Sport vs Spectacle

Just read this article over at Sherdog. Thought I would share it. I enjoyed it.

http://sherdog.com/news/articles/1/sport-vs-spectacle-17197

opcorn:

 

The guy who wrote that is an idiot.

Maybe it's just me, but when nothing is happening, I like to blame the guy who is losing clearly. It should be on him to make something happen.

 

Silva's trying to piss off Dana White because White rejected his request to box Roy Jones. He'll finish up his contract and move on. That's what I'm seeing here. Silva's sticking it to the UFC and to Dana White.::

 

REED has a BIG Problem w/this Quote...

Is it not expected that he will endanger his health for us?

Make NO Mistake about it, Fighters Compete for THEMSELVES & That's How it SHOULD B...The Highlighted Quote Treats these SANCTIONED Bouts as DOG FIGHTS or Something & it's SCARY that Some Fans have that Mentality...Where is the "Us" from the Quote, AFTER the Fighters Career is OVER???...How Many Fans STILL Contribute to Or Visit Gerald McClellan???....

Silva's a Victim of HIS OWN Brilliance (Eerily Similar to Roy Jones @ his HEIGHT) & the GROWTH of Expectations After he Wins Impressively...Sorry, but U're NOT Gonna Look Great Every Single Time Out:nono:...N this Particular Case, REED Blames Leites More...He Came in KNOWING Silva's Status, KNOWING Silva was the Defending Champion, yet it was Leites that REFUSED to Take Any Risks...

REED is Pretty Sure that Dana White will TWEAK the UFC Rules if Fights like this Become More Frequent...But NOT to the Point that we've Got Human Dogfights Going On...Rashad Evans ISN'T the Most Exciting Fighter to Watch & he'll Go a FULL Minute w/Out Engaging, but he's UNDENIABLY EFFECTIVE...Lyoto Machida ISN'T In a Alot of Barn Burners Either, but he's ALREADY on the Lb for Lb Lists of Most...

U CAN'T Sacrifice PATIENT yet EFFECTIVE Fighting to Appease the LOW Attention Spans of Blood Thirsty Fans...



REED:hammert:

 

its definitely a good debate. REED you make some great points and it is scary that many MMA fans have almost a dog fighting mentality while watching. Steve is right in the fact of Leitas being the challenger has almost an obligation to go after the win. I just found the fight odd especially after Silva showed success with the ground and pound he had almost no killer instinct which is what he his known for. It left doubt in my mind.

 

Ridiculous article. They mention that when Leitas would throw himself on the ground the ref would stand them back up. And it was somehow unfair to Leitas that he was being stood up and Silva wasn't being forced to engage Leitas on the ground. What a crock of shit! Fights start standing, that is just the way it is. If you want it on the ground, you take the other guy down. You DO NOT, throw yourself on the friggin ground and hope the other guy follows.

 

absolutely, if Leitas had any takedown skills at all, you could have made a better arguement for him.

 

He did manage to get Silva down once and I'm not even convinced he had any advantage there as he still couldn't do anything. Nobody even talks about the fact that Leitas DID have a shot at doing something on the ground and he simply couldn't do anything.

Silva was in with a guy who could do nothing but survive. This happens in boxing all the time. Sometimes styles mesh this way and it's boring. Obviously looking at Silva's UFC fights, it's not always going to be the case. People just need to get over the fact that he isn't going to stop everyone. If it was as easy as people seem to think, I'm 100% sure Silva would have stopped Leitas, but it just doesn't alwasy turn out that way.

One thing that pisses me off about MMA is the fact that too much is made of "finishing fights". Sorry but knock outs and submissions aren't the only ways to win, and not scoring one doesn't make you less of a fighter.

 

The UFC is slowly going further and further away from 'dog-fighting' and closer to 'sport'. The UFC noobs who started watching after the war between Griffin/Bonnar are expecting to see somebody get their face stomped in every time. You know those fans? The ones who tatooed "Just Bleed" on their forheads while heavily intoxicated? :laughing:

 

I agree Hanzy, it's crazy what MMA fans expect of the fighters. Anderson had 2 non exciting fights in the UFC out of the 9 he's had. I can't believe he's catching so much flack over it. Machida made a career out of fighting safe, he scores a good KO and all of the sudden he's the next great thing. Anderson KO's 7 guys and has 2 boring fights and he's "lost his killer instinct" It's crazy.

 

I would take this one step further, and say it isn't just UFC fans but a very large number of ticket buyers to any MMA show. I go to many regional shows and I have been to shows like Ring of Combat and King of the Cage. I would honestly say a very large number of fans in those seats, like 75%, are there to see the violence and don't have a clue what technique is. I almost hate sitting in the stands anymore because of the retards. I was at a show about a year ago. One guy was a very accomplished BJJ guy from Hawaii, training under Penn. The other guy was a muscle bound monster that used to be a college wrestler. The Hawaiian went for a flying armbar and lost it. The muscle guy just starts to lift him up and slam him. The crowd goes wild, but the Hawaiian sinks in the triangle and I am just watching him go to sleep. He tries to slam him one more time and actually goes out standing. I loved it, one of the best triangles I have ever seen. Very similar to Mousasi/Manhoef. But anyways the crowd starts booing , the guy above me is yelling at the ref for stopping it. I tell him he got put to sleep, the guy didn't even know and most of the crowd didn't either. Just another note, the guy woke up and started throwing up. That made the crowd cheer::

 

Great line. I completely disagree when you consider it's an entertainment industry, but well-said nevertheless. Those blood thirsty fans pay the rent so you better think about appeasing them.