Blood Sports, Does the UFC Promote Violence?
There are some people out there that still cling to the belief that the UFC and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts as a whole increases the number of violent occurrences which are supposedly instigated by the millions of fans that watch on across the globe on a weekly basis. If you perhaps aren’t fully aware, MMA competition is generally made up of a contest involving two trained fighters voluntarily taking part in a bout consisting of multiple different styles of Martial Arts which include anything from Kickboxing to wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu, and everything in between. The contest has very little boundaries concerning the methods adopted to attack your opponent except for some strikes widely agreed upon as 'dirty' in fighting, usually a result of the lack of skill in combination with the dangerous force that can be unleashed through them, most notable of these are eye pokes and groin strikes.
MMA has been scrutinized for the violent aspects which surround it since its inception however as it has evolved significantly over the last couple decades. The sport has seen a reduction in this type of criticism mainly due to deeper insight and understanding of its underlying values which has caused a gradual shift in perception from being a manifestation of meaningless brutality to a contest of countless variables that must be observed, considered, and responded to, failure of which could result in extremely violent consequences. I think Joe Rogan said it best when he described MMA as "Kind of like chess, high level problem solving, except with dire consequences".
Despite this deeper insight, there are still those who believe sport condones and causes an increase in violent conflict among its viewers. This is a belief that i, as an avid fan of the sport and long time spectator strongly disagree with. However, although it is is evident that violent conflict outside of the cage or UFC octagon is not typical of the athletes themselves as can be observed through the publicity that surround many of these athletes lives, it is difficult to create a valid argument when it comes to its viewers. Other than anecdotal evidence (most of which has demonstrated MMA condones violence no more than other major sports such as Rugby or Soccer) there has been little research done on the topic.
In my opinion, the reason it is so difficult to create an argument is because anyone who takes the time to truly learn what the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is truly about, the possibility of an argument no longer exists, it only lives on in the ignorance of those who see it at face value, those who see it as two people attacking eachother until one stops moving. Any sport can be made to look silly at face value, it is the aspect of violence which makes MMA more difficult to justify to some.
If anyone is able to add an element to this argument that i am missing, either for or against, i would love to hear it, pleas feel free express your thoughts and also if you would like to see more posts relating to UFC/MMA from myself.