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Originally Posted by WI Crippler  Yes, last night was a historic moment for MMA as it was broadcast for the first time live on a network television station and in primetime, no less. However, rather than being the top tiered MMA promotion(UFC), America was treated to second-rate MMA fighters, lousy production, and questionable referee/doctor stoppages. The first two fights went as I suspected. Unskilled, but exciting knockouts. Then, to CBS credit, a womans match featuring female MMA star Gina Carano(with whom I want to make lots of babies, or at least practice on it with her). That fight was decent, although it was stopped between rounds. Then we were actually being treated to a real MMA match between two former UFC fighters, who were putting on a great fight, which got stopped early and ruled a NC because of an inadvertent eye poke, which the guy who was on the recieving end did not get his alotted 5 minutes to recover from. Then the main event featured Kimbo Slice, a very green MMA fighter, but legendary street brawler vs. James Thompson, a journeyman MMA fighter who is experienced, but not all that good. Kimbo won on a controversial stoppage. He was knocking the guy with some shots, but the guy was still in the fight and still on his feet. And Kimbo was exposed on the ground. He would be finished by any current UFC fighter in easy fashion. In other words, the legend of Kimbo Slice was exposed. Don't get me wrong, I like Kimbo as a man, but he has alot of work to do if he is ever to become a legit MMA star.
To finish this OP off on a good note, lets revisit the one redeeming quality of this show. My future second wife, Gina Carano.  |
I agree with everything you said even though I know far less about the sport than you. (Gina Carano should get out of the sport before she gets that fighters face look. She is beautiful and she has such a sense of femininity and sweetness about her I wondered before the match if she had the killer instinct. I think neither girl showed MUCH of it in this fight. They were both a bit too considerate. But that's okay. And when Gina went over to Kaitlin after the bout to offer a word of consolation and Kaitlin didn't see her so Gina just kissed her on the head and walked away, I thought that was a nice touch.)
For those who are even less familiar with the sport than I:
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Although there were a few limited number of rules at UFC 1, the UFC was initially known as no holds barred fighting, and contests were often violent and brutal. Early UFC fights were less sport than spectacle, which led to accusations of brutality and "human cock fighting" by opponents.[2] Political pressures eventually led the UFC into the underground, as pay-per-view providers nixed UFC programming, nearly extinguishing the UFC's public visibility.
As political pressure mounted, the UFC reformed itself, slowly embracing stricter rules, becoming sanctioned by state athletic commissions, and marketing itself as a legitimate sporting event. Dropping the no holds barred label and carrying the banner of mixed martial arts, the UFC has emerged from its political isolation to become more socially acceptable, regaining its position in pay-per-view television.
Ultimate Fighting Championship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
I think for their first primetime broadcast network showing they may have wanted to stress the caution they employ in regulating the bouts. And having an up and coming fighter suffer permanent eye damage could kill any chances of their becoming a regular feature on the CBS lineup.
But I watched it and enjoyed it. I thought Robbie Lawler was going to have an easy or easi
er time with Scott Smith before he accidentally poked his finger in Smith's eye.
I heard the promoter say he was going to pay each of them their earnings as if each of them had won the bout. It will be a good rematch.
One of the things I have noticed is that MMA fighters look more beaten-up than many boxers. But it would be wrong to think that MMA is the more dangerous sport. In MMA there is a lot of grappling and kicking and headlocks and the head does get mauled but the damage is more likely to be from scratches, pulled ears, rubbing skin raw against the mat or the opponent's outfit, body, razor stubble/beards and some punches.
But there is less damage done to the brain in these kinds of matches because there are so many more ways to defeat an opponent that beating him on the head until he is senseless.
Some of the MMA fighters look really scary but they have their wits about them and their speech isn't slurred like a boxer's sometimes is.
Oh, and the CBS team of announcers need work. The main guy standing in the center of the three was noticeably rough around the edges. He misspoke several times. None of them called the action as well as I'd hoped. There seemed to be no teamwork or chemistry between the three and at the end the center guy didn't even mention the names of the other two.
My last comment is about the fans. Some of them were BOOING!!!??? They were booing because it wasn't action packed from beginning to the end of some of the matches. The fighters were sizing each other up and I didn't think they were just dancing to kill the clock. I've said it before but I believe a whole generation of us are thrill junkies who have to have SOMETHING going on all the time and their sensory threshold is just so amped up that they can't stand any kind of inaction.
I hope that CBS does make it a regular thing. Once upon a time the Saturday Night Fights were a regular and very popular part of American culture. Some good matches would go a long way toward popularizing the sport.