# How did MMA become a major sport? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294 "2009-08-30T22:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/41 "2009-08-31T20:01:16Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > It’s .08-- not that that matters much-- we don’t know how many watched it on tv or bars, or couldn’t get tickets. So it is. Forgot a 0 or something. Anway, mark my words, it will be back under the rug by this time next decade. The _only_ possible way MMA will ever become a truly mainstream spectator sport is network broadcasting instead of pay-per-view, and given how tough it is on competitors I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/42 "2009-08-31T20:06:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Anway, mark my words, it will be back under the rug by this time next decade. The _only_ possible way MMA will ever become a truly mainstream spectator sport is network broadcasting instead of pay-per-view, and given how tough it is on competitors I don’t see that happening. You know there have already been major events on CBS, right? It’s only a matter of time before you see the UFC on broadcast tv. I guess this is your out. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/43 "2009-08-31T20:07:11Z")
What events and when? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/44 "2009-08-31T20:10:08Z")
EliteXC: Primetime, May, 2008 EliteXC: Unfinished Business, July, 2008 EliteXC: Heat, October, 2008 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/45 "2009-08-31T20:28:15Z")
Ah, yes. And what happened to that deal when everyone realized Kimbo Slice looked like a million bucks in the gym but had a glass jaw? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/46 "2009-08-31T20:31:55Z")
CAREFUL with those goal posts! You 'bout whacked me in the head running around with those damn things! EliteXC’s failure had more to do with Gary Shaw being a dirty boxing promoter, very real and very credible evidence that he was at least attempting to fix fights, and overall poor management. Other major organization’s aren’t built around one star, nor are they run by chumps like Shaw. CBS merely picked the wrong league to do business with. Probably won’t happen next time. Edit: Lol, by the way-- who thought Kimbo Slice looked like a million bucks in the gym? He was a street-brawler freak show that most people tuned in to see lose. He’s trying to build credibility now but at the time he wasn’t even promoted as a legitimate martial artist. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/47 "2009-08-31T20:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > EliteXC’s failure had more to do with Gary Shaw being a dirty boxing promoter, very real and very credible evidence that he was at least attempting to fix fights, and overall poor management. Other major organization’s aren’t built around one star, nor are they run by chumps like Shaw. CBS merely picked the wrong league to do business with. Probably won’t happen next time. In fairness, you did provide what I asked for. I don’t think anything but time is going to settle this argument, unfortunately. > [@Cisco](#): > > Edit: Lol, by the way-- who thought Kimbo Slice looked like a million bucks in the gym? He was a street-brawler freak show that most people tuned in to see lose. He’s trying to build credibility now but at the time he wasn’t even promoted as a legitimate martial artist. Weight room, not training gym. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/48 "2009-08-31T20:50:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > In fairness, you did provide what I asked for. I don’t think anything but time is going to settle this argument, unfortunately. First of all, you’re 100% correct right there. Nothing can prove either one of us right at the moment. But on the side; I really don’t know that much about soccer or baseball. I always watched the World Series when I was younger and I’ve watched some soccer games and played some recently, but I am not a passionate follower of either sport, nor do I understand the intricacies of them. You obviously do not know much about MMA. You are a casual fan, but you aren’t passionate about it, and I don’t think you understand the intricacies of the sport. Can you _imagine_ how people would react if I came into a baseball or soccer thread around here and started saying it’s a fad, a blip on the radar, it’s annoying, etc? People would shit into the internet. They would literally have such a fit that they would unplug their internet connections and shit into them. You’re only getting a free pass here because MMA isn’t popular on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/49 "2009-08-31T21:00:08Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > It is barely covered at all on Sportscenter, the preeminent sports news show. One of the highlights from Saturday nights’ fights was #6 on Sportscenter’s Top Plays today. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/50 "2009-08-31T21:01:22Z")
I think it’s partly a fad now but it will probably stay around at some level for a long while. Younger people may not know but soccer had a big fad period in the late 70s with the NASL but that league went bust in the 80s. They brought a bunch of older guys from Europe and Pele for that league. Now it’s back with MLS and that should last for a good long while. It will never be as big here as it is in Europe but that may be because we already have other major sports. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/51 "2009-08-31T21:06:18Z")
Affliction and Tapout and all the nu metal are fads. Maybe some people are confusing that stuff with the sport. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/52 "2009-08-31T21:07:17Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > You’re only getting a free pass here because MMA isn’t popular on the SDMB. No, I’m getting a free pass because soccer and American football and basketball have been popular for decades but MMA hasn’t. If appreciation of combat sports was really hardwired into us we’d already have _had_ MMA. It’s not as though it’s a complicated formula. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/53 "2009-08-31T21:42:43Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > One of the highlights from Saturday nights’ fights was #6 on Sportscenter’s Top Plays today. And the Little League World Series was #1. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/54 "2009-08-31T21:44:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If appreciation of combat sports was really hardwired into us we’d already have _had_ MMA. It’s not as though it’s a complicated formula. We did. We had what society was willing to accept at the time: boxing. What do you think fighting was before the Marquess of Queensbury? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/55 "2009-08-31T21:46:31Z")
[Pankration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankration) was at the Olympic Games in 648 B.C. Remind me when baseball and American football were invented? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/56 "2009-08-31T21:54:21Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > And the Little League World Series was #1. So? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/57 "2009-08-31T23:28:55Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > So? So no one gives a shit about Little League Baseball unless their kid is playing. The Sportscenter Top Plays list has been a dumping ground for unpopular/international stuff for years. It means nothing for a sport’s wider acceptance. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/58 "2009-08-31T23:43:19Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > So no one gives a shit about Little League Baseball unless their kid is playing. The Sportscenter Top Plays list has been a dumping ground for unpopular/international stuff for years. It means nothing for a sport’s wider acceptance. I didn’t bring up Sportscenter. He said it’s the premier sportscast and they barely cover mma. I just pointed out the fact that they do. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/59 "2009-08-31T23:46:51Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I didn’t bring up Sportscenter. He said it’s the premier sportscast and they barely cover mma. I just pointed out the fact that they do. No, they don’t. It was listed as #6 in the weekly Top Plays list. The Top Plays list has never been anything more than short snippets of sporting events that Sportscenter does not cover. Stuff like MMA and international judo contests and cycling that’s not the Tour de France and local car race events where a spectacular crash occured. A mention on Top Plays is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294/60 "2009-09-01T02:17:36Z")
The waterskiing squirrel is a frequent Top Plays nominee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-mma-become-a-major-sport/508294.md?page=4)