UFC wins audiences despite lack of rules
Roar Rookie
By mungo_13, 18 Mar 2010 Brett Frawley is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Mixed marshal arts, UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was in town last month and managed to polarize Australia’s sports fans. I am on the negative side. But the mixed marshal arts competition can hardly be doubted as a sport.
It fits the requirement, as per this Google definition: “an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.”
The Google definition, albeit brief, seems to be close to what most people think of when they think of sport. However, the thing that is missing in both the definition and the UFC is rules.
UFC has made me realize that my favorite thing about sport is the thing that I often get most upset about: the rules.
The rules of a game are what define it; and also what define its athletes. Athletes like Andrew Johns, Adam Gilchrist, Wayne Rooney Tiger Woods and Rodger Federer all play sports in which rules determine their body movements and dictate their thoughts.
Their ability beyond the handicaps enforced on them is what gives their athleticism context.
Take the rules away from Test cricket and you’ve got a five-day long sticks and stones fight; take the rules away from Aussie Rules and you’ve got 80 minutes of ‘kill the dill with the pill’; and take away the rules from rugby and all you’ve got is a late night SBS time-slot.
For all I know, the lack of rules in UFC may be what appeals to its audience.
These days we can judge the success of a sport the same way we judge our grocery stores: by the bottom line. Google the words ‘UFC’ and you’ll quickly be convinced about how popular and marketable this sport is.
It is here to stay.
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Fivehole said | March 18th 2010 @ 8:02am | Report comment
There are rules (eg no attacking the groin, eye gouging etc), there just aren’t many of them!
Millster said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
Mungo – read the good wikipedia entry on the history of the UFC. While it started with very few rules, the rule-set now is quite extensive and it has become a very technical sport. Part of this is because many countries, and US states, would not sanction the UFC in its old ‘rule-free’ guise – whereas now there is wide acceptance of the safeguards on the sport that the current rules impose. Also there is growing consistency in rules between the various Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organisations – such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Dream and others – which means that it is becoming easier for fighters and fans to really get into the sports, compare performances and tactics, etc. Anyway like I said read up on the history and you will see how the issue of rules has evolved.
Gibbo said | March 19th 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
Yeah, its pretty obvious there are rules, such as kicks and knees when your opponent is on the ground, no holding onto the cage, and the usuals like low blows, gouging, etc.
what the UFC is struggling with at the momment is the scoring system. For example, whats worth more: a takedown defence or a failed submission attempt? There are alot of grey areas and the sport is too complex in many ways for the boxing style point system which they use currently. That system was designed solely around a striking contest. There is much more to UFC and MMA than striking.