How does American mainstream media look at UFC or MMA in general?

[Grijswaarde]

I just read an article claiming games like GTA can cause kids to become violent, using guns blabla etc. We all know that discussion.

Then you guys have a lot of discussion about your gun laws, should people be allowed to have their own guns etc. Just had two big shootings this week if i'm correct probably starting that discussion again...

So how is MMA treated in American mainstream media? Is it still looked upon as a barbaric sport or is it kinda accepted? And is there a strong lobby against it because it could potentially cause people to get violent like GTA is supposed to be?

Just curious because i only see snippets on youtube mainly about boxing being better than mma and vice versa... but not so much on how bad of an influence mma could potentially be..

As always, English is not my native language so sorry if i made some errors.

 

[jlazer]

It really doesn't get much attention. Its rarely on espn and when it is its Just a short segment and only for big fights.

I'd say it's pretty well accepted tho. There's still a few politicians against it holding it back

 

[Grijswaarde]

It really doesn't get much attention. Its rarely on espn and when it is its Just a short segment and only for big fights.

I'd say it's pretty well accepted tho. There's still a few politicians against it holding it back

And is that basically only in New York or is that the only relevant state where it is prohibited?

 

[lfd0311]

Suprisingly, I haven't heard anything about it being connected to violence, the way video games and things are. Your English is excellent by the way.

 

[lfd0311]

And is that basically only in New York or is that the only relevant state where it is prohibited?

New York is the big one, because it has probably the world's most famous boxing venue. I don't know of another big state that it's illegal in. It was way worse back in the late 90's. The sport almost died off.

 

[Truk]

Its less glamorous than Nascar. Part of the already accepted fight sports family.

 

[lfd0311]

Its less glamorous than Nascar.

Turning left is pretty sweet....

 

[Grijswaarde]

Its less glamorous than Nascar.

Lol. Nascar really blows my mind... and if im correct not only do they ride in circles, but they do it for hours on end don't they?

 

[lfd0311]

Lol. Nascar really blows my mind... and if im correct not only do they ride in circles, but they do it for hours on end don't they?

Trust me, most Americans don't get it either

 

[FrodoFraggins]

human **** fighting is how most of them see it - including a LOT of sports reporters.

 

[ferrisjso]

UFC doesn't get attention except on Fox and that's because of the deal. ESPN views UFC as boxing junior and only gives the sport any real coverage for HW title fights and a little to dominant champs. They also put the scores for any meaningful fights on the scoreboard.

 

[PRIDEWASBETTER]

Trust me, most Americans don't get it either

They don't understand it, imo.

 

[COBRA03]

they are totally ignored by local media in Chicago, ESPN gives hotdog eaters more coverage than UFC, so I'd say their coverage sucks! Hopefully FOX will help change this.

 

[The Real Pedro]

This is what the American media sees when it looks at MMA:

and to a lesser extent:

 

[COBRA03]

Lol. Nascar really blows my mind... and if im correct not only do they ride in circles, but they do it for hours on end don't they?

Don't look at it like riding in circles for hours, image driving in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway at 180+ mph. It helps....some.:icon_lol:

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

It doesn't really get much attention and when it does they don't really know what they are talking about unless they bring someone in from MMA to speak about it. The mainstream media is very ignorant on MMA, they see it as **** fighting or dog fighting instead of a combat sport like boxing or kickboxing.

The mainstream media somehow got stuck in the 90s when it comes to how they view MMA.

 

[bma44]

It's treated as a niche sport. Condit was just on SportsCenter earlier talking about tomorrow's show, so big shows get some coverage. FSN 1 covers it a lot more, since they air UFC programming (a good rule of thumb with ESPN is if they don't air the sport they don't cover it much).

 

[Steve08]

And is that basically only in New York or is that the only relevant state where it is prohibited?

Yes, professional MMA is legal everywhere that it matters except for NY. Honestly makes me wanna fight down there while the only thing you can do is amateur leagues, be a part of history or somethin'...

human **** fighting is how most of them see it - including a LOT of sports reporters.

In my limited experience, this is true. I think a lot of people are conditioned to seeing guys fight in a ring, so seeing a cage is like, "barbaric" to them, or whatever even though it actually presents a completely different and super cool dynamic for fighting (not being able to trap people in corners forces you to be creative with footwork and stuff) which is unique from any other combat sport.

 

[lowsingle]

Lol. Nascar really blows my mind... and if im correct not only do they ride in circles, but they do it for hours on end don't they?

its a lot more complex than it appears. its a strategy game. think about it, they dont floor the gas the entire time, and all the cars are roughly the same speed. yet the same guys win everytime. so it must be decided by strategy. ive explained some strategies many times on this website already so i wont get into it unless someone asks

that being said, most of the fans have no idea and just go because the live event is pretty much a huge party. they just want to see crashes and whatnot. kinda like most combat sports fans. personally, i view it like golf, i respect the skill of the competitors but i dont enjoy watching it.

 

[FlowWithTheGo23]

They basically cover it like some toughman contest. Make it out to be about "kicking ass", rather than practicing the martial arts or anything.