Martial arts, it's everywhere we look. You can't scroll through a new feed on Facebook or Twitter without seeing the next big event in Boxing or UFC. With the aid of the media sport martial art events such as mma (UFC) were able to get the publicity it needed to become mainstream.
Becoming mainstream was easy, but keeping the sport going was another story. To many people such as old fashioned Boxing promoters, sports critics and new casters would report on how violent the sport was. In the beginning of these events most people were used to watching boxing events where two men wearing the approved boxing gloves and protective hand wraps met in the centre of a square ring and fought only using | |
their fists. By the time the first mma event came to be (UFC 1) many people were shocked as the fighters didn't wear protective gear like mouth guards, athletic cups, boxing gloves or even hand wraps. The fighters would also be fighting in the middle of a octagon shaped cage. By the end of the first event it was clear how far this sport could go however boxing state commissions thought otherwise. The commissions saw it as, "Nothing more than human cockfighting". They believed they could use the media to shut the viewers attention down by making them believe this is wrong. The Owners of the UFC at the time rolled with the media that way rather than saying everything that's being said is false information they advertised the events as "No rules fighting", and the bouts end in one of three ways by knockout, giving up or death. This plan to many peoples shock worked, this intrigued more viewers to tune in and watch just to see how "bad" it really was. For many people viewing for the first time were able to see that it is a just a sport just unlike Boxing their are multiple other disciplines such as wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing and Muay Thai are among the many martial art disciplines used. To the viewers able to think about it they realized when it comes down to it, it was really just kickboxing with submission wrestling. However it is argued that there were less rules back when the UFC first picked up, but no ever got seriously injured while fighting the main rules back at UFC were as simple as no biting, scratching or gouging (eye gouges). As time went on the UFC picked up more and more rules and regulations to be what it is today and all at once this was because of how mainstream mixed martial arts fighting had become in such a short time. This is the result of using the media against itself and in doing so brought a lot of attention to the sport making it in the end one of the hugest sporting events today. Making such fighters as George St-Pierre, Chuck Liddel, Anderson Silva, Carlos Condit and Royce Gracie house hold names. And that is how the media changed sport martial arts.