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by David P. Greisman - It seems as if whenever the mainstream media turns its attention to the combat sports, two themes emerge with maddening regularity: boxing is on the decline and is desperately in need of saving; and mixed martial arts is experiencing a meteoric rise that may lead to the sunset of the Sweet Science.
It’s unnecessary.
Yes, mixed martial arts, or MMA, is here to stay – it’s hit the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated, the weigh-in for this past Saturday’s Chuck Liddell-Quinton “Rampage” Jackson rematch was televised on ESPNEWS and Liddell made a cameo on a recent appearance of HBO’s hit series “Entourage.”
In America, it is a sport where the most well known promoter – Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC – went from the brink of extinction to a business that now rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual pay-per-view revenue. The sport is indeed growing at a healthy rate, allowing numerous other smaller promotions to gain a foothold and signifying that this phenomenon will not be a mere flash in the pan.
Some in boxing feel threatened by this.
The backlash comes from message board contributors who tear down the sport and its fighters at any opportunity. It comes from boxing promoters such as Lou DiBella, who while appearing on ESPN broke out Sen. John McCain’s line about MMA being human ****fighting.
It’s unnecessary.
Boxing and MMA need not collide in a sort of commercial rivalry, not when they can coexist in a market that caters to both the old and new definitions of “hardcore fight fan.” Instead of going head-to-head, they can be hand in hand.
Showtime has already partnered with multiple groups, having broadcast their premiere episode of Elite Xtreme Combat in February and having scheduled a pay-per-view for this Saturday and another for June 22. As for HBO, the talk has been that UFC will not replace boxing on their airwaves, but rather join it as another element of the network’s programming.
Joe Rogan, the color commentator for UFC, noted his love of the Sweet Science while debating with the aforementioned DiBella. Over the weekend, this scribe watched the Liddell-Jackson pay-per-view with a fellow boxing columnist. It was his first time dropping hard-earned cash for an MMA card. It won’t be his last. [details]
It’s unnecessary.
Yes, mixed martial arts, or MMA, is here to stay – it’s hit the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated, the weigh-in for this past Saturday’s Chuck Liddell-Quinton “Rampage” Jackson rematch was televised on ESPNEWS and Liddell made a cameo on a recent appearance of HBO’s hit series “Entourage.”
In America, it is a sport where the most well known promoter – Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC – went from the brink of extinction to a business that now rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual pay-per-view revenue. The sport is indeed growing at a healthy rate, allowing numerous other smaller promotions to gain a foothold and signifying that this phenomenon will not be a mere flash in the pan.
Some in boxing feel threatened by this.
The backlash comes from message board contributors who tear down the sport and its fighters at any opportunity. It comes from boxing promoters such as Lou DiBella, who while appearing on ESPN broke out Sen. John McCain’s line about MMA being human ****fighting.
It’s unnecessary.
Boxing and MMA need not collide in a sort of commercial rivalry, not when they can coexist in a market that caters to both the old and new definitions of “hardcore fight fan.” Instead of going head-to-head, they can be hand in hand.
Showtime has already partnered with multiple groups, having broadcast their premiere episode of Elite Xtreme Combat in February and having scheduled a pay-per-view for this Saturday and another for June 22. As for HBO, the talk has been that UFC will not replace boxing on their airwaves, but rather join it as another element of the network’s programming.
Joe Rogan, the color commentator for UFC, noted his love of the Sweet Science while debating with the aforementioned DiBella. Over the weekend, this scribe watched the Liddell-Jackson pay-per-view with a fellow boxing columnist. It was his first time dropping hard-earned cash for an MMA card. It won’t be his last. [details]
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