Historically, when one hears the words cage fighting, they often picture scenes from graphic thrillers such as Bloodsport and Kickboxer, where two men (for the most part) are fighting to the death, no rules, no referees, and no mercy. The entertainment factor is high, and consumers loved it. The problem with Hollywood and making movies is that they often miss the mark when it comes to accurate depiction, as they are primarily looking at the entertainment factor.
What is cage fighting? It is a fight that happens in an octagon, which is a closed-off chain link ring that is entered and exited through one door. This dynamic adds excitement to the sport, as watching two people fight in a cage feels primal and barbaric. The crowds can watch the fight from every angle, making for an optimal crowd experience.
So, where did the public perception of violence and blood lust come from when it comes to MMA fighting? Like many sports, there is an inherent risk of injury. With combat sports, that risk is higher. Mix that with some startling visuals inside the octagon of bloody injuries, and you get the potential for a knee jerk reaction that results in a judgement against combat sports.
Some fighters get into the cage with a vengeance. Some have personal qualms with their opponents, while others are fighting to protect their belt or gain it from their opponent. Regardless of the motivation, the fights can be intense. Mix that with some personal fighter antics that give off more of a brutal vibe, and you get those who think MMA is all about anger, rage, and blood.
MMA was up against a lot in the beginning, as it needed to shake the image ingrained in the eyes of the public. There are other sports very similar to MMA that have and had fewer rules, making the fight seem violent. In the early UFC days, two fighters entered a ring without any safety equipment and 30 minutes on the clock. To the public, this concept was very new and very misunderstood. Many looked at the matches as if they were equivalent to street fighting.
MMA is a combination of a few different martial arts. Those arts are highly respected, and their traditions go back many generations. When you fuse them, you end up with an MMA fighter. One could say that MMA has evolved into its very own martial art. Depending on the fighter, some will tend to be better at striking, while others might cater towards submissions or grappling, and some with all three. However, it is imperative that fighters become proficient in all aspects of martial arts. There is a lot of preparation that goes into training for specific opponents. For example, if a striker has an upcoming fight against a well-known submission artist, the striker may spend extra time studying his or her opponent, practicing to defend the expected style they will be up against in the octagon. Such was seen in the first rematch of Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie at UFC 5. After losing in their first bout, Shamrock learned and gained a respect for the style of Gracie’s jiu-jitsu. Their rematch demonstrated this by 30+ minutes of Shamrock and Gracie both defending against one another’s strengths while hoping one would make a mistake. If you listen to the crowd that watched the fight between Shamrock and Gracie, unless strikes were happening, they were uninvolved and quiet. It delivered the message that the match was boring to watch as it lacked the blood, strikes, and chokeholds that the crowd wanted.
As MMA has evolved, so have the fans and their understanding of the intricacies of the sport. To an uneducated fan, what may look like two fighters wrestling each other, is actually a battle of strategy, endurance, and strength. Each fighter is looking for a way in to either set up a powerful strike or hook into a deadly choke or painful joint lock. There is so much complexity to the sport in the modern era that the general idea of two fighters pummeling each other into a bloody mess is no longer the desired perception of the sport. However, there are still matches made where the fighters are well-known strikers, and as a result, a good fight can be expected in the octagon. When this happens, even new fans of the sport get excited at the energy in the octagon.
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