IT’S funny, my friends and I were just talking about this a few nights ago while drinking at Taberna Ocho and talking about our favorite Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and matches.
OK, we were talking about pro wrestling as well ‘coz we’ve been fans since back during the days when World Wrestling Entertainment was still called the World Wrestling Federation, but let’s talk about real sports here, heh 
Anyway, we were talking about how mixed martial arts is becoming more and more mainstream, and wondering whether it would one day be as popular as boxing itself. I even pointed out that because of some of the shenanigans going on with some boxing promoters, MMA might end up being more respectable, more real.
Now check out this Miami Herald article about Floyd Mayweather Jr. calling out the former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell. Yup, The Iceman himself, one of my favorite MMA fighters.
‘UFC ain’t [nothing],” Mayweather said before his May 5 victory over Oscar De La Hoya, which earned him the World Boxing Council super-welterweight title. “It ain’t but a fad.”
Liddell countered: “I think it was a sign of the times when a boxing show is taking shots at us to try to sell more pay-per-views. To promote their fight, they’re bringing us up. A couple of years back, they wouldn’t even mention us. Now they’re talking about us. Floyd even said afterward that he was doing it just to pump up the fight.”
To the dismay of boxing purists, the UFC has displayed staying power. The Las Vegas-based company, which will hold a fight Tuesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, boasts pay-per-view sales that put it in a three-way battle for supremacy with boxing and the scripted World Wrestling Entertainment.
Recently, controversial boxer Tommy Morrison, a former world heavyweight champion, made his MMA debut.
Here’s an excerpt from the San Jose Mercury News story:
CAMP VERDE, Ariz.—Former heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison won his MMA debut but lost the crowd Saturday night.
Fighting in a cage on a clear night in the desert, Morrison knocked out John Stover (7-2) at 2:08 of the first round. Boos rained down as a panting Morrison raised his hand after breaking Stover’s nose with a straight right.
Although the unsanctioned bout was fought on an MMA card at Cliff Castle Casino, it had little of the rough-and-tumble associated with the sport, and that may have stoked the ire of the crowd estimated at 2,500.
Stover said he originally agreed to the bout despite a stipulation against grappling, a big disadvantage for the 340-pound Stover, who outweighed Morrison by 125 pounds. But an hour before the fight, Stover said he was told he would not be allowed to strike Morrison with his knees or feet.
And here’s Ringside Report weighing in on Morrison’s MMA debut:
Fortunately for the sport of boxing, Tommy Morrison moved on to ultimate fighting to do his best to inflict damage on that sport. Yes, when it comes to Tommy “The Duke,” one has to grasp at straws to find an upside.
The latest bad news regarding Morrison’s disputed HIV status comes from his former agent, Randy Lang. Lang now confesses that Morrison has always been HIV positive, that he has been treated for the disease with standard medication, and that he and his representatives have committed fraud in pursuit of boxing licensure.
This set of assertions, from a member of Morrison’s camp, confirms what has been suspected or assumed all along by people who understand HIV infection and understand the mechanisms by which most state boxing commissions strive to protect the health of fighters. And the loopholes though which Morrison has attempted to squirm.
How about you, are you a fan of MMA? And do you believe it could one day be more popular than boxing?
May 9th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Well, it might become more popular than boxing but it will take time.
Lots of people who see MMA for the first time ask first:
is it fake?
then find the ground and pound really unfair and are grossed out by the blood bath. So, I guess to become really mainstream they’ll have to change the rules a bit in order to please a bigger audience.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Alex, MMA IS the future of sports. Boxing is worn out. The only names people really know are the OLDER boxers. MMA is much, much safer than boxing. In MMA is the guy gets hit and goes down, that’s it, fight over. In boxing, they take punch, after punch, after punch. Then they get back up and get hit some more. If MMA causes so much damage then how come Ali is brain damaged and, well, no MMA people are?
September 27th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
You cant say Boxing is a superior sports than MMA. Boxing is just one factor of Fighting and MMA has all aspect of fighting (elbows,knees.. etc) a MMA fighter will surely beat a boxer.. Boxing is just a dying sport…
September 1st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Boxers seem to be much better athletes than the current MMA stars. Tyson even now would destroy even kill Fedor in a street fight. MMA fighters are mainly old, bald, white and out of shape.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:57 pm
In a street fight a boxer ( in my opinion ) would destroy a mma fighter simply cause they would try to take it to the ground and if any mma fighter would even try to grab a boxer the boxer would pound him into submission.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Sorry to the one who studied 30 years in martial arts and say that mma fighter go for the thirst of blood. Ok i agree they are totally different sport and that is why mma is growing today because people who watch is are not moron. They are even more intelengent than those who watch boxing. Boxing is a good sport but it is not a complete in terms of realistic fighting and that makes mma exciting because you see reality. That is how fight goes even more brutal in the street. People got tired of crap fight. This is close to real fight if you can’t handle that then you should not consider your self to be a martial artist. Why? because martial means military arts means combat = sad to say kill other. If you were to go and find sportsmanship then leave mma. Because not all fighter have that because they are trained in MARTIAL arts. Means Military. No sporty.
July 22nd, 2007 at 8:21 pm
i want to see floyd mayweather properly trained and in a cage with din thomas. honestly i think mayweather has the aptitude to be a great mixed martial artist. although some humility couldn’t hurt
July 18th, 2007 at 11:54 am
How many people have died after a boxing match?
How many people have died after an MMA fight?
There’s an inherent safety feature in MMA: unpadded hands means they can’t keep hitting the skull and remain intact.
Whereas in boxing, padded gloves let a fighter continuously pound an opponent’s head, risking brain damage.
Boxing was safer in the era before gloves. It may have been bloodier, but it was safer.
And look at a typical UFC fight — its usually stopped with just one knockout. There’s no 10-count where a boxer can take repeated blows to the head.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Justin
Boxing is not the same as MMA
The MMA fighters have a blood-thirsty mentality. Having trained in martial arts for over 30 years, I can attest to this. You get a feeling of what your opponent is after – your destruction! I left martial arts tournament fighting after being injured several times, and seeing that I was risking my health and well-being for a little bit of glory. At least in boxing there is a semblance of sportsmanship.
The MMA promoters have identified their target market as males 18-35 who have money to spend and who want to see blood and physical damage in the matches. (These are the MORONS I was referring to.) The original MMA rules allowed wide open combat, with kicks and strikes that would have meant numerous injuries and probably a few deaths. The rules have only been changed to comply with the athletic commission rules in the various U.S. states in which the matches are held.
The only people who really benefit from MMA are the promoters. The winning fighters may make some money, but in the long run some of them will suffer brain damage and other incapacitating injuries. I have been a sports fan all my life, but don’t see MMA as a sport. It is an inhuman endeavor that pits 2 guys who are usually down on their luck to start with against each other.
In the past we have seen organized boxing in colleges, police leagues and the military. Don’t look for any of these organizations to allow MMA style fighting
Alex (ex-moron)
June 15th, 2007 at 7:10 am
[...] Sports Aficionado: Boxing vs mixed martial arts [...]
June 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Boxing is a dying sport. Is anyone of you here even aware of who the heavyweight champ is for boxing? If Manny Pacquiao is not a good boxer, I doubt that this country would even bother to watch boxing. MMA is the future of fight sports. If boxing will not be able to escape from the swamp of mismanagement and greed that has captured the sports, we will see more of boxers going into MMA (more from the ranks of Butterbean, Morisson, Nishijima). By the way, MMA pay per view sales has already overtaken boxing’s.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Mirko crocop is my guy..He will be the UFC champ..
June 13th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
“Who but a MORON would pay that kind of money to watch 2 guys batter each other in a cage?”
But isn’t that how boxing is?
June 13th, 2007 at 5:34 am
There is one number to be aware of at an MMA match
100
100 is the combined IQ of the crowd watching the fight
Who but a MORON would pay that kind of money to watch 2 guys batter each other in a cage?
June 12th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
[...] Sports Aficionado: Boxing vs mixed martial arts [...]