Poll: I don't like UFC | Violence in Sport | Ronda Rousey status

[RandV80]

I said 'compare', not 'connect'. Have you seen combat as extreme as UFC? Have you seen violence as extreme as ISIS? Why have these extreme things come about? Because we have been pushing the bar higher and higher and this is what it takes to be the most visible presence these days.

I don't care for UFC, my main sport is ice hockey, but I think you're vastly overstating the violence of it. Not sure what the numbers are but I'd guess the large majority of matches don't end in bloodshed. A submission causes extreme discomfort but the recipient submits and taps out before the damage is actually done. The ground and pound rules with the match ending when the ref breaks it up actually produces less head injuries than in boxing, where a guy can get his bell wrung, sit down for 8 seconds, then go a few more rounds taking more brain damage. A person on his back is not defenseless which is why the UFC fighter keeps going, and when he does become defenseless the ref is there to end the fight within a second or two. Also the real dirty stuff like eye gouging and groin shots are explicitly not allowed.

In my opinion your viewpoint here is severely hampered by your over-sensationalizing of the sport. The presentation style is a little more 'violent' (chain link fence and all), but it's basically just a combination of competitive boxing and wrestling (Olympic style). If it were as bad as you're original post is suggesting then competitors would be routinely getting maimed & crippled. That doesn't happen though, like any other competitive sports their are occasionally injuries but the majority of the time the match ends with the loser exhausted and sore but able to go home rest up and start getting ready for their next match. Sometimes the promoters may try and present it as such but this isn't the Roman Coliseum here.

 

[FavouriteDream]

Have you seen combat as extreme as UFC?

Yes. By "extreme" I assume you mean violent and dangerous? Well, head injuries are the number 1 thing I'm worried about when I spar. They take years off your life. Boxing produces more head injuries due to the nature of the sport. Are you going to try to say boxing is an extreme new sport and compare it to ISIS next?

Have you seen violence as extreme as ISIS?

Yes. The whole world has, on numerous occasions throughout human history. What ISIS are doing isn't that groundbreaking. They're a religious group who are attempting to bring about a religious prophecy. They behead people, shoot and burn people alive. None of this is new. It's literally happened hundreds (more likely thousands) of times before.

Why have these extreme things come about? Because we have been pushing the bar higher and higher and this is what it takes to be the most visible presence these days.

This line of thinking uses a remarkable lack of understanding. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression you don't know a whole lot about martial arts, combat sports or ISIS.

 

[Smooth Operator]

OP I think you have been horribly mislead, real fighting sports are not kids entertainment, that is what the pretend fighting is for or "pro wrestling" as people like to call it.

I understand you get scared by it but that is what actual fighting looks like, if it makes you uncomfortable then it's not the sport for you. Otherwise it is just another sport or specifically a combat sport, people will get hurt, that is the goal of the sport to hurt the opponent until they can't get up.
And I do love the idea this sets a bad example for kids... people if you don't tell your kids kicking and punching people is a terrible thing to do then the bad example is you.

 

[Glongpre]

For people who do not like it, have you tried it?
Do you like sports? Do you enjoy competing?

Not MMA, no (I did one session at an MMA club but that doesn't really count). I've done kickboxing and karate (many many years ago), but I just don't like hurting people so I'm not a good fit.

I like taking part in sports, and I'm told I'm hyper-competitive (to which I answered that I was the least competitive person ever, and I could out-non-compete anyone). I'm not against other people enjoying it, but I don't really understand why they do - I find distasteful the idea of knocking someone to the ground then punching them over and over until someone tells me I should stop.

I think it comes down to, that people like to feel powerful!! Some people may deny it, but whether it is being superior in a mental exhibition or a physical one, feeling more powerful than someone else is a rush. It feels good.

I don't like to hurt people either, I wouldn't want to get into a fight or even instigate one. But muay thai gave me such a feeling of power, that I could have confidence in myself if ever a situation where I had to defend myself occured. I think it is just having grown up watching Jackie Chan and superheroes and shit (too many hero beats all comers movies), where I just need to feel like I can defend people from assholes. I want to be Batman, or at least have the prowess to overcome all odds and save people.

And to the last point, it is the persons decision to whack someone in the face repeatedly when they are KO'd. There are some fighters who will not give the few extra whacks like Mark Hunt. YOU could be one of those people, and likely would be.

But basically, power!! Unlimited powwwaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[chocolate pickles]

It's their choice. If people want to concensually beat the shit out of eachother, then let them. It's not affecting you, so why does it matter? Even if people want to play the 'think of the children!' card, then i can assure you there are much worse things for little jimmy to be watching. Hell, most of it is on the news these days.

Also, not all pro fighters are the type of people who 'would end your life upon meeting them in a dark alley.' Nice stereotyping.

 

[deleted+75193]

DELETED

 

[Zen Bard]

There is a level of intelligence and athleticism in one on one fighting that is seen in UFC bouts that is very entertaining to watch. It brings the joy of watching humans performing at their peak, with intense competitiveness.

Thank you! Couldn't agree more. As someone who's been practicing martial arts since college (judo, muay thai, kung fu), I find a good match is like physical chess.

When I spar, there's thought and strategy involved...testing for an opening, getting my opponent off guard, looking for the right place to land the strikes.

There's a lot more to it than just "two people beating the shit out of each other." If you're watching that, you're watching a brawl...not a test of skill.

Having said that, I'm not really crazy about the "ground and pound" strategy most UFC fighters adopt. That, as one poster put it, IS just someone knocking a person down and wailing away on him.

But in and of itself, I enjoy the sport for obvious reasons.

 

[Flames66]

I don't like the savagery. I don't like the way young children are being shown it. I don't like the glorification of the kind of people who would end your life upon meeting them in a dark alley.

Who? I don't think any MMA fighters I have heard of would do this unless you attacked them in that alley.

I don't see how a mother can be proud of a son or daughter who raises their blood-soaked fists in triumph after dismantling a stranger's face.

I would be proud of them if the stranger had attacked them and they successfully defended themselves. I would also be proud of them if they had entered a competition and won.

Part II here and I want to make it clear that I understand what everyone likes about this sport. They say it is the ultimate final state of human physical prowess - what are we living in, some kind of amazonian struggle for unlocking our innate murderous potential? - that it is finally a sport where we can see a wide range of skilled martial artists compete, uninhibited.

These reasons are valid, I guess, if you're the kind of person who thinks acute martial danger is a key component of a human's daily skill requirement. Man, if everyone did UFC then the US wouldn't need so many guns! They could just roundhouse kick people into submission, a la Norris!

I don't think it is a daily requirement, but I have more respect for someone who knows how to physically defend themselves. The world can still be violent.

I have more respect for Ronda Rousey than Anita Sarkeesian. One challenges stereotypes by not conforming to them, the other wants us to pretend they don't exist.

A month or two ago I wrote a post on social media saying I didn't really like all the love Ronda Rousey was getting - as a role model and as a sportsperson. I was saying that I had no idea how people could support such a violent sport, and such a bloodthirsty exponent of said sport. I thought that, regardless of gender, people who go out of their way to cause harm in this way should be put in prison, given restraining orders and/or shunned by the public, but Rousey has somehow become like, the Angelina Jolie of the mid '10s.

This is an extension of what I said in the first section of this post, largely here because I mentioned it in the title and it was, as I've said, the thing that sparked off my writing of this post. If there is a redemption in the offing for UFC it must surely lie in the hands of intelligent technicians like Holm - an extremely relative term because she herself sent Rousey to plastic surgery with her barrage of savage blows. She won't make me want to watch this sport any more than I currently do, regardless of the upset.

People like Rousey because she is a skilled martial artist, a likable personality and a good person to look up to. Everyone who competes in UFC knows the rules of what they signed up for and went there willingly. These are not street brawlers, they are skilled fighters in a very tightly controlled environment and know the risks.

I personally don't watch it very much. As a martial artist myself I don't find it particularly interesting. The rules are a little too restricting and everything is too focused on raw power for my taste. I think it is great that it exists however.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

I've seen a few fights and concluded it's not my thing. If it's on TV I'll watch for a minute before I get bored, but I can see why people enjoy it. Anyway, there's a bunch of other sports I'd rather watch.

I actually find Street Fighter matches more enjoyable to watch. Having played it for most of my life probably has something to do with it.

 

[Pinkilicious]

OP, I understand your struggle. Thankfully, I found a sport that should appeal to you without having to watch so much BLOODSHED:

Spoiler

Look at that! People hugging and being nice! The pinnacle of a good sport! If only it had become the standard. That way ISIS wouldn't have become an issue.

...

More seriously, I don't care much for UFC itself, but I've heard the same "SAVAGERY" arguments raised against sports like football and hockey. I've even heard people make arguments that gamers are savages that are being desensitized to violence, but I guess no one here would know about that. Having been a fan of all three of these for years, I've been indirectly labelled as a psychopath looking for bloodshed that I've become desensitized to way too many times to count. As a result, I don't really take these "this sport is so savage" complaints too seriously. The complaints just an indirect way to judge people, most of whom you've never met.

Hey, if anything, bloodshed is a good sign. You pass out/tire faster and thus the fight ends quicker. Nobody understood really how badly our brains handled a pounding until gloved boxing, after all. And normal US football has far and away more deadly or crippling injuries than rugby!
I have always tended to view 'bloodsports' as the difference between say, death penalty advocates arguing between firing squad and lethal injection. It is only less 'cruel' to the hemophobic viewer, not the participant. It is in fact worse for the participant as softened blows = more blows over the same period of time. About the only things I can think of that would be better served by protection would be weapon-based combat and vehicular (including horse) sports. Polo, F1, NASCAR, stunt racing, skiing, sledding, etc. It seems like in man-vs-man sports it's the less safe option overall.

 

[Godhead]

Violence has always been a thing that a large portion of animals do, humans included. With humans becoming the dominant species and developing civilizations it was inevitable that violence joined spectacle and become a major source of entertainment for people. UFC is just a continuation of a violent spectacle in society.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I'd go so far as to say I'd have watched gladiators in ancient Rome (without the killing of animals in the arena). Watching controlled violence is fun on a very base level, like watching fire.

Violence has always been a thing that a large portion of animals do, humans included. With humans becoming the dominant species and developing civilizations it was inevitable that violence joined spectacle and become a major source of entertainment for people. UFC is just a continuation of a violent spectacle in society.

^pretty much this

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Some people enjoy fighting and dont care about whether their bones get broke. They have the right to put that into an outlet. If you tried to ban fighting a lot of young people who enjoy it would just do it on the streets where they could end up dead. They have every right to enjoy their fights.

I dont like getting punched or watching punchs get exchanged, but I do love jujitsu stuff grappling and trying to armbar. So Im kinda going to miss Ronda fightimg. The usual toe to toe punch exchanges dont interest me as much as grappling and rolling..

I also find it interesting most people here would support videogame violence but not UFC violence, and no being real life violence does count, you srill seem to assume that violence inside the ring is the same thing as being violent in day to day life.

 

[Coruptin]

The world calls for wet-work and they answer. No greater good. No just cause.

To be serious, it's not something I could get into, but I'm not going to judge others for participating or spectating.

 

[sky pies]

Violence has always been a thing that a large portion of animals do, humans included. With humans becoming the dominant species and developing civilizations it was inevitable that violence joined spectacle and become a major source of entertainment for people. UFC is just a continuation of a violent spectacle in society.

There seems to be a trend of people on these forums reaching back to evolution, etc, when rationalizing their positions. I've got nothing against that and rather agree with it for the most part.

You're right, violence is part of human nature and the 'spectacles' of the past have reinforced your positions. Doesn't really mean I have to like it, though. I think violence can be a result of ignorance, ignorance of how nice life can be if you just take 'dukes up!' out of the equation - similar to guns and control thereof. Ignorance as to the alternative.

In my whole life I've only ever been in one fight, and that was a 5th grader sort of, squirming on top of 4th grade me jabbing me with lame fists while a crowd of kids stood around us shouting 'fight! fight! fight!'. I've hated plenty of people and wanted to give them a piece of my mind plenty of times but I never seriously thought punching was a rational route to take. Perhaps the primary school debacle coloured my opinion of fights, but yes my stand remains influenced by this inherent perplexity as to the worth of physical combat: I don't like UFC and I don't think it is necessary. Nature and natural selection be damned.

For the record I can be a very enthusiastic sportsperson, as I've mentioned earlier on this thread, but anyone trying to tell me near-pro level contact team sports satisfy the same bloodthirsty instincts as wild punch ups is wasting their breath~