ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP - THE FIGHT FOR LEGITIMACY

[DOGGx0]

OTL has been monitoring the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest promoter of "ultimate fighting" in the U.S., for two years. When it began in 1993, it was promoted as "no holds barred" with no time limits, no weight classes (a 160-pound karate expert could take on a 450-pound sumo wrestler), with fights ending by knockout or by submission. In 1996, Senator John McCain embarked on a state-by-state crusade to ban ultimate fighting, and shortly thereafter the Ultimate Fighting Championship was dropped from pay-per-view TV. In 2001, new owners purchased the UFC hoping to bring ultimate fighting into sports' mainstream. In its quest for legitimacy, the UFC has made rule changes to appeal to a larger audience and subsequently, returned to pay-per-view in 2001. While it has gained popularity in the United States, the organization faces challenges from critics who think it is too violent, and from states that still won't sanction its fights.


What are your thoughts about this?

[The Mouse]

**** them man. They can keep tryin to hold this sport down but we've already shown that it will continually grow and evolve despite the governments actions. I think people are finally seeing the positive aspects of this sport and realising the true athleticism and heart it takes to compete. Alot of people are starting to look up to fighters as they do other athletes in different sports. It's about ****ing time. Sure, the sport has changed, and the battle of promotions and organizations will never stop; but the bottom line is that it's bigger than it's ever been and is evolving into something great.

[Itfihtr]

We need to Ban John Mcain...............He never even looked at MMA in a honest aspect.he took the advice from Boxing promoters.and probally some campaigne contributions!

[The Golden Bear]

Youd be pleased to know that just recently McCain has gone on the record to say that MMA in the US has cleaned up.

I think that MMA is just about to make it big. . . i can here it.

[kcfman]

my thoughts on this is that in order for UFC to make profits and pay their fighters more, rules had to be made. I personally liked the old UFC rules. But you cannot stop progress or shall I say profits, and now the UFC is what it is today. It is better for the fighters who receive more money but yet it is not even close to what they deserve. Maybe this is why many fighters go to Japan and fight for more money. I dont know.

[seldomTap]

MMA in the US, and a lot of western countries for that matter is always going to face a battle to get mainstream coverage or acceptance.

The current trend of "political Correctness" will see that any human physical contact that can be construed as being semi dangerous will be scrutinised and possibly moderated to a mere shadow of itself. Even mainstream sports now are not as physical as they sue to be. From an Australian view that a majority of you won't understand, but the Australian Football league now has 7 umpires, about 15 - 20 cameras and a group of umpires watching each movement of each game to see if there is anything that could possibly be seen as foul play, so the player concerned can be disciplined. 15 years ago, the game was way more physical and the crowds were actually better than they are for the ****genised version which many people see as being too soft and more like basketball on an oval.

MMA runs the risk of losing credibility and its integrity if it is made more "consumer friendly". The current laws are as far the powers that be should bend on this cause if they let the Mccains of the world decide what is good for people and what isn't, then they had may as well either change to boxing or pro wrestling.

MMA is growing in popularity as people are exposed more to it. Hopefully this is a trend that continues and the smaller shows can continue to grow and devleop the fighters so that there is a steady stream of quality athletes coming into the UFC.

[Jay Pan ROKK]

The rules are good ... the weight division is also good if the weigh in is at the time of the fight ... the only threat that UFC faces nowadays is the marketing for selling tickets and PPV that could turn MMA into a Pro-Wrestling event.

True MMA must have a open way to choose the card so every fighter would have the same opportunity.

[Thanos]

I thought the OTL presentation was pretty balanced. There are going to be critics, like McCain (who still doesn't like the sport), and George Will, who said it's like ****ography. But they also showed some very positive fighter interviews.

[momita]

Get those guys to sit with [b:ccc6a5228a]me[/b:ccc6a5228a] to an event, I'll make them fans!

[Big-g]

screw them, i hope Saku mongoloin chops all the haters.