This past weekend UFC229 created headlines everywhere. The build up to the fight was huge and the rivalry between Connor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov was highly publicized.
It was so heated that it ended up with McGregor throwing a trolley through a bus window and injuring people in the process; he also insulted Khabib’s family and religion. Khabib won the fight and then jumped the cage and went after McGregor’s teammates, who were shouting racist insults at him.
These events caused a big stir in the martial arts community. Specifically, there has been a lot of anger from traditional martial artists suggesting firstly that MMA is not an art and secondly accusing the fighters of being horrible people (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist).
Maybe it’s the lack of sleep talking, but I reckon that’s a load of rubbish… and here’s why.
Before we start…
Before we start, a disclaimer:
If you are sensitive about traditional martial arts stop reading this right now and go do something else, because you may not like what I have to say.
One more disclaimer:
I do not condone what the UFC or the fighters did before or after the match, and I’ll get to that towards the end of this piece. For now, bear with me.
Ok, so now we are ready to roll. Here are some of the points I’ve seen raised regarding the UFC, MMA and Traditional Martial Arts (TMA)
Are Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) a Martial Art at all?
I’ve written quite a bit about the distinction between traditional martial arts, combat sports and self-defence. I strongly believe that while they are connected and cross over to a certain degree, they are not the same. You can read more about this here.
With that being said, they all fall under the banner of ‘martial arts’ in my book.
I think the main point surrounding this is that traditional martial arts emphasize a strong ethical and moral code as part of the training. The general sentiment is that given the recent happenings, that code of conduct is missing from MMA and are therefore not a martial art, but rather nothing more than a combat sport.
I think that’s nothing but semantics. It’s nothing but hashing definitions that martial artists have been arguing about for generations. Do any of us truly practice martial arts? Martial Journal writer Jaredd Wilson discusses this in this piece and concludes that nobody truly does martial arts these days.
Ethics and conduct aside, I think MMA is a combat sport indeed, but also a great martial art. Is it a traditional martial art? No. But it is most definitely is a martial art.
I will go on to say that in terms of combative efficiency, fitness and conditioning and true application of combative skill against resisting, unpredictable and uncooperative opponents, MMA trump the vast majority of TMAs. A bitter pill to swallow, perhaps. Like many of you, I too come from a TMA background (Jujutsu and Escrima). It was just as bitter for me when first stepped into a Boxing and BJJ gym and got my arse promptly and quickly trounced. An experience, I might add, that is not uncommon when switching from no- or semi-contact and drill-based TMA systems to full contact and full resistance.
But if We Were Fighting For Real…
‘But if we were fighting for real I’d take them because I’d apply this wristlock or that eye gauge’ – that’s the response I often hear in reply to the above statement about combative efficiency.
I have some bad news for you… the MMA fighter can also do wristlocks and eye gauges, except he’ll be in a better position to do this because he or she trains to do this with full contact against people trying to knock his or her block off on a regular basis.
Not only that, but the amount of dedication and skill required to master the many disciplines that make up MMA – Muay Thai/Boxing, Wrestling, BJJ – is astounding and takes just as much hard work as any TMA. Perhaps even more, as mastering multiple skillsets is harder than focusing on one specific skill set (more on the importance of cross training here).
I also don’t mean to say that TMA have no value. I love them and still practice them every week, and will continue to do so for (I hope) the rest of my life. But they have pros and cons, just like anything – including MMA.
What does all of this mean?
MMA is a combat sport, but it falls under the banner of martial arts. It has the ‘art’ aspect to it. It requires dedication, attention to detail, skill and many of the other things which define art. While it may not look like an ‘arty’ art, it is an amazing martial art (but what is art, anyways? More on this here).
Lastly, what happened before or after the fight is nothing to do with whether MMA is a martial art or not. What happens inside the cage is most definitely martial arts. What happens outside of it is…?
Call a Spade a Spade
The thing which upset many people (understandably) is the behaviour of the fighters during the press conferences, weigh-ins, interviews and before and after the fights. That behaviour was (and continues to be) rude, violent, racist, and ugly. No doubt about any of that. It’s definitely not the type of behaviour that should be encouraged in the martial arts. It casts a bad light on martial arts in general, not just on MMA.
And while I agree that it should not be condoned in any way, I think it’s easy to understand why it happens.
Let’s take a look at this more closely. The UFC didn’t always have such scandalous promotions nor did it have fighters acting the way they do now leading up to competition.
This is a more recent phenomenon, which really started to ramp up when the UFC was taken over by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC (WME). WME recognised the huge earnings potential of MMA and the UFC, something that Dana White and the Fertitta brothers knew for a long time.
They recognised that much like professional wrestling, in order to generate hype you need to have a story. You need to have a good guy and a bad guy. The fights themselves are, in essence, inconsequential. People will pay to see the story unfold, and they’ll talk about the story more than they will talk about the art.
What does this do?
On one hand, it cheapens the art. Look at shows like The Voice, Masterchef, So You Think You Can Dance, etc. They don’t just show the performance. They sell you a long backstory to each participant. The art (and I would consider singing, dancing and cooking to be art forms) is nothing but a particular anecdote in the story.
On the other hand, it makes it accessible. Why? Because people can relate to the story more than the can relate to martial arts. Martial arts are a small niche market, but bad guys vs good guys will always sell tickets. That’s why The Ultimate Fighter is such a great tool for the UFC. They build the stories of fighters during the show, then send them to the UFC and guess what – they already have a following of people who will pay to watch them.
So what is this really about?
Business.
WME is an entertainment business. Entertainment: from the verb ‘entertain’, which the UFC does well. Which means share prices go up, the right people get paid and everyone, except true martial artists, is happy. They do good business, and they don’t care about martial arts or martial artists.
Wait… so is this scripted?
Another topic of discussion that came up often. I don’t think it was in the strictest sense. But I do think that the behaviour that generates views, headlines and sales is encouraged. The problem is that it’s quick to escalate. What’s entertaining today is old news tomorrow, and so something more shocking has to happen. This explains the ever-escalating shenanigans in the UFC. The downside (which is an upside if you don’t like the UFC) is that these things get old, and tend to only attract those people who are after a spectacle. Once the spectacle is finished, they don’t hang around… unless they are as brilliant as Vince McMahon and WWE are at their marketing and knowing their niche.
Are the fighters to blame?
Well here’s an interesting point to consider. Imagine this:
Dana White drives a truck full of cash to your house and says you’ll get paid $50m to get in the cage and fight, providing some spectacular, provocative shit beforehand to make sure the fight sells well.
We’re talking about $50m here. That’s $50,000,000. That’s enough money for you, your kids, their kids and their kids in turn to live like kings and queens. You’re struggling to pay rent, your car needs new tyres, health insurance has gone up again, the dog needs to go to the vet and you want to send your kids to a good school, not to mention take that holiday you’ve been saving for for 3 years. And we all know that martial arts is not an easy way to make a buck. So what do you do?
Do you A) tell Dana that it’s against the Bushido code and degrades the art and shut the door in his face, or B) take the cash and act like an unruly chimpanzee for a couple of weeks?
Some of you may jump up at this point and say that “You have no honour”, or “You’re not a true martial artist.” I reckon the only reason you might say that is because you know it’s never going to happen.
My bet is that most people would take the money, ask Dana who to insult and make a jolly good go of it.
So do I condone the behaviour? No, not at all.
But I understand that the UFC is a business, and not necessarily an ethical one. I understand that the fighters are offered very good money to act in a certain way, and I also understand that they are martial artist, but also human (more on this here). Given similar choices, I believe that many people would do the same.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Option 1: If you don’t condone what the UFC is doing, then stop watching it and stop sharing what you think about it on social media, including adding #UFC229, #McGregor and #Khabib to your posts about how much it sucks – you are just fanning the flames.
Option 2: Accept that the UFC has become an entertainment business juggernaut and enjoy the show.
Option 3: Order the Pay-Per-view, fast forward the crap and just watch the fights.
Is that it?! No!
The Real Issue
The problem as martial artists that believe in a code of honour (and I would consider myself one such person) is that this behaviour becomes associated with martial arts in the public eye. But while it angers us and casts a bad light on martial arts in general, it is also a great opportunity. This is similar to what I discussed here. And I reach the same conclusion here too.
Hopefully the growing interest in MMA will have a positive effect on enrolments in martial arts schools. It is then our duty to make sure that we teach newcomers what martial arts are really about. This includes the code of honour and behaviour that we all hold in such high regard – whether that’s in TMA or MMA. Be the change that you want to see! It will take time. Hopefully, we can work together to make sure that people know that martial arts are not represented by the behaviour of a few martial artists who set the wrong example… even if we understand why they behave the way they do.
Stay safe, stay tuned.
Osu/oss
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