hello, southpaw535 started an interesting thread about "fighters quitting". good stuff, really. somewhere along the path of that thread, began to wonder why some fans watch mma. do you identify with the struggle of the fighter? do you secretly wish to share in their fame, glory or insurance plan? do you suffer from NASCAR syndrome (craving the possibility of death)? do you like tight shorts? do you watch for the day when a school bully, now fighter, gets crushed? do you really just admire the engineering genius of the cage? do the commentators make you want to be better people? do you study the ways of the ring girls, in hopes of pursuing THAT career? do you find it odd, that you are a guy aspiring to be a ring girl? do you just like blood that much? do you find it odd, that no one has noticed you are a vampire? do you secretly wish that mma included explosives and monster trucks? do you PUBLICLY wish that mma included explosives and monster trucks? whatever your reason for doing so, let us know why you watch. mind you, not really looking for "good" reasons or "bad" reasons. just figured that there must be a variety of reasons and prior to now, never thought to ask another fan "why". have fun with it! thanks
I used to watch it to find out what really worked when two blokes went "screw all these rules about no groundfighting or no kicking people in the legs...let's just fight". Now I appreciate the skill involved. I can't watch Rugby because I don't really understand what the players are trying to achieve. As such I can't appreciate the skills involved. With MMA I can because I've trained a bit and know how hard it is to pass the guard of a good BJJ guy, or how hard it is to sit in the pocket and be offensive etc.
Been thinking about it since your post in my thread and this is what I've got: At first it was my first exposure to martial arts so I got drawn in by seeing someone on the gorund getting his face punched in. After a couple fights I started picking up terms like "full guard," realised how much skill was involved, and then watched it to learn which arts worked and what different ones there were in the first place. I still watch it because I enjoy violence and seeing people bust each other up* but I also appreciate that these guys and girls aren't just winging arm punches like a bar fight and have huge respect for the skill on display. Also sharing in their glory is an interesting one. I would of loved to be on the ufc and if I had the potential then I'd be in the gym non stop. Plus GSP is just incredibly sexy. Edit: * I'm not sure to what degree that's true. I do like watching people like Leben who have great stand up wars but I like the violence in context of mma. I don't like the idea of soccer kicks and stomps for example because I see them as over the top for a sport.
I don't like violent movies (people blowing up etc.) but love watching good MMA. I think it is based on seeing what really works. I know the rules are restrictive but it is informative none the less.
I actual think you are asking the wrong crowd. I would hazard a guess that most revenue from fights or promotions are from viewers who don't have any appreciable personal experience in any form of MA, let alone those more closely related to what is seen in MMA. Of course I like tight shorts. I also like to see how fighters pull of techniques I wouldn't dream of. I do have to admit that with some of the main promotions, the bad and annoying commentary and how fighters are now more than ever playing to the rules makes it somewhat less entertaining.
When I get home I'll see if I can find a survey that was done a few years ago comparing the reasons why S. Korean MMA fans watched as opposed to US fans. For me, it started out as a "let's see what actually works" thing back when the UFC was still in single digits and nobody knew what a triangle choke was. That's still part of the appeal, especially as fighters evolve and the sport itself progresses. At this point, another big part is the excitement and drama of a match. Conflict creates drama, and a fight is conflict in its most raw form, at least without someone going to jail or nations being involved. I find it an interesting study of the human condition. Some times fighters just mentally stop fighting, for example Specer Fisher vs. Frankie Edgar when he was getting taken down repeatedly. Others never mentally break, like Tito Ortiz, who'd been getting handled by Machida for fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds, but who still was looking for a way to win in the closing seconds of the fight. I'm also invested in many of the fighters at this point. Sometimes I feel a personal connection with them, other times I just like the way they fight. So I keep watching to see how they do. There is some appeal in seeing a sick submission or a devistating knockout or slam, but I don't want guys to get injured. I hate seeing broken bones or dislocated joints, and the shock value of a knockout, which is itself thrilling for me, quickly fades if the fighter doesn't quickly regain consciousness. I've actually called for some fighters to retire because I like them and thought they were taking too much punishment in the ring. It's a conflict- I want to see the action but wish the injuries didn't exist. At the same time, the sport would be less thrilling if the possibility of danger didn't exist. But if, in some magic way, they still had these fighters competing without the possibility of injury (holographic avatars, perhaps?), I'd still watch because I love seeing how the different variables between the fighters play out. That's what made Couture-Gonzaga so exciting: how was Randy going to fight a bigger, stronger, younger guy with knockout power and World Champion-level BJJ? Simple- by pushing him against the fence and taking away the space he needed to strike, but keeping the fight upright so that his BJ skills didn't really come into play. I should have seen it coming but I thought it was brilliant. Same thing when Machida fought Shogun the first time, same thing when Crocop fought Fedor, same thing when Melendez fought Aoki. I like seeing the different variables at work.
hello, callsignfuzzy! it would be GREAT if you could find that survey. looking forward to that. thanks
