# check this guardian article



## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

this is an article written in the guardian, and then post 5 has my response letter , which I have sent many times to the guardian, and recieved 0 replies so far

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jun/28/mixed-martial-arts-ultimate-fighting

For more than a century, the turbulent business of sanctioned violence has been conducted on a square of stretched, padded canvas between men wearing cushioned gloves who, to appease the squeamish, are constrained by a code of discipline and vaguely civilised behaviour. In time, boxing became an art, albeit a brutal one, and a sanitised business suitable for sale at the box office and in homes.

But something strange is happening in the fight game: millions of fans have tired of cleansed combat and are embracing old-style contests closer in mood and execution to the anarchic, caveman excitement of the bare-knuckle days. Welcome to the world of mixed martial arts.

Its fans - typically males between 18 and 34, quite a lot of them suburban and white, and accompanied by wives or girlfriends - neither see the artistry of boxing nor care much for the sport's history. The centre of their universe is not the ring but the octagon, where fists (housed in small, fingered gloves), unprotected feet and sharp elbows propel bouts of three five-minute rounds towards dramatic, unscripted conclusion. Heads are bashed. Necks are choked. Arms are twisted. And money is made, most of it under the banner of the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, an organisation Forbes magazine estimates is already worth more than $1bn.

Its army of addicts would not disagree with the words of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk: "I just don't want to die without a few scars." Or watch someone else getting them, at least.

Beaten presidential candidate John McCain, who boxed in the navy, called an early no-holds-barred version of MMA "human cockfighting". Don King, for whom regulations and tradition are mere tools of promotion, says: "All UFC is doing is taking 200 years of rules and throwing them out the window."

But the bastard child of boxing and wrestling, with strains of jujitsu, karate and kick boxing thrown in, has made the cover of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine has called it "the fastest growing sports brand in the United States". It is shown in 36 countries, including the UK. Last year, Harley-Davidson and Bud Light, brands that hit the wallet of American male culture, signed sponsorship deals. In America, it is shown on Spike, the adventure-based TV channel belonging to MTV. What nobody is doing anymore is ignoring UFC.

Boxing, meanwhile, where King and other promoters have spread confusion for three decades and more, is on unsteady feet. Ricky Hatton's recent fight with Manny Pacquiao did 850,000 pay-per-view (PPV) sales on the HBO channel in the United States, topped up with an undisclosed number in the UK, making it a standout success. But Joe Calzaghe's fight with Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Garden last November drew around 250,000 PPV customers, and the historic venue fell 6,000 short of a 20,000 sellout. A month earlier, middleweight Kelly Pavlik, a big ticket-seller, and Bernard Hopkins - of whom the same can't be said - drew an embarrassing 190,000 PPV sales.

Oscar De La Hoya generated a staggering 14.1m buys and $696m in revenue in 19 of his most glittering fights. He holds the record, still, of 2.4m buys for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2007. But this was the flickering of the light; ESPN revealed in the same year that Americans had fallen out of love with boxing, which did not rate even among their 15 favourite sports. The decline has continued. The lone saviour for now is Pacquiao. Mayweather, who says he is the cash cow, tunes up against Juan Manuel Marquez this month for a payday with the Pacman. Elsewhere, the landscape is bleak.

Boxing's champions are anonymous, and many of the sport's administrators have been exposed over the years as vainglorious, corruptible and deaf to calls for reform. Boxing has four major international sanctioning organisations, all of them risibly self-regarding, 17 weight divisions and, at last count, 58 world champions, none of them undisputed, and some of whom even the most ardent boxing fan or writer would not recognise in a police line-up.

The sport that gave the world Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson has three heavyweight champions now, one of them a seven-foot freak called Nikolai Valuev, and not one possesses a thimble of charisma. These are not heroes equipped to halt boxing's slide from the mainstream.

Over there - and increasingly over here - a younger, hipper audience flock to the octagon, or watch at home; in consecutive months - November, December and January - UFC shows hit a million pay-per-view buys each time, something boxing has never managed. When UFC came to London in February, 5 million Americans sat up through the night to watch it live on Spike TV. Its reality programme, The Ultimate Fighter, in which unknown MMA fighters compete for a UFC contract, draws 380,000 a week on Virgin 1, and Setanta gets 350,000 viewers for its free-to-air fights. SNL Kagan, the financial investment analysts, estimate UFC's revenue from PPV in 2008 was $300m. HBO's boxing brought in $190m.

Regardless of what traditionalists think of the spectacle, UFC incorporates plenty of showbiz and, more importantly, doubt about the result. There are no "house" fighters, no favoured, unbeaten prospects served up with soft opponents, very few mediocre or irrelevant undercards (unbeaten records are incredibly rare; everyone gets taken down sooner or later). It has a regular season, too, so fans know the fighters and, increasingly, the nuances of the sport.

Many UFC fans could not tell you who Sugar Ray Robinson was, but they know everything there is to know about Michael Bisping, a friend of Hatton's and a more viable fighting son of Manchester now than the shell that is the Hitman, since Pacquiao defeated him so spectacularly in Las Vegas in May. Soon, if a brash and brilliant American entrepreneur called Dana White is to be believed, you too might know more about Bisping, the UK's best mixed martial artist.

On 11 July, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, White's UFC company celebrates its 100th edition - they expect around 1.5m fans at home to fork out $44.95 each making it the most lucrative MMA show ever. White, a one-time hotel porter in Las Vegas, is 39 and it is nine years since he persuaded a high school friend and Vegas gambling face, Lorenzo Fertitta, and his brother Frank to buy out the ailing operation from the original owners for $2m. They are all smiling now. So is Bisping, who years ago tried boxing, got bored and found his calling in the multi-discipline world of MMA. He is a millionaire, something beyond his ambitions as a boxer, and scheduled to fight Dan Henderson, one of his sport's biggest draws, at UFC100. If he wins, White has promised Bisping the ultimate payday against the UFC's best fighter, Anderson Silva. Were that to take place in Manchester, MMA in this country would go to another level.

Bisping is 30 years old, a soldier's son from Clitheroe in Lancashire, and a chiselled 6ft 1in, weighing approximately 13 stone. He has worked as a slaughterman, upholsterer and postman. In the demographic that UFC chase, his profile is as high in his sport as Hatton's is in boxing. He has decent boxing skills and might have made it as a light-heavyweight, or maybe built himself up to cruiser. In UFC, which has five weight divisions, he is more effective at their version of middleweight, and is as adept with his feet as with his hands. He has lost just once in 18 contests, eight of those for the UFC.

"In April 2007, when we went to the MEN Arena in Manchester for the first time with Michael," says the UFC's UK president, Marshall Zelaznik, "we didn't know what to expect, whether to 'curtain' it or what. I'd been at a Calzaghe fight there in 2006 and they'd curtained the top of the arena. I thought, 'How the hell are we going to fill this building?' We sold out."

From that moment on, Bisping's life changed. "Same as boxing, I started in small MMA promotions, little halls. I started making some noise, working my way up."

His big break came when he won the third Ultimate Fighter series and now he ranks as one of UFC's most saleable commodities. "I box every day. But I love being a mixed martial artist. It's my passion. If I won Â£20m in the lottery, I'd still fight in the UFC. The financial rewards in the UFC are fantastic. I'm earning more money now than I could ever have dreamed was possible. Some of the boxers on Roy Jones Jr's last show earned $150. I'll be honest - I'm not on the level Mike Tyson was making but the top guys in UFC are making very handsome money, and it's shared out better than in boxing. On average, I'd fight three times a year."

White elaborates: "Guys coming into the UFC, they can make anything from $5,000 a win. In boxing, you've got a handful of guys who make millions of dollars. Hardly any guys make hundreds of thousands of dollars. You've got more guys making down towards $10,000, $20,000. We've got 380 guys under contract and most of them are making over $100,000 a year."

White has bigger plans than merely overtaking boxing. "In 10 years - and I swear you're going to think I'm a lunatic - this is going to be the biggest sport in the world," he barks down the phone like someone so high on satisfaction you imagine he is jumping from foot to foot and swinging his non-phone arm in the air while holding a very big Jack Daniels and Coke. "I think it's going to be bigger than the NFL, I think it's going to be bigger than soccer. I put two guys in the Octagon and they can use any martial art they want. That transcends all barriers, cultural barriers, language barriers. I don't care what colour you are, what country you come from, or what language you speak: at the end of the day we're all human beings and fighting is in our DNA."

We have heard these roll-up, roll-up claims before. Vince McMahon (whose grandfather was on the bill of the last night of Madison Square Garden II in 1925) brought us the World Wrestling Federation, which has since morphed into the World Wrestling Entertainment circus, a harmless and amusing self-parody that has slipped past its high-point without anyone noticing. WWE is cartoon violence.

When UFC itself began on pay per view in 1993 it was, says Zelzanik, "a train wreck". "Guys with bare fists, guys with shoes, you didn't know what was going to happen. No one was killed, but it looked horrific. There was such an outcry, politically, eventually it was thrown off cable television. At the end of the 90s, it was at its absolute lowest, a totally underground spectacle."

The company changed hands, but most of the contests were not mixed, and featured fighters hugely different in weight. Hair-pulling and headbutting were allowed; what sold the sport then was its raw vulgarity (the tag line in the early 1990s, in fact, was "There are no rules!").

By the time White and his partners arrived, the model for a more structured discipline was taking shape. Fighters from different martial arts, and boxing, adapted their styles, learned new tricks and became more versatile than any practitioners of just one form of fighting. They had become the modern pentathletes of the fight game.

The boxing component of MMA lasts only as long as the contestants take to get past some ineffectual sparring and "go to the mat", where the real damage is done. I went to a show at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, and sat in the cheap seats (Â£100) up in the gods. Beside me a few girls from Reading screamed a lot, and a young man and his girlfriend sat mutely until the fighters started grappling. They were from Brazil, where the concept of mixing martial arts began nearly a century ago, popularised by the Gracie family, who were of Scottish and Portuguese stock, and refined over the years to suit an American audience.

I tried, but I couldn't get into it. As soon as the sparring stopped and they began their grappling, I was lost. I know it's skilful, and I don't mind judo, where there is a dynamic, a dance, if you like, but the subtleties of extended groundwork, with arm locks and strangleholds are alien to someone brought up on the beauty and mechanics of boxing. The two don't even compare.

What "boxing" there was tended towards the one-hit variety, pawing shots followed by wild swings, neither fighter prepared to get in the hitting zone and work off combinations, because they feared a kick or being swung to the mat.

There was a stunning finish to the bout between Terry Etim of Liverpool and the American Brian Cobb, when Etim kicked Cobb in the head. It brought the biggest roar of the night from a crowd just short of the 18,000 capacity.

Let's not equivocate here: all of us were there for something like this, hoping the knockout would be clean, dramatic, but not too ugly. It's just that there wasn't much aesthetically pleasing either side of it. For UFC, that's fine, because they are serving a virgin audience, thrill-seekers with no preconceptions. The mood that night was happy rather than euphoric, the fans' perspective as inquisitive as it was knowledgable.

There are incongruities in the ring that the largely young, middle-class audience struggled to comprehend. When Paulo Thiago felled Josh Koscheck heavily with a right uppercut and a sweeping left hook, clearly Koscheck was beaten. But such is the nature of MMA that at this point he was on his back, defenceless, and set up for more on-the-ground punishment. There is no count. The attacker must pounce to finish the job, however badly hurt his opponent is. So the referee, rightly, stopped the fight - and was booed.

The opportunities for compassion in MMA are split-second ones. It puts a lot of responsibility on the referee. Boxing, properly monitored, makes a more acceptable compromise between the jungle and civilisation. Take this from the commentary of Mark Munoz versus Matt "The Hammer" Hamill in the Octagon at UFC96 in Columbus last March:

"Wow! Who expected that? Mark Julio Munoz is still unconscious right in front of us ...

"Our fight replay - brought to you by Bud Light, the difference is drinkability... The doctors are tending to him. He is still out! This is why [cue slo-mo of his opponent's right foot crashing into Munoz's temple, and down he floats to the floor]. Beautifully placed head kick, and he's out before he goes down! Watch him ... He drops his own head on his knee... He's out cold!"

Hamill, who delivered the kick, is a former college wrestling champion from Ohio. But he cannot hear the roar of the crowd. Hamill is deaf. And ruthless. Munoz, who was having his first fight for UFC, lies on the canvas of the caged ring, unconscious. His eyes are shut. Hamill rips two more chilling blows into his limp and defenceless head.

"These punches are just academic at this point," the commentator continues over the replay. The horror clip rolls again. "Bam! Vicious knockout by Matt Hamill ... Take a listen to the head kick that finishes this fight. [We hear a sickening thwack.] The shin. Boom! Bruce Buffer tells us it took just 3:53 of the first round. Matt 'The Hammer' Hamill is still jumping in celebration. Munoz is still unconscious!"

Most MMA contests do not end with a blitzed loser taking the sort of needless punishment that might hospitalise him, or worse. But the refereeing in this contest was criminally poor.

Boxers are divided. Wayne McCullough, the former world champion who has lived in Las Vegas for many years, is a huge fan - and, now, an "ambassador" for the company. But Carl Froch, the new world super-middleweight champion, says, "It's not for me, all that rolling around on the floor." Enzo Maccarinelli, a former world champion whose boxing career has been derailed recently, is desperate to try it - but Bisping warns him: "You can't just walk into this sport. You've got to be prepared to go right back to the beginning, take two or three years to learn the disciplines."

"People say I'm killing boxing," says White, who boxed himself as a youth in Boston. "Believe me, it's not me killing boxing; boxing is killing boxing. I love the sport." So does Don King. So does Bob Arum. So do all the other hucksters, from governing bodies to TV executives. That doesn't stop them murdering their own baby.

It's no mystery. It's raw capitalism. It's mutually agreed exploitation. It's short-term gain. These people love boxing like Wall Street bankers love money: with no regard for the consequences of their selfishness. It would be unreasonable to expect White to be any different, because he's as deep into the meat-selling business as are King and Arum.

Boxing has not been this vulnerable since the 50s, when the Mob came close to shredding the last vestiges of its credibility. But it's absurd to think boxing is going to die. It is too deeply embedded in our culture - in our DNA, as White points out.

This could be a defining period for MMA (the sport) and UFC (the company) - unlike boxing, with its competing organisations, the two acronyms are now almost interchangable: the UFC under White has proved adept at defeating or subsuming its rivals, whether that means squeezing out the International Fight League (2006-2008) or buying the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships (1997-2007) for around $70m. This month, of course, sees the 100th edition of UFC, which may be followed by the sanctioning of meetings in New York State - in 1997, when John McCain's campaign against the sport was at its peak, 36 US states outlawed "no-holds-barred" fighting; now it is just seven and if New York demurs then it is likely that the other holdout states will begin to allow MMA fights too.

But White himself could prove a liability. Bob Reilly, a New York Assemblyman who is sometimes called "the most hated man in MMA", seems determined that events will never take place in Madison Square Garden. "I don't believe this [Dana White] is a person who really would be a person that you'd want to enter into business with," he said recently.

Meanwhile in April, in a video blog on the UFC's own website, White unleashed his quite considerable wrath on journalist Loretta Hunt, who had criticised the UFC's credentialling policy on another MMA website, Sherdog.com. The issue seemed trivial. But not to White. He called her "a ****ing dumb bitch" for writing what he considered "an absolutely ****ing retarded story". An anonymous source Hunt quoted was, said White, "a ****ing ******".

White was now in the Don King class of notoriety as a fight-game promoter. He had crossed over from regulation hype to wild-eyed eccentricity. And he knew, too, he might have unnecessarily damaged his product, which hovers between basic instincts and family entertainment - so he apologised to the gay and lesbian community, and made the ritual retreat to injured bewilderment.

"That's who I am," he says. "Maybe who I am is too much for the real world."

Is Dana White a caveman in a suit? There are millions of converts to his product who probably don't give a damn. Welcome to Fight Club.

• Kevin Mitchell's book Jacob's Beach: The Mob, The Garden, and the Golden Age of Boxing is out 3 Sept

The rulebook MMA style

What's allowed?

UFC ﬁghts take place in an octagon-shaped ring enclosed by a six-foot-high cage, and last for three or ﬁve rounds of ﬁve minutes. To avoid a contest being decided on points at the end of this time, a ﬁghter aims to knock an opponent out or make him submit.

What's not allowed?

Not an awful lot, though more than when UFC ﬁrst started in 1993 and everything bar biting and eye-gouging was allowed. Now the list of banned manoeuvres has been expanded to include head butts, throat strikes and groin attacks.

Five of the best: Icons of the octagon

Brock Lesnar

The 120kg monster was once a professional wrestler whose nickname was "The Next Big Thing". He wasn't, leaving WWE for an abortive career in American football, but he may have found his calling in mixed martial arts: after joining the UFC in 2007, Lesnar won the heavyweight title in just his third match.

Randy Couture

The sport's most famous practitioner of the "ground and pound " technique (essentially: getting on top of a downed opponent and going to town with the ﬁsts) has been a big dog in UFC for more than a decade. At 46, "The Natural" isn't the force he once was, losing his heavyweight title to newcomer Lesnar last year.

Chuck Liddell

Once an actor who appeared in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Liddell joined the UFC in 1998 and went on to become one of the sport's most popular ﬁghters. But after suﬀering knockouts in his last two bouts, the 39-year-old "Iceman " has considered retirement. Said UFC chief White: "I care about his health, and it's over, man."

Anderson Silva

Brazilian-born "The Spider" Silva, once a McDonalds employee, has reigned as middleweight champion since 2006, when an internet poll voted for him to face incumbent Rich "Ace" Franklin. The 34-year-old has not been beaten in seven ﬁghts since, and holds the UFC record for most consecutive wins.

Frank Mir

The 30-year-old submission specialist was a strip club bouncer before he joined the UFC in 2001. He is currently the "interim heavyweight champion ", a confusing classiﬁcation that puts him on a par with Lesnar at the top of the sport; the pair will meet in a match this month at UFC100 in Las Vegas.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Below, I have written a letter that discredits much of what this writer has said, I have sent it to the newspaper numerous times now, and have yet to recieve a reply .. the bastards

Do you think they might pay attention if I send the letter by post, and not email

its in post 5


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

That article truly sucked the fat one, about what I expected from a reactionary newspaper that's dressed up as highbrow.. Bleeding heart middle class new labourites are just as bad as the knee jerking idiots who read the Mail. At least the Mail have reported on MMA and given it the benefit of the doubt at times (as well as doing the anti articles too).

The Telegraph is still the only UK newspaper with a dedicated MMA journo. A sad state of affairs.


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## Expertly_Blended (Oct 27, 2009)

If you look at the authors page, he is a big boxing fan, hes even written a book about it. So what he says has to be taken with a pinch of salt, because the rest of it is being used to rub in his wounds since this mma "trash" is twice what boxing is. Its just sad that the people who like boxing this much just dont stick to their own instead of trying to pull all other fight sports down, but it shows his journalistic integrity that he hasnt even done the proper research, but the part i love most is that he trys to make us sound like animals because apparantly we dont know who all these BOXERS are and then lists off five of the most well known boxers of all time.

Would he know who we were talking about from MMA if we just said names to him? We dont know the history of boxing, would he know the history of MMA if he didnt google it? (because thats all he seems to have done) For example "The boxing component of MMA lasts only as long as the contestants take to get past some ineffectual sparring and go to the mat" Ive seen matches where they havent gone to the floor at all.

Then theres the old trick of trying to get people to hate the people in charge of the sport "White has bigger plans than merely overtaking boxing...He barks down the phone like someone so high on satisfaction you imagine he is jumping from foot to foot and swinging his non-phone arm in the air while holding a very big Jack Daniels and Coke." What boxing fans like Don King?

The language he uses when taking about MMA "anarchic, caveman excitement, addicts, the bastard child of boxing and wrestling" is just filled with contempt. He even call the stand up part of MMA 'sparring' as if it doesnt even warrant the title of 'fighting', and then "What "boxing" there was tended towards the one-hit variety, pawing shots followed by wild swings, neither fighter prepared to get in the hitting zone and work off combinations, because they feared a kick or being swung to the mat." but earlier he mentioned that Bisping couldve been a professional boxer?

I know journalist are supposed to see thing from both sides but because of the way he attacks MMA when he states positives on the sport it seems to be contradictory and poorly written. Especially when talking about the sports past, boxing has a dark history too. With the bare knuckle days, or even the 'fight to the death' days. Also when quoting the KO commentary, he makes it sound so bad. Boxing has had some vicious KO's too! Theres also been alot more displays of poor sportmanship in boxing aswell, i see that the MMA fighters mutual respect for each other wasnt written about...

I think thats enough of a rant for now, but i leave you with this.

Is Kevin Mitchell a journalist in a sulk because the golden days of boxing are long gone? There are millions of readers of his article who probably don't give a damn. Welcome to Winge Club.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

My response - to editor n forum, i will message this 50 times if i have to .. toke some stuff from ste and E_B

It's quite long, but I feel it;s a good letter and addresses many of Mr Mitchells points

------- -------------- -------- ---------- ---------- --------- ------------- ----------- ------------- - ----------- -------- ------------ ----- --------------

Dear Mr Pritchard

I am messaging you in regards to an article written by Kevin Mitchell called "Blood Sport". I am appalled that a "broadsheet" newspaper has allowed such a poor article to be written. I use the term broadsheet lightly because the ignorance shown is what I expect to see in tabloids. It's quite clear from the start that Mr.Mitchell is bias in favour of Boxing, but it becomes very clear in his article that he has done very little research, and any he has done, has not been in detail or recent. I was hoping in the 6 months that have passed that you would realise the ignorance shown in the article and give a PRO MMA writer a chance.

I've spent a lot of time reading an article that is full of ignorance and stupidity, the least you can do is read the rest of my letter and realise that Mr.Mitchell and his bias view is full of flaws, and he has disrespected the sport of MMA with his article, which is made up of ignorant points.

I think it's quite clear to everyone that by using a bias argument, that any point can be made to look strong, I'm sure you could find some leading figures making "nationalist", homophobic and sexist remarks and use some facts and figures that have been proven to be untrue to make your point. You have allowed an article that preaches ignorance to be printed, yet haven't given MMA the fair chance it deserves.

I would guess that your writer is above 50 years old, he has grown up during boxing's golden days, however boxing isn't as big as it was because of bad management, the money (Mayweather could earn 60million dollars from his next fight) , and the fact that it's just 1 discipline of fighting. It's as if you're writer is throwing his toys out of his pram because he doesn't like something, very stubborn to ignore valid points, especially ones he raises himself.

The main message I got from the article was that MMA is a caveman barbaric sport, yet the writer then uses a quote that shows that Dana White will not allow his biggest star to fight again because of his health, does that sound barbaric? The writer ignored the fact, and that was embarrassing, he talked about a sport being vicious, yet the man in charge says he looks out for the fighters health and has proven so , "I care about his health, and it's over, man.", that quote can be found in Mr.Mitchell's article, yet he fails to acknowledge it.

It's clear that Mr.Mitchell has done very little research, seen by the fact that he decides to tell us that Frank Mir is an MMA icon, when in reality; most fans dislike him as he's arrogant and disrespectful to a large number of fighters. He also included Brock Lesnar in the list, who is a big draw yet he is not an icon, he's seen in the same light as Frank Mir. I would like to add, that with some basic research, Mr.Mitchell would have found that fighters such as George St Pierre are icons, yet he didn't make the list, and the most famous UFC fighter today. You would also find that the number 1 fighter in MMA isn't in the UFC, his name is Fedor, and he is an MMA icon, yet another point ignored. Considering the article was written close to the UFC 100 event you would think the writer would realise that Henderson isn't a big draw, but for that event it was dubbed UK vs. USA so of course he was going to get a big reception. I found it embarrassing that considering UFC 100 was coming up; there is no mention of George St Pierre. That's like not mentioning Mike Tyson during a conversation regarding 90's boxing, or ignoring Mayweather in modern day boxing. I would also like to note that many UFC fighters have visited troops abroad, who are in conflict, to help boost morale. Is that the action of a barbarian? The UFC also give away tickets to troops, which sounds very barbaric.

I'd also like to note that its clear little research was done, as Dana White stated the UFC roster had 250 fighters on it, not 380 as Mr. Mitchell claims, then a few months ago, Dana White stated that 180 fighters were on the roster. How hard is it for someone with no understanding of a sport to research via Google ?

I see your writer states that not much is banned in the sport, yet ignores the fact that soccer kicks are outlawed, no blows to back of the head, gouging, kneeing an opponent's head, pile driving, faking injuries, attacking when not meant to, holding shorts or gloves. I guess these points are ignored because Mr.Mitchelll doesn't want to show the weaknesses in his article!

The fact is, your writer missed out many points that would show MMA is a good sport. The fact is, the octagon cage is in place because when grappling, it prevents fighters from falling to the ground, where as in boxing it has been seen many times that boxers can fall out of the ring and injure themselves even more.

I find it funny that Mr.Mitchell tries to put down Dana White as being an over excited caveman, despite the fact it's clear he's just a passionate man involved in something he loves. He communicates with people the same as normal members of society. The fact is, he doesn't put himself on a pedestal like Don King or Bob Arum, Dana White is as real as it gets. I take it your writer has never watched a Dana White video blog and seen how he interacts with the majority of people, there is no ego with him, he's a big fan of the sport with a business mentality.

Your writer mentions that MMA originates from Brazil over a century ago, the fact he has missed out is that the sport was called Vale Tudo, and that really was a free fighting contest. The early UFC days were appalling, but Dana White and the Fertitas have done a brilliant job by bringing in better rules and making the sport safer.

The language he uses when talking about MMA "anarchic, caveman excitement, addicts, the bastard child of boxing and wrestling" is just filled with contempt. He even called the stand up part of MMA 'sparring' as if it doesn't even warrant the title of 'fighting', and then "What "boxing" there was tended towards the one-hit variety, pawing shots followed by wild swings, neither fighter prepared to get in the hitting zone and work off combinations, because they feared a kick or being swung to the mat." but earlier he mentioned that Bisping could've been a professional boxer.

There was a point raised regarding referee stoppage, there will always be flaws and mistakes in refereeing, we see it in football all the time, and even in boxing, refs miss dirty shots. However, it would be unfair to pick on the events when that happen very rarely, and it's the same in MMA, you will find that in most MMA events the referee will intervene ASAP if it appears that a fighter isn't defending himself or able to do so, often throwing a fighter out of the way or getting in the way before a fighter lays a punch, yet your writer ignores that point as it doesn't help his argument. I think he will find 90 percent of the time, a referee will stop a fight as quick as he can, hence the amount of TKO's we see in MMA, compared to KO's. If the only actual football matches you watched were similar to the West Ham Vs. Milwall game, would it be fair to call football a hooligan sport?

I would like to note, the only serious injuries that have occurred in 20 years of MMA, even during it's "caveman" days, have been concussions, broken bones, scar tissues, cuts and bloods. However, if you look at boxing, they use a bigger glove, which has been proven scientifically to be very very close to the power seen in MMA gloves, however with MMA gloves if you feel a punch properly you will get KO'd, where as if a punch of the same power occurred with a boxing glove, it would simply just hurt, but you would receive many more of these shots without being able to tell the effect on the brain, in turn you're feeling 20 KO shots. The UFC also have drug testing, and also make fighters have regular CAT scans, especially before and after a fight. However, I would also like to note that serious injuries can occur in any sport, even in football! The fact is, cheerleading is more dangerous than MMA. The fact is, there are doctors who are cage side and can stop fights, and you then also have paramedics in attendance. And the fighter's corner can stop the fight, not just the referee.

The fact is, boxing enthusiasts say MMA is more dangerous and put the sport down, despite there being more major injuries in boxing recently than in MMA. The boxing association say that major injuries could be reduced with prompt medical aid, something which most MMA organizations have when putting on an event. It's interesting that your writer talks about heads being bashed in MMA, does he realise that's illegal in MMA, and when serious, the fight is stopped, has their never been an accidental head clash in boxing? It's interesting that he mentions Senator McCain's views on MMA that were made 10 years ago, and he'll find that as of today, there are now only 6 states that have banned MMA in the United States, shock that you're writer ignores that.

The writer makes a point of what boxers think; of course most boxers are going to put down a rival sport because it is taking fans and revenue away from boxing. The boxers also use the reasoning of rolling around on the mat not being good, despite the fact it actually involves brains to transition and execute submissions. I wonder how many boxers have learnt wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu jitsu etc., has your writer? I doubt he has, because no man that has done any of those 3 martial arts can say boxing is more technical than MMA. I'd also like to point out that many matches don;t go to the floor so we see Muay Thai, boxing and wrestling techniques.

It's rather funny considering how many times in a boxing match you see fighters clinch, which actually looks like a hug. I would like to points that bigger name boxers like Oscar DeLa Hoya and Roy Jones who are now out of the limelight have a respect for MMA. I would like to note that current heavyweight champion David Haye plans on moving into MMA after he finishes boxing, as he has been doing Martial Arts his whole life, it's a shock that Mr. Mitchell missed that out. It's also important to note, that boxing needs the new generation for income, yet they are going to another sport, of course boxers are going to be mad.

I also ask, do boxing fans not get excited when they see a KO or a good combination? Do they not cheer when a fighter is down? When a fighter gets rocked, do the crowd not cheer? When they see a replay of a vicious punch, do they not applaud? It's funny that Mr.Mitchell makes MMA appear to be barbaric, and criticises MMA fans for not seeing the artistic side of Boxing, quite ironic, I wonder if he realises that boxers spend years taking hits to the head constantly, and who can ever forget the great DaVinci like moment when Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear.

It seems Mr.Mitchell is a fan of U.S politics, since he mentioned Senator McCain's view on MMA, Mr.Mitchell goes on to call the WWE (Pro Wrestling) harmless. I suggest Mr.Mitchell watch the Mickey Rourke film "The Wrestler", which many pro wrestlers say is identical to the lives they live, and I then suggest he go and find the views of former Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, a former WWE wrestler. He has slammed the WWE for listing wrestlers as "independent contractors" instead of employees, so they can restrict the benefits of wrestlers.

This harmless fun that is pro wrestling has seen the world lose many stars. There has been a clear use of illegal drugs and other substances, shown by the WWE's wellness policy information. The years of substance, the 250-300 days of travelling messes with a person's mind, the death of Chris Benoit and his family proves that. The hard road schedule, and putting your body through on the line has an effect on your health clearly, Eddie Guerrero died due to an enlarged heart which occurred because he spent years abusing himself so he could go through with his "harmless" work. The famous "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith also passed away due to year of steroid abuse, it's well known that pro wrestling is far from harmless due to the pain killer and steroid abuse, I could make a very long list of wrestlers that have died due to the substance abuse, not forgetting all the punishing moves such as tombstone pile drivers which have broken many necks, and other bones.

Then add the countless amount of times children have been found to be re-enacting moves performed by their WWE idols, and resulting in broken necks, backs, arms,legs...... the list goes on. You will find that children that learn martial arts go to licensed schools and this results in them learning in a safe and educated environment.

It's no shock that Mr.Mitchell fails to mention those 2 high profile deaths seen in the WWE, since it would further discredit his article.

What your writer also fails to acknowledge is the hard work, discipline and respect gained from martial arts. You will very rarely see a fighter that is a thug because they fail to make it at most MMA gyms, though there are of course lesser known clubs that allow anyone in, however the exact same can be said about boxing. The difference is, MMA teaches you discipline, you learn the rules and respect the art. You usually see fighters touch gloves before a fight, hug after a fight, and most of the time talk positively about one another; you will also find that in many famous cases that former opponents now train one another. The sport is not the barbaric sport we saw over a decade ago, it's a sport with rules, and optimises hard work, honour, courage, discipline and respect.

I know journalists are supposed to see thing from both sides but because of the way he attacks MMA when he states positives on the sport it seems to be contradictory and poorly written. Especially when talking about the sports past, boxing has a dark history too. With the bare knuckle days, or even the 'fight to the death' days. When quoting the KO commentary, boxing has had some vicious KO's too. He talks about the people who sat next to him at a fight, why does he act as if all MMA fans want to see cockfighting? Why does he refuse to acknowledge that boxing has idiotic fans that when drunk or due to stupidity cheer because all they want to see is blood and men getting beaten horribly.

The benefits for young athletes are that they learn the importance of conditioning and exercise. In addition, it provides them with self confidence and discipline to become focused and organized, and more respectful not only to authority figures but in general, which can translate into other areas of their life, like school and work. And the good teachers, of course, make sure they do not use their skills outside the studio or gym.

Man wants to compete and be the best, and MMA takes in dozens of martial arts to create its discipline. The only way to compete at the best level is to learn as much as you can in multiple disciplines. You wouldn't judge a man by his knowledge in one field, you can only judge him properly after he has been through many fields.

Again I will state, your writer is clearly bias, and you can make pretty much any argument in the world look strong by using only opinions that help you, using facts that can actually be discredited, and ignoring all the positives to the other side of the argument. How about giving someone who understands the sport a chance to show their views and show the flaws that Mr. Mitchell has clearly shown in his article.

You may as well allow Nick Griffin to rant on about whatever he wants, with facts and figures that have been disproved, and refuse to challenge it with an education opinion regarding the subject.

Though if you don't take the time and effort to learn, you'll never find out, and stick with ignorant opinions. I would appreciate a reply and the chance to post a pro MMA article, because your current actions have not been correct. I will be messaging constantly until you decide to do the right thing and allow a pro MMA view to be published. Your current readers will now have a view of MMA as being a blood thirsty and barbaric sport. I hope you realise it's not morally right to allow Mr.Mitchell's flawed article to go unchallenged, as he's created a bad image of MMA through lies, ignorance and stupidity.

I think your paper should perhaps look at Gareth Davies from the Telegraph,a respected journalist in the world of Boxing and MMA, I hope you then realise the poor standard of writing your newspaper has delivered, all thanks to the clown that is Mr.Mitchell.

Thanks

Jeevan Singh


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

Excellent letter there Jeevan.

His article was written nearly 6months ago now so many of the innacuracies can be excused, but I just looked at it like this : with new sports come new journalists, this guy is fighting for his job as quite evidently he doesn't have a clue about combat sports nevermind MMA - i mean clinch, ring control, head movement/opponent awareness, The only thing Boxing doesn't bring into MMA are the bigger gloves and boots... oh yea and increase in slurred speech.

So to slate MMA is to slate Boxing.

MMA will have its journalists, these journo's will start to be employed by Murdoch Mafia and so on.. Eventual projection of the sport will be accurate.

My only gripe with these articles is the fact that most people who still buy papers are usually 40+, with the odd Student who likes to read Guardian whilst listening to The Smiths.

This generation are still being informed that MMA is disgusting and so on, they are being lied too.

Oh yea Jeevan add this to your letter:

He says this:

"which has since morphed into the World Wrestling Entertainment circus, a harmless and amusing self-parody that has slipped past its high-point without anyone noticing. WWE is cartoon violence."

Yet i think many former WWE wrestlers will and have informed about the physical and mental demands of WWE and how it has wrecked their lives, resulting in some wrestlers killing their families, steroid abuse, WWE doctors regularly prescribing illegal painkillers and steroids.

This has wrecked many wrestlers, many of which are a sad state now or are dead.

Harmless? i think not!

Too add the countless amount of times children have been found to be re-enacting moves performed by their WWE idols, and resulting in broken necks, backs, all kinds of crap... jumping off their house roofs, brain damaged kids... the list goes on.

Kids can re-enact MMA in safe accessible enviroments under strict supervision (many instructors being CRB checked) being taught traditional arts involving respect, discipline, and least not forget reports i've read from school headmasters showing that children who have engaged in forms of MA which is used in MMA results in higher grades achieved during school hours... with big increases in focus.

Says it all really.


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## Expertly_Blended (Oct 27, 2009)

Ok what can be excused? The number of fighters maybe. This was written just over 4 months ago, but not that much has changed. The basic point that Boxing is the sport of gods and it kicks the arse of everything else is still there, so is his utter lack of respect for the fighters because their gloves are too small... I hear what your saying, but any media out there that is slating MMA isnt what the sport needs just as its setting up a fan base here, and lots of people have said that they dont like the negative press that MMA is getting. Its our turn to throw our toys out of the pram.

and to jeevan, nice letter man


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## james8 (Jun 30, 2008)

cant stop one man expressing his opinion (even if it is pathetic) dont let it wind u up, i love boxing i still try and go once a week but if a bit of competition from mr white is all it takes to kill it then so be it.

boxing wont die

mma will carry on growing regardless of a few twats stuck in the past not willing to give anything they dont know a chance.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

I dont mind someone expressing an opinion, but if it's bias and full of errors then it should be addressed .. I dont mind that Nick Griffin has an opinion, the only way to show folk what is real, is to discredit his claims

Ste, the fact about fighter roster is, that a few months ago Dana said the roster was 250, a month or two ago he said it was down to 180 .. mitchell says it was 380, so is he telling us that in thre last few 6 months the ufc have released 200 fighters ??

Also, i listened to a dana interview, and he said most fighters make 50k a year .. thats realistic, where does the guy get info that fighters make 100k

Ste, I will add that WWE bit into the story, I will make note of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar quitting due to the travel and pain ..

I think Ishould probably write the letter in a better order though


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

Gareth A. Davies just accepted my "friend" request on facebook, maybe i could forward this letter to him aswell? might just walk across the office and give it to the guy who sounds like a eastenders character


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Dat wud be gud , il edit it 1st tho, put it in orda, add wwe ting, dn send it hm, wil du in fw hourz. Stuk in lectre atm. Is it hs real acount? Netin els i shud ad or tke ou


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

Wow, if you have to use text speak that poor then possibly just don't bother...


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

I mean wen i edit, i wil use pc


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

Was it THAT important to post something???


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

haha.... Jeevan has to keep it all chavvy talk during his undercover role as a cocky gangsta selling dimebags on campus


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

LOL


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Justin .. do some research mate, and you'll easily find out that there are a lot of deaths in cheerleading every year, and countless serious injuries

Im gonna mention how since mitchell likes to talk about politicians views, he ignores the fact that a former US govenor and US WWF star called Jesse Ventura has repeatedly said that life on the road is dangerous, and it's not a healthy living

And I'm gonna ask if he believes that the deaths of Eddie Guerrerro and Chris Benoit and his family .. both drug related .. are mindless fun too


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## Kunoichi (Sep 30, 2007)

I have a turtle.


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## sjharvey (Nov 2, 2009)

I've Watched wrestling most of my life as well as mma and, well, sooooo many things keep pushing me further and further away from wrestling. Umuga, AKA Edward Fatu died of a suspected heart attack on the 4th of this month. He was 36. Thats quite a fatality list thats been building up for so long now. If this ever happens to mma then i'll just lose all hope. Life really can suck.


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

Was just going to post this story here..

Umaga has died aged 36 | Friends and family pay tribute to former WWE WrestleMania headliner | The Sun |Sport|Wrestling

Fatu is the latest in a long line of wrestlers to pass away at a young age.

Others include Eddie Guerrero, 38, 'British Bulldog' Davey Boy Smith, 39, Andrew 'Test' Martin, 33, and Chris Benoit, 40, who in 2007 murdered his wife and seven-year-old son before committing suicide.

and it's MMA thats devils play.... :S


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Justin, think about all the acrobatic sdhit cheerleraders do, aqnd then add to it horny teen guys staring at panties .. bound to be accidents

Umaga was fired from the wwe for a drug problem, they shoulda tried to send him to rehab


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## sjharvey (Nov 2, 2009)

Erm, 360 days a year? Im not one to point out the obvious but......


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

been playing videogames too much...

is this the Eugene that went on big brother?


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

I remember reading that a wrestler, can expect to get at max , 2 months in total off the road to spend at their homes ..


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## davemfox (Oct 8, 2009)

:good Good response Jeevan; it'll be interesting to see if they ever publish that in their letters column or give you chance to write a decent article

Dave


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

Justin said:


> What?
> 
> No the WWE performers are typcially on the road between 350-360 days of the year. They get at least 5 days off lol. That wasnt a typo
> 
> Nah the eugene who played that retarded character!


Oh i remember him now lol my bad, just haven't watched WWE for so long it seems - i remember Eugene


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Ste .. is it the real g.davies then on facebook ?


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## SteSteez (Jul 21, 2007)

Yes


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## callam_nffc (Jun 22, 2009)

sjharvey said:


> Erm, 360 days a year? Im not one to point out the obvious but......


its cos he probably got 5 days a year off... ; )


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Ste, I've finally re written the letter, and added some stuff in about the WWE and it being harmless .. check post nunber 5 ..

if it is GARETH Davies' real facebook, try and make him aware of this thread


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## Kunoichi (Sep 30, 2007)

hmmm I wonder how hard it must be to add him yourself and take care of it...

;-)


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

Very hard considering I dont use facebook !


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## Kunoichi (Sep 30, 2007)

Sacrilege!

You're lucky I'm not a mod, I'd ban you right here and now.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

I used to use it .. but then a few years ago they introduced all those bullshit games and quizzes, made it too commercialy, I only had it for pics and the wall .. and I only kept 50 people on my friend list, people would get annoyed i didnt accept them , i only kept 50 because they were my proper friends .. NOW, I prefer just to see them in person or talk to them on the phone ..


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## Gods of War MMA (Aug 3, 2009)

Excellent reponse, be interesting to see if its printed.:good

Its amazing how the media are still managing to get this all so wrong!

I have to say, the guy that came out to write about our gym from The Observer (Tom Lamont) was a really nice bloke. He seemed very genuine in his interest for the sport and was hoping to cover some more MMA pieces in the future. Also the Financial Times did a piece on us back in the summer which we were really happy with.

The Mail article in the late summer with Rosi Sexton amongst others wasnt as pro MMA as I'd have liked but the fighters all gave good accounts of themselves so the article was still positive for me at least.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

still not a single reply from anyone at the guardian


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