...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: C.J. Tuttle, MMATorch Contributor
Aside from fighter allegiances, fandom, and overall love of the sport, there are multiple underlying things that draw me to mixed martial arts. This past week's UFC event and other recent incidents create the perfect mosaic of what hidden aspects contribute to me being a fan. These things come into play in the case of the casual viewer as well, they just haven't fully come to terms with it yet...
I typically stay away from lists, but upon thinking about what I wanted to write this week I stumbled onto grainy videos of events ripped from old UFC VHS tapes. I began noticing things one might after re-watching a fight they had not seen entirely sober.
Fighting is undoubtedly part of our DNA. Sex and violence are two of the most potent drives of living beings – they also (as successful companies have realized over the past 100 years) make for great entertainment.
Guilty pleasure number one is: pure unadulterated violence.
I started off loving fighting in the form of boxing and idolized 'Iron' Mike Tyson. His fights and character created a contagious, innate excitement, and I thought little of the negative consequences his opponents were going to endure. This way of thinking is brutal and animalistic, but it laid the groundwork for my fighting obsession going forward.
Then MMA came along, and it's WAY better than boxing. It's simply more engaging, more realistic. This is why I feel 100 times more engrossed when watching a present day fight. These days the thrill and excitement of watching MMA for many people is offset by the guilt of watching other people damage themselves for viewing pleasure. With increasing frequency, it can feel weird to watch humans willingly damage each other for entertainment purposes.
It is hard to ignore the ever-increasing scientific data: repeated blows to the head can create lasting damage to our brains. Although (probably) safer than boxing, can we still believe that MMA fighters are somehow exempt from the scientifically proven consequences of repeated blows to the head?
I choose to blank out on this issue. Ignorance is bliss, right?
If the two people entering the trademarked Octagon consent to the risks they may encounter, shouldn't I be able to selfishly enjoy? To me, watching violence is just as bad as rooting against a guy you personally hate for some undisclosed prejudice.
Which brings me to guilty pleasure number two: good guys and bad guys.
Some pay to see the guy with the big mouth get shut up. Others, to witness the seemingly unbeatable (GSP, Silva, Jones) finally be dethroned. While some may only root against the British fighters, the Brazilian ones, or anyone with the last name Diaz.
For me it's as simple as the two fighters not touching gloves in the final stare down. There is nothing harder than some good ol' fashioned bad sportsmanship, and when the emotions are palpable the fight makes for fireworks.
I know I am going against a lot of online MMA forum "experts," but when a fighter's heart is more prevalent than his or (most recently) her technique, this makes for guilty pleasure number three.
These fights make for a better viewing experience than a technical stay pressed against the fence war. All these style of bouts do for me are cause me to tweet hateful things towards fighters and get blocked. As was the case when I tweeted Brendan Schaub after his bout with Lavar "The Rock" Johnson.
So yeah, there is something about watching these guys go toe to toe, repeatedly dropping each other left and right, both refusing to be finished, that gets my adrenaline flowing.
Whether it's bloody beatdowns like I just mentioned, Kevin Randleman style suplexes, or just simple (real) trash talk, anything reminiscent of The WWF Attitude Era is money well spent and the final guilty pleasure.
The first of the three is unexpected, but when you glance at the screen at the right moment you witness something compelling. Whether it's Rory Macdonald suplexing Nate Diaz three times in a row at UFC 129, or Antonio Silva brutalizing Alistair Overeem at UFC 156, if you're in the arena, a sports bar charging five dollars a head, or a friend's living room, the feeling is contagious.
The appeal of wrestlers crossing over the ring ropes and into the Octagon has been something that has brought me joy. Even the Bobby Lashley's give an answer for the old question, "what if this guy can really throw down?"
The latest event on FX made for a guilty pleasure that is developing in MMA. This is the milestone event, moment or memory that will go down in folklore. MMA is writing it's history, and glory days as you read this. There are knockouts and meltdowns that will make the legacy of the fighters we are witnessing in their primes or in Vitor Belfort's case, resurgences.
Hold grudges, talk s*** on fighter's who hold others down, and get pumped when someone gets a hematoma. It's all part of the beauty of MMA, and no one - not even people who send out fines for petty things like pot - can take it away from us.
COMMENTS? RANTS? c.j.tuttle@me.com @kidceej
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