My Take on MMA Fans

In the world of mixed martial arts, fans are the paramount focus of the industry in terms of both monetary compensation and notoriety for both the promotions and the fighters. While many promotions battle for prestige, network contracts, PPV's, profit, etc. there is one promotion which obviously stands above all others.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship which has a huge corner on the market, so much so in fact, that uneducated, pseudo-fans and housewives everywhere often refer to the sport of MMA as "UFC." They sometimes even say things like "He practices the UFC" or "Oh, is that that UFC stuff?" I can't count how many times I've had to use the 'UFC' as an example to explain what mixed martial arts is while having a conversation with those who aren't in the 'know' in regards to mma. Trying to explain that there exist other promotions and MMA organizations such as Bellator, The World Series of Fighting, Pancrase, XFC, etc. is a whole other issue...

Not being in the 'know' is one thing, but my contention isn't with a lack of knowing, it's with those who do know, and the ones who don't, but think they do. If I were discussing football with someone who obviously knows the sport to the degree that he or she is discussing the semantics of zone coverage defense, the positional nuances of individual roles within the offensive line, etc. I wouldn't try to argue or claim some level of knowledge I don't have; but it's even easier to assess this lack of knowledge and notice the copious level of hubris often exhibited in a supposed mma or 'UFC' fan. The likes of which always claim they have some insider knowledge on a fight and routinely claim they know who will win a fight, the same ones who refer to fighters who had a bad day or lackluster performance as a "pussy" or by saying "they suck." While not even paying mind to the fact that they're often referring to a top tier fighter and athlete who put himself and his reputation on the line in front of thousands if not millions of people.

You see, these are the people I often encounter deliberately remain ignorant to the sport itself so they can cast judgment without the effort of getting to know that which they're judging. You know, the ones who don't know but think they do. However, in doing so come across as crass, arrogant, and often openly display some level of tough guy behavior which has the undesireable effect of turning others who might be otherwise interested in the sport away.

I recently went to a "King of the Cage" event at the Coeur d'Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho where I witnessed some exceptional levels of skill displayed in the ring and some not so exceptional displays, but either way I always clapped and cheered on the winners and the losers. However, there were those fans in the crowd, some right next to me, mocking and throwing insults at some of the fighters and even booing fighters as they entered or left the ring. This sort of behavior is not only repugnant and appalling, it's also that which keeps many who don't know or understand the sport to turn away from it and not even give it a chance. Unfortunately it's more often than not perpetuated by those who think they know, and/or do know the sport.

In any case, many die-hard mma fans, novice mma fans, and those in the know or not, are respectful and display some humility in regards to the exhibitions of our modern day gladiators displaying their mix of martial art skill sets. It's the ones who walk around with a chip on their shoulder because they feel they know more about mma than others, the ones who act tough because of their rudimentary, armchair warrior understanding of the sport, the ones who boo or judge fighters incessantly, and the ones who think they know more than they really do that give us fans who actually show a little humility now and then a bad name.

Point in case, we could all learn a thing or two from Japanese fans who show the utmost respect and admiration for the fighters. Watch DreamFC, Pancrase or some old PrideFC footage and you'll see what I mean.

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• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 01:56PM
  I like. +1 -


• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 10:15AM
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• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 09:24AM
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• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 09:24AM
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• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 03:46AM
  As a person who trained for 6 years in MMA I have come across such fans. What these so-called fans don't understand about MMA is the pain and dedication it takes to be a fighter. I also strongly urge such people to be in the cage if they feel that he competitors are pussies and then and only then can they begin to realize the amount of discipline it takes to be a fighter. We'll said and nicely written.. -


• Anonymous   Oct 30, 2013 @ 01:58AM
  Great article, I completely agree. -