No one who knows MMA will ever mistake it for professional wrestling. However the “sport” of MMA has become somewhat of a spectacle rather than a sport.
But is that such a bad thing?
If the UFC were to go the route of truly being a sport, it would give credence to the fighters that play it safe. The “just win baby” mantra would become a calling card for guys to lay and pray. Why take chances when you can win and snatch up decision victories?
Being in the entertainment business negates that train of thought, and I’m all for it. Let the guys who fight for decisions fight and fight and fight all they want to. Make the road of getting a title shot longer for those guys. The ones who take chances and put on a show for the fans should have a shorter road to the title fights.
Is that fair? No. But an old man once told me that fair is where you eat cotton candy and ride rides.
By taking the stance of spectacle over sport you promote exciting fighters who fight to finish. After all, that is what fighting is all about. Go out there and give it your best shot, win or lose. People would rather see a fighter fight an exciting fight and lose than a fighter play it extremely safe and win.
The UFC is a business. If there’s a fight card with a ton of fighters who are known for not finishing their opponents, that card will most likely fail in pay-per-view buys. Fill up a card with names known for coming to fight and you have yourself a money maker.
That is what it’s all about. So while no one will ever mistake this for WWE, it is sports entertainment.
And that’s just fine with me.
Montique David is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a constant tweeter on all things somewhat relevant. You can follow him @montiqued
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