One of the issues that seems to be brought up quite often is the debate between wrestling and MMA. There’s a group of people that feel like you can’t be a fan of one if you’re a fan of the other. Another group of people disagrees, thinking if you like one, it makes perfect sense why you’d be a fan of the other. I figured I would address three aspects of this here in this editorial.
ON THE ISSUE OF COVERING MMA ON THE SITE:
I’m frequently asked why I don’t cover UFC here on Smark Out Moment as this is a sports related website. There are two main reasons why: knowledge and time.
When it comes to professional wrestling, I’ve been a fan long enough that I feel like I can present to you viewers/listeners/readers a credible opinion on the subject. I certainly wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I’m certainly a knowledgeable fan. I may not know every bit of trivia, but you could certainly come here and learn something new each time you read a post. MMA on the other hand, I don’t know much about. Sure, I know the general basis of it, I’ve watched some matches, and I know some of the popular names (Cain Velasquez, Kimbo Slice, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Chuck Lidell, Randy Couture, etc), but it takes more than that. That brings us to the time issue. In order to become well versed enough in MMA to really report on UFC the right way, I’d have to find the time to not only learn the history, the moves, the names of all the gorgeous women that parade around (can you blame me), so on and so forth – plus the time to watch it all and read the news.
MY THOUGHTS ON MMA:
I can completely see why it’s so popular. It’s a step up in intensity to something like boxing (to a greater extent than kickboxing is) while still maintaining that similar competitive structure. Naturally, it’s a guy’s thing (generally speaking) but it seems to have achieved recognition to women as well, so that’s interesting. Personally, I find the action to be a 50/50 split. The fun and exciting parts are quite fun and exciting. Some hits look BRUTAL. The lagging parts I find to be on par with waiting for a pitcher at a baseball game. UFC’s got a lot of potential and I don’t see it going anywhere for the time being. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets even more popular than the level it’s currently at.
PRO WRESTLING VS MMA:
Finally, the issue of making a choice. I don’t see why there needs to be a divide. The argument is that UFC is ‘real’, WWE is ‘fake’, and anyone that is a true MMA fan wouldn’t be interested in something scripted. Why is that the case? Real cops watch cop television shows, real boxers watch the film Rocky, people that have sex watch porn. Just because something’s scripted doesn’t mean it’s not still entertaining. While I’m a big fan of the storyline aspect of professional wrestling, which doesn’t translate to MMA, there are crossovers that make perfect sense why people could enjoy both. There’s a shift of MMA over to wrestling with the more frequent use of moves that are inspired by or taken directly from fighters in UFC. Taker’s “Hell’s Gate” submission also known as the gogoplata, Daniel Bryan’s LeBell Lock, and Alberto Del Rio’s cross armbreaker come to mind. There’s also been crossovers from wrestling over to MMA. Ever heard of Brock Lesnar?
So what are your thoughts on UFC and MMA in regards to professional wrestling. Are you a fan of both? Why or why not? Leave your comments below.
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