This week is an extremely important event for the UFC and mma in general. This Saturday November 12, the UFC will be “on free television, the heavyweight championship of the world, just like it did when men like Ali and Frazier were stars” (Ryder). This is a chance for the sport to take a huge step forward for public opinion of the sport.
We know that boxing events “were cultural occurrences” (Ryder), and this was made in part because the sport was made free on TV for anyone to watch. Since this was the case, people all over the nation were more inclined to watch the event and take sides to who they believed would win the fight. With the premier event for the UFC being the heavyweight championship, the stakes are high and people will choose the fighter they want to win. Participation of this sort will lead to an incredible amount of growth for the sport.
Ryder argues that none of the fighters are big enough to “literally divide a nation or divide the globe”. I would like to make the counterargument that when mma is seen on free television by millions of people around the world, that loyalties will be drawn and we will see the same effect as “the glory days of heavyweight boxing” (Ryder). Yes it will take time, but the glory days of mixed martial arts are yet to come.
As a huge fan of MMA I personally cannot wait to see the fight, but in relation to the grandeur with which we hope MMA to reach I cannot help but feel that the charging to watch fights in both MMA and premier boxing events have driven the sports out of the spotlight and lost a huge fan base in return for profit. Its sad the competition has been tucked away under Pay-Per-View, but with the advent of free televised events such as the Heavyweight bout, i think MMA could reach a glory that boxing used to and in someparts still has
ReplyDeleteI personally am not a very big MMA or UFC fan, but this is an interesting point that you've brought up. The days of boxing matches being cultural events are pretty much over from what I can tell. There no more Ali-Frasiers or Tyson-Holyfields. The two best boxers won't even fight each other due to disagreements about money and whatnot. It'll be interesting to see how the free on TV UFC fight helps bolster it's popularity, and if it can be a replacement for traditional boxing.
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