Philadelphia Inquirer Article on UFC 41

[Spencikiss]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/5297589.htm

this bung hole's email address is at the bottom of the article...try to keep it constructive.

[Curly Howard]

someone trying to make a name for themselves. ****'em

[Zen]

I don't think the article was that negative towards MMA. He just kinda threw it out there, I think that kind of publicity is good.

[seldomTap]

I agree with Zen, however his first few paragarphs are pretty average.

I have emailed him..

Dear Mr Smith.

I read with interest your atricle after being supplied with the link via globalmma.com, a mixed martial arts fan site.

I think you raised some interesting points and your opinion is of course your entitlement. However, I feel I should bring to light some points you made and correct you on them.

"After years of trying to rid itself of madness, mayhem and occasional fatalities,"
Yes, MMA has received some bad press in the past, mostly due to Senators, primarily John McCain and like minded people. Indeed MMA is not everyones cup of tea, but neither is boxing, a sport which John McCain has been a long time supporter of.
There has been one death in Mixed Martial Arts. The fighter died in an even held in Russia in the 90's. fact is he should never have been allowed to compete due to an inherant medical condition and would never have passed a physical for the UFC or any US based promotion.
Boxing averages 4 deaths per year. Fact.
High School Football in the States averages more than this. Fact.

"In the UFC, pads of four to six inches directly over the knuckles classify as gloves"
Indeed, this is true. However, gloves are there to protect the punchers hand moreso than the receivers head. The bones in the hand, contrary to popular belief, are weaker than those of the human skull and will in fact break when repeatedly struck against a human head. Boxers wear 10 - 16 Oz gloves, with up to 18 feet of bandages and 10 feet of tape to protect their hands, so they can put more punches on an opponents head. In MMA, the fighers know that if they hit the head they run the risk of breaking their hand quite easily, before knocking out their opponent, hence, they use takedowns, submissions and kicks to get over their opponent.

Mixed martial arts is far from being a mainstream sport at this time, and it will always have detractors. However, gradually, more people are becoming interested in the sport, seeing it for more than "human **** fighting" and seeing the skill and toughness of the competitors. Professional boxing has disillusioned a lot of fans with poor management and promotion for a long time now, people are looking to something more honest. Mixed martial arts can fill that void. Like I said though, it is not for everyone, just like baseball isn't for everyone, or art shows aren't for everyone, however in this day and age, people want choices, and mixed martial arts is but one of those. Regardless of what bad publicity it may well receive.

Thanks for your time,

Andrew Jacobs

[handjobs4dollars]

Not everybody can love the sport but the guy could have done a little more research.

[The Golden Bear]

good job seldom!!

[Zen]

Good job Seldom, that is an excellent reply.

The biggest problem I have with alot of journalists, is they make alot of statements regarding MMA that are based on fiction instead of based on fact, or they refer to how things were in the early UFC with no gloves, no rulest etc.. Isn't a journalists job to supply facts and let the reader/viewer form his own opinions? I think for MMA to grow the mainstream media has to be more subjective, less opinionated and get their facts straight before saying anything. It's very unprofessional and ignorant too be throwing out facts based on rumor and hearsay if your supposed to be a respectable sports journalist.