Mixed martial arts commercially, athletically superior to boxing

Americans have developed a sour taste for the sweet science. Boxing, at one time, was arguably the most popular sport in America, but Americans’ love affair with boxing has waned almost synonymously with the decline of the heavyweight division. The most notable fighters during the golden age of boxing fought in the heavyweight division, but now a look at the pound-for-pound rakings reveals that the cream of the boxing crop falls under 200 pounds, with the most note-worthy fighters falling in the 130-150 range. A look at the pound-for-pound rankings for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) however reveals the parity of talent between weight classes and this parity is partially why MMA will soon surpass boxing as America’s combat sport of choice.

The world has already embraced MMA due largely to MMA’s incorporation of multiple fighting styles from various countries. Muay Tai (Thailand), Karate (Japan), Tae Kwon Do (Korea), Judo (Japan), Jujitsu (Japan), Brazilian Jujitsu (Brazil), Wrestling, Kickboxing, and Boxing are some of the many fighting styles incorporated by MMA fighters. MMA is a sport of dimensions; everything the boxer must excel at, the MMA fighter must also excel at, but the MMA fighter cannot only excel at the elements of boxing. Not only must the MMA fighter be cognizant of a dangerous jab-straight-jab-jab-hook combo, but the MMA fighter must also consider that his opponent can shoot for a takedown, bring him to ground, pass guard, mount, and then proceed to unleash a hellish flurry of hammer fists and elbows or attempt a submission. The incorporation of kicks and a ground game makes the MMA fighter’s job more difficult.
The convergence of styles is not only exciting, but places MMA on a higher platform than boxing. Strategy-wise, the MMA fight is much more intense and difficult. It is a lot easier to slip and counter a punch than to counter a kimura, arm bar, or guillotine submission hold while trapped inside someone’s guard.

The big fights happen more often in MMA as well. Few MMA fighters can be accused of ducking fights or “picking” opponents as is common in boxing. The recent bout between Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Márquez is a perfect example of a problem that is prominent in boxing. Realistically, Mayweather Jr. should have fought Manny Pacquiao or Sugar Shane Mosely, but Mayweather Jr. selected the bout with the smaller and less-proficient Márquez and ended up dominating the entire fight. In MMA, one or a couple fight coordinators organize the fights (per organization) and public demand weighs heavily into the decision of which fighters eventually duke it out. There are still lopsided and boring fights in MMA, but rarely can one attribute a bad MMA fight to a fighter’s unwillingness to fight a tough opponent.

MMA, particularly the UFC, has also realized something that boxing long forgot, that putting events on cable television will bring new people into the sport. Boxing on basic cable is rare, but MMA bouts appear on SpikeTM and VersusTM weekly and the fight promotion EliteXC even had a short stint on prime time television on CBS.

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