Ennis' Take
ENNIS: UFC 136 and the Myth of Sports vs. Entertainment in MMA
Oct 10, 2011 - 7:30:46 PM ENNIS: UFC 136 and the Myth of Sports vs. Entertainment in MMA

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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist

It seems like during or after every UFC event there's some MMA media member, or several, bringing up the line between sports and entertainment. Dan Hardy doesn't get cut – well that's not sports, because in sports when a guy goes on a losing streak he suffers the consequences. But entertainment cares more about appeasing the unwashed masses. Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan (mostly Garcia) put on a slopfest that gets the crowd out of their seats and are summarily awarded Fight of the Night bonuses, while Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard put an end to arguably MMA's greatest trilogy of fights, and Maynard walks away with (disclosed) jack.

That's not sports – in sports the best guys get rewarded. The elites are the ones that matter, and they are taken care of. And of course, there's Chael Sonnen. Sonnen puts a beating on Brian Stann, picking up his first stoppage win in four years, and then grabs the mic and issues a "loser leaves town" challenge to Anderson Silva. No way that's got anything to do with sports. That's pure entertainment. And it's not even entertainment for real MMA fans, because real MMA fans see through manufactured drama. No way Sonnen will draw a single extra buy with his insanity.

Hogwash.

For those who talk about "blurring the line between sport and entertainment," here's a news flash: there is no line. Sports are entertainment. If that weren't the case, no one would watch them. I get so sick of reading the comments about how pro wrestling theatrics have no place in MMA. Pro wrestling has nothing to do with anything. It's called promotion. The fact that pro wrestling and MMA sometimes sell a fight using spoken word promos by the participants is purely happenstance. Do you think Rex Ryan believes everything he says when he trash talks opponents leading up to a game? Of course not. When one team tries to "get in another team's head," are they always being genuine? No way. To say promos like Chael Sonnen's have no place in MMA is to say that Muhammed Ali's antics had no place in boxing.

None of that matters. What matters is selling a fight. Another oft-repeated meme is that Sonnen's antics don't draw more eyeballs to the fight. I'm calling shenanigans on that one. Do I have proof that his insane comments will or have ever drawn? No. But does anyone have proof that they haven't? UFC 117 drew about 600,000 buys. There's no way to know what it would have drawn without Sonnen going all crazy.

Other than the Silva fight, when has Chael Sonnen talked so much trash? Never that I can remember. At least not on a stage where many people would take notice. And if you're telling me that Sonnen's talk won't draw more people, then you can't tell me that Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir's trash talk leading up to UFC 100 was a draw. Or anything that Tito Ortiz has ever said. It's the same thing.

Talk is talk, and hype is hype. Whether it's a challenge to the champion to put up or shut up, whether it's not being impressed by a performance, whether it's manufactured or real, it's all the same when it comes to promotion. (I can see Jason Amadi gearing up for comments right now, and that's fine. But I'm not engaging in a back-and-forth on this one. We've disagreed on it before and we'll continue to do so).

Now about the other things I talked about in the opening: If Dan Hardy, Leonard Garcia and Joey Beltran continue to lose, they'll eventually get cut, regardless of how fun a fight they put on or how tough they are. Is it really that big a travesty to keep those guys around? It's not as if they're getting title shots. (Well, not anymore).

What MMA purists need to get through their heads is that sloppy fights have just as much a place in MMA as technical masterpieces put on by elite fighters in the prime of their careers. Just because Phan-Garcia was oversold by the announcers (who, let's remember, are employed by the promoter), doesn't mean that we're suddenly going to see that happening in every fight. It hasn't happened yet, and it won't. Jon Fitch is never going to be cut until he starts losing, even if he doesn't get another shot at the title. It doesn't mean that these should be everyone's cup of tea (if you don't like these, you may in fact still like MMA), but that doesn't mean that those who enjoy it and get excited should be belittled. Just like those who don't get excited to see two high-level wrestlers in a technical ground fight shouldn't be looked down upon.

What it comes down to is that in order to thrive, MMA needs promotion in all kinds of ways. Whether it's fans getting jacked up to see two of the best throw down, whether it's getting jacked to see that loudmouth get his comeuppance, whether it's getting excited for two guys known for standing in the middle and dropping bombs, or some combination of the three plus myriad other things (hint: this is the only real option), all that matters is that people care to watch. That's what sports—and entertainment—are about.