioned on Monday, a UFC pay-per-view gets down to business. The card featured four fights (I'm told that if cards end early, they'll often show some of the "dark" matches that took place earlier in the evening). The first fight featured Toshihiro Akiyama and Alan Belcher on what must have been an already soggy, blood-soaked mat.

Akiyama and Belcher more or less… boxed. And it was entertaining. Incredibly, Belcher broke Akiyama's orbital bone in the first round, yet Akiyama went on to win the decision. All in all, I thought it was a pretty entertaining fight.

Next up were Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. Henderson was the American coach on the latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter, while Bisping was the British coach (sidenote: I know many of you will disagree, but The Contender reality show was more entertaining than The Ultimate Fighter in almost every way. When I watched The Contender, I ended up liking a number of the contestants, and the fights were always non-stop, unpredictable action. The Ultimate Fighter was completely different… I found most of the contestants unbearable, and the majority of the fights featured gross mismatches). Anyway, Henderson and Bisping had an ongoing feud during the show, as Henderson played the role of the classy old man while Bisping was the pompous, self-promoting *******. Like every season of TUF, the coaches would end up hashing out every difference at the following UFC event.

I lack UFC education, but I thought Henderson was clearly the most dangerous fighter in the first round, and would probably catch Bisping before the night was through. And he did.

And then we witnessed the ugliest side of MMA. Henderson threw a hellacious right hand that caught Bisping on the chin, rendering him unconscious right away. That, alone, did not bother me. But while a lifeless Bisping crumpled to the canvas and struck his head on the mat, Henderson followed through with a violent punch/forearm to the Brit's head. Since Bisping's eyes had already rolled into the back of his head and he showed no signs of life (unless foaming at the mouth is a sign of life) – it seemed a tad unnecessary.

Maybe – maybe – I could get behind MMA if it wasn't for this. But MMA is the only sport where it's alright to strike a downed opponent, even when it's clear he's hurt/decapitated/dead. And this isn't an isolated incident – I've seen a number of MMA events where a fighter is clearly out cold, but the other fighter continues to wail away on his lifeless corpse, oblivious to his surroundings until the referee jumps in. And I don't blame Henderson – these guys train this way, and I'm sure you get caught up in the moment – but that, more than anything, does not sit right with me.

Perhaps I'm just delicate.

The next fight was the co-main event, as French Canadian George St. Pierre took on a guy named Thiago Alves, who looked very menacing but turned out to be relatively harmless (sidenote: every time a UFC fighter enters the cage, he paces around like a caged animal.. without fail).

As St. Pierre took to the cage and stripped down, he revealed that a) he has -2% body fat; and b) he chooses to wear trunks that are somehow tighter than skin-tight. On a serious note, GSP looks as if he's a mound of muscle with skin stretched over like saran wrap. I was a bit creeped out.

I think GSP would serve as the counter-argument to anyone who says UFC fighters are just dumb brawlers. He systematically took Alves apart with well-timed takedowns and clever maneuvering. I'm not sure he was even hit. St. Pierre won every round, was admired by the broadcast team, and made a gracious acceptance speech with a comically thick French-Canadian accent. His accent reminded me of a bad comic trying to do a French-Canadian accent.

The main event was former WWE wrestler, Brock Lesnar, versus Las Vegas' own Frank Mir. It was a rematch of their fight 14 months ago, when Mir sustained a beating for 90 seconds before catching a then raw Lesnar in some sort of ankle lock. Lesnar went on to win his next two fights, claim the UFC title (he had a career record of 2-1 when he won the championship) and engaged in a war of words with Mir all week.

Now, without knowing anything about UFC, I could have told you that Mir's only hope of victory was some sort of idiotic stumble by Lesnar. Lesnar weighed 290 lbs. at fight time (290!) to Mir's 245. When they stood nose to nose in the ring, the difference looked even bigger.

Sidenote: Brock Lesnar looks like he allowed a six-year-old to pick out his tattoos. Lesnar has a massive sword down the middle of his chest, what appears to be some sort of sea monster on his back, and a skull on his arm. I thought it looked embarrassing. Oh, and it's also worth mentioning you need at least five tattoos to fight in the UFC.

Lesnar went on to maul Mir for a round and a half, permanently changing his face, and eventually beat him into submission like an older brother would beat a younger one – holding him in a headlock with one arm, and delivering repeated blows to the face with the other arm. It was a pretty savage beating. Lesnar, apparently annoyed by Mir disparaging him in the media, yelled at his semi-coherent opponent after the match, and proceeded to flip off the crowd and lewdly talk about his own wife (former WWE starlet, Sable… who must be pushing 50 now).

To cap off a delightful night for the UFC, it now had a talking point for the weeks to come.

UFC and Society

I originally thought UFC was a sign of the final breakdown of society, and perhaps it is… but I wonder if it's just the next step in the collective lowering of the bar.

UFC's success reminds me of the rise of WWE. When Vince McMahon's then-WWF was slowly being crushed by Ted Turner's rival outfit, WCW, Vince did the only thing he could do – pushed the envelope. Things got trashier – a lot trashier – as he erased the boundaries of where "sports entertainment" could go. As WCW stayed on the straight and narrow (relatively speaking), WWE continued to market "extreme" wrestling and a fair share of smut. Wrestling fans (mostly young males) went for it, and WWE became bigger than it ever had before.

UFC is the next step in the evolution (de-evolution?). Instead of tuning in to watch fake violence and storylines, people can now tune into the real stuff – which is even more violent. I think this, in large part, is why WWE's pay-per-view buy rates have suffered more than boxing's have.

But other than that, I don't think UFC will have any effect outside a few minor changes. Instead of kids threatening other kids in elementary school by saying "I know karate!" they may now say "I know MMA!" (in fact, a guy on my soccer team got threatened by a guy who warned us he was "training in MMA.")

As for today's youth… well, they're lost causes anyway. It is worth mentioning, though, that while the UFC proudly advertises they haven't had a single death inside a properly sanctioned MMA ring, prepare for an influx of stories about guys getting seriously injured (or worse) in the minor leagues.

Closing Thoughts

How much can UFC grow? I don't know – but judging by its international appeal, I think it's about to get bigger. One thing still eludes the UFC – a mainstream, marketable star. While there are the Randy Coutures and Chuck Liddells, who are idolized and well-known in the MMA community, they aren't resonating with the general public (even though I hear Couture's acting in The Scorpion King 2 was top-grade). With a big star, MMA will probably take the next step in the sports pantheon. Maybe it'll be Brock Lesnar. Maybe it'll be someone else. But if they can find that one star, then watch out.

The media's role in this cannot be underplayed, either. Mainstream sports television/newspapers/websites continue to keep MMA on the peripheral, but it is slowly demanding attention on sites like ESPN and CNNSI. It's hard to ignore when it holds one of the biggest pay-per-views ever, and it is clearly one of the go-to sports for young people.

Me, personally? If anything, I have a slightly greater appreciation for the fighters, and would never debate that it is a sport. But I don't think I will become more than a casual observer, even though I can see why it's become so popular.