UFC: Hostile Territory

on yesterday i spent my evening at the Buffalo Wing Factory watching a UFC pay per view with some friends. at some point in the evening i started talking to one of the guys at my table about watching UFC "back in th day" before the sport evolved into what it is now.

i grew up watching professional wrestling in spite of knowing that it wasn't real. during the mid and late nineties Saturdays and Mondays (wrestling was outlawed on Sundays in my house) were spent in front of the tv watching WCW and WWF on TBS, TNT and USA networks. grown men putting themselves through unnatural punishment. now i cant say that wrestling is fake its not, its scripted. those gentlemen take all the bumps you see on television and just because you know its coming doesn't mean it hurts any less. maybe they are better described as stunt men than athletes but i wont argue that they aren't talented.

toward the end of the nineties fans of professional wrestling had a new choice of entertainment; the UFC was what we always wanted real fights, blood and knockouts. Over the last 8/9 years UFC has evolved what was once overly violent without many restrictions or protections has become a more well rounded and mature sport. where once they could not operate in the United States they are now approved by most athletic commissions. these changes have not degraded the quality of fights or fighters it has actually made it better. the fighters are better protected which has allowed them to continue to fight for the promotion longer. better fighters and a more mainstream audience has allowed them to be able to put on more pay per views and a television show, giving them more exposure. so much so that espn now dedicates a page to mixed martial arts the fighting discipline that UFC falls under.

while UFC was on the rise pro wrestling's stock was falling. WWF bought WCW and the lack of competition killed the creative juices of the industry. meanwhile UFC was promoting the general dislike some fighters had for one another while encouraging the displays of respect that others had. it was manufactured relationships of wrestling versus the realistic interactions of others all for about the same prices. for the average fan i think it was an easy choice.

now UFC is moving in on the audience that once belonged to boxing. due to pretty much the same reasons as professional wrestling pro boxing has left itself vulnerable to a loss in standing within the sports fighting industry. the interesting thing about this relationship is that unlike pro wrestlers, pro boxers have asserted that they are the better athletes and that boxing is the the better sport. in fact fighters like floyd mayweather jr. say that UFC fighters couldn't make it in a boxing ring. im not sure of that but im pretty positive that boxers wouldnt make it in the octogon. but only time will tell which sport survives.