When compared to other sports, mixed martial arts is still in its infancy. There are a number of aspects of the sport that are still evolving, including media coverage.
MMA has grown up via the digital age and the Internet—a far cry from its days of archived footage on VHS tapes. However, even with its growth and maturity, there is still a bit of a “Wild Wild West” factor to how it is covered.
That’s far from a bad thing.
The fact that almost any journalist, fan or even fighter could start their own website tomorrow and, with the right approach, establish credibility within the MMA world is truly unique to the sport. In fact, it is a testament to the passionate, tight-knit community that follows it.
Furthermore, it’s not constrained to a single city or even country. MMA coverage is truly worldwide.
Everything from matchups, injuries and even skeletons in the closet are unearthed by the sport’s dynamic coverage. And the information spreads like wildfire with the use of Twitter as a news medium.
Undoubtedly, there is some downside to the wide-open approach. Rumors can be spread just as easily as legitimate news, and professionalism is not always a first priority for some. But it’s a small price to pay to keep information flowing in real time.
For as many times as there is someone on media row cheering or taking pictures, there are 30 other journalists working hard to provide accurate, up-to-the-minute coverage of the sport.
The sport’s biggest promotion, the UFC, encourages digital media and has been a huge factor in the large presence it has on the Internet. The Las Vegas-based company offers bonuses to all of its fighters for actively participating on Twitter. The constant interaction between athletes, fans and media has only fueled the wide-open environment even further.
Although UFC President Dana White has voiced occasional frustrations toward the MMA media, he understands the important role they play in the sport’s future development, especially with existing media outlets failing to offer the same level of coverage.
While you won’t find similar circumstances in other sports, MMA media is anything but a problem. Without it, widespread, mainstream acceptance of the sport would take even longer.
Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, follow him on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com