There is certainly an argument that, putting two people in a ring together and just letting them fight is the most basic form of competition Man could invent.
Ultimate fighting championship
There is certainly an argument that, rather than an extreme sport, putting two people in a ring together and just letting them fight is the most basic form of competition Man could invent. With boxing losing credibility due to stalemate competitions, fixed fights and financial corruption, the American public at the turn of the century were looking for a new format of combat sport.
Wrestling such as was provided by the WWE had descended so far into pantomime that mature minds were no longer attracted, and Oriental martial arts had an air of foreignness that did not sit well in US. The gap was filled on February 23 2001, as a new sport was born, one that took the simple idea of fighting to its extremes: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The rules of UFC are not complex. The key to the concept lies in the word ‘Ultimate’; the mixed martial arts format means that fighters trained in any combat discipline can pit themselves against those with a completely different skills set. As such, professional jiu jitsu and karate fighters may end up in the ring with an opponent who simply describes his style as ‘street fighting’.
Because the roll of fighters is constantly changing, there is no actual fighting style that has emerged as the ‘Ultimate’, but audiences have taken in a lot of gory entertainment along the way nevertheless.
The fights take place in a unique octagonal ring with solid walls. Rounds last for five minutes, with regular matches having three rounds and title fights five. Little is barred to the competitors, although some rules are in place to prevent serious injury.
Head-butting, kneeing or kicking opponent who is down is outlawed, as is striking with the point of the elbow. Likewise, striking the spine, back of the head, groin or throat is barred, along with eye gouging. Anything else goes in a sport which is always intensely competed, yet which can boast of no serious injury to a competitor in six years of increasingly widespread competition.
UFC was originally banned when it first emerged, with US Senator and current presidential hopeful John McCain speaking out against the events, calling it ‘human cock-fighting.’ It took a second big money cable deal, and a tie in with a Las Vegas Casino, along with a revision of the rules that were considered too brutal to stomach before UFC had its second, wildly successful birth. Canada has its own franchise of the sport, and the UK has recently started to host matches as well, opening the door for participation from mainland Europe.
The record number of pay-per-view buys, each meaning any number of viewers in a single home, is 1,050,000, which is comparable to major US boxing events, and illustrates just what a money spinner the sport is. Violent, merciless, brutal and short, the UFC has all the traditional elements required to take over from boxing as the Pariah of liberal sports observers. Unfortunately for them, it also has all the hallmarks of a crowd favourite, and looks set to stay.
Varun Zaiwalla
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