The MMA Walls are Closing in on Boxing

[KILLA RIGHT]

I hate when ppl bring up street fights like people actually street fight there's guns

[DoomCity202]

Comparing mma to boxing is like comparing drag racing to thoroughbred horse racing... Mma is more less attracting people that don't know a lick about fighting, probably WWE/WWF fans... if you look closely you'll see how mma has adapted much from boxing as far as organizing itself... from having rounds, judges, corners advising on stools along with a cutman, scoring, mitts to warm up prior to entering the ring, etc... I remember seeing Holyfield sitting as spectator at an mma event, probably as a guest of the network televising cuz he sure didn't sound excited to be there, and one of the commentators mentions the glove size and how in mma they're much smaller - Holyfield replied "if in boxing we used gloves that small the fight wouldn't last 2 rounds...". And I'm sure mma fighters have learned to respect the "sweet science" as they're realizing fans enjoy the fighting on their feet and not mounted on each other. There's a finesse to boxing, an art of breaking your opponent down, a high level of skill is needed to be successful (unlike mma i.e. Kimbo Slice,) a test of wills (there are no tap-outs, if you get knocked down you get a count and have to get up and fight again, unlike mma,) it is exactly what its monicker calls it - a science... Mma is a window for other disciplines to come into the spotlight and has a LONG way to go

Geah!

what's the reason for these instigating articles? isn't this the same recycled **** that has been posted for the last 2 years and yet nothing has ****in' happened sometimes i feel that the guys writing for this site just run out of ideas and decide to throwout one of these "ooo the mma goliath is coming ooo" every other month just to create some jazz on the boards.

[MikeBrew328]

Chuck Liddell is the face of MMA in America. And the more times he gets dropped by guys like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, every time that happens it will get increasingly difficult to be able to fool the already ****** average MMA fan.

I don't know who to compare Liddell too. You can't compare him to Tyson because he's not that good. He has the resemblance of a "Ricardo Mayorga" in the way he loses so badly but the crowd will still pay to see him.

But the guy is such a f***ing fraud its ridiculous. The first real challenge was Jackson, and he got owned. A guy like that would never make it in boxing.

What I'm trying to say is, who does the UFC really have after Liddell? Rampage Jackson is psycho, Silva is not popular, and the other guys like Matt Hughes get so boring to watch. There's no big amateur system yet, so I expect to see many more "Chuck Liddells" in the sport, because individual fighters are the ones who make the sport

[deevel79]

Chuck Liddell is the face of MMA in America. And the more times he gets dropped by guys like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, every time that happens it will get increasingly difficult to be able to fool the already ****** average MMA fan.

I don't know who to compare Liddell too. You can't compare him to Tyson because he's not that good. He has the resemblance of a "Ricardo Mayorga" in the way he loses so badly but the crowd will still pay to see him.

But the guy is such a f***ing fraud its ridiculous. The first real challenge was Jackson, and he got owned. A guy like that would never make it in boxing.

What I'm trying to say is, who does the UFC really have after Liddell? Rampage Jackson is psycho, Silva is not popular, and the other guys like Matt Hughes get so boring to watch. There's no big amateur system yet, so I expect to see many more "Chuck Liddells" in the sport, because individual fighters are the ones who make the sport

What makes Oscar any better for the sport of boxing?

[BabyFaceAssasin]

MMA is ****** and it ain't closing in on nothing! I'm young and I love Boxing, and my son will love Boxing. The problem with Boxing is not that it is not violent enough (did you see Margarito vs Cotto?) The problem with Boxing is that there is not enough personalization with the fighters. We see them fight but never learn about them. The fighters are not marketed as individuals, and they need to be. Fight fans want to know their favorite fighters personally. HBO should do a documentary on Pavlik or Margarito. Showtime should do a behind the scene look at upcoming fighters. Tell us about the fighters!!!!

[FloydsEra]

MMA is ****** and it ain't closing in on nothing! I'm young and I love Boxing, and my son will love Boxing. The problem with Boxing is not that it is not violent enough (did you see Margarito vs Cotto?) The problem with Boxing is that there is not enough personalization with the fighters. We see them fight but never learn about them. The fighters are not marketed as individuals, and they need to be. Fight fans want to know their favorite fighters personally. HBO should do a documentary on Pavlik or Margarito. Showtime should do a behind the scene look at upcoming fighters. Tell us about the fighters!!!!

they do interviews

[pugilistfan]

Exactly,

Cant speak for all nations but MMA/UFC is just like the NFL in that its popular primarily in America. PrideFC was popular in Japan but nowhere near as popular as K-1 and the Kameda brothers in boxing carried quite the fanbase as well. Now that Pride got bought out MMA is actually waning in Japan. Holland, Thailand, Singapore are Muay Thai/Kickboxing nations. Not MMA.

I cant speak for England but I do know boxing is extremely popular over there as witnessed by its incredible support for its fighters.

In Canada, MMA is popular. Even though Brazil produces quite a bit of MMA fighters its still not overly popular. They put on less shows now than they have done before and other sports are still quite more popular. In fact, Aceleino Freitas is popular than any MMA fighter in Brazil.

I dont doubt that MMA has a small fanbase around the world but its nowhere near being an International sport especially in comparison to boxing.

I enjoy MMA, I love boxing but honestly MMA has become a freakshow. Lesnar fighting for a title after posting a 1-1 record in MMA and Kimbo Slice headlining cards on network television and fighting old tomato cans.

Everybody is different, but ill take a great boxing fight over a great MMA fight. MMA for the most part has some very sloppy fights and its tough to get excited about it.

[pugilistfan]

Have you looked in the right areas?

Art of War, Cage Rage, M-1, DREAM, Shooto, WVR, FX1, Cage Warriors, DEEP, TKO and others have been making a killing.

EliteXC is on the verge of going bankrupt. IFL went under as well as many other MMA orgs. Affliction had to team up with Golden Boy to survive. The bottom line is unless you're the UFC its very difficult to survive.

When the best fighter in the sport is headlining a card with a former UFC champion along with a stacked undercard and they can only get 80,000 PPV buys you got a problem.

[nbk187]

no one cares about MMA outside of America

That's as ignorant as it gets. MMA is a huge international sport. Europe, Asia, South America. Learn something. By the way, I love all combat sports, K-1, Muay Thai, MMA, Boxing

[nbk187]

Chuck Liddell is the face of MMA in America. And the more times he gets dropped by guys like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson, every time that happens it will get increasingly difficult to be able to fool the already ****** average MMA fan.

I don't know who to compare Liddell too. You can't compare him to Tyson because he's not that good. He has the resemblance of a "Ricardo Mayorga" in the way he loses so badly but the crowd will still pay to see him.

But the guy is such a f***ing fraud its ridiculous. The first real challenge was Jackson, and he got owned. A guy like that would never make it in boxing.

What I'm trying to say is, who does the UFC really have after Liddell? Rampage Jackson is psycho, Silva is not popular, and the other guys like Matt Hughes get so boring to watch. There's no big amateur system yet, so I expect to see many more "Chuck Liddells" in the sport, because individual fighters are the ones who make the sport

Have you heard of Machida, Mauricio Rua, BJ Penn, GSP etc.

More people are getting into mma then boxing now.