UFC Poses No Long Term Threat to Boxing: Round Two
 By Dan Horgan (May 29, 2007) Doghouse Boxing
Last summer, I wrote an article entitled ‘UFC Poses No Long Term Threat to Boxing’ and the MMA internet community went into an uproar. In the article, I stated the copious reasons why the UFC would eventually die out, and I ended up looking like an ignorant jerk.
When writing the article, I made one regrettable mistake: failing to realize the abundant fans that watch both boxing and mixed martial arts. I wrote the article in a way that I thought boxing fans – and boxing fans alone –
would understand: I took the biggest organization in MMA (the UFC) and referred to the sport as a whole as that organization. When the three-hundred plus emails streamed into my inbox from angry MMA fans, nearly all of them stated that I was unaware of the other mixed martial arts leagues, and that I was simply scared that their sport would overtake boxing. These people were dead wrong.
In my many debates following the article, everyone – including radio show hosts, Dog Pound posters, and even some of my closest friends – took the same stance of those angry emailers. Perhaps in an attempt to disguise their own lack of argument, they used my age (at the time, sixteen) against me, and made it seem as if I did zero research before writing the article. I was a fodder of sorts for them to defend the sport they so vehemently support.
Nothing is more frustrating than people not taking you seriously. While trying to argue, I couldn’t get my many opponents past the point that I was not a worried boxing fan using the little knowledge of MMA I had to try and put the latter sport down. All of my insightful claims were completely disregarded, and the mixed martial arts defenders felt as though they had won an easy battle of words.
With the recent surge of UFC into mainstream media (thanks to the Chuck Liddell-Quinton Jackson bout May 26), the great debate of boxing versus MMA has again resurfaced: UFC commentator Joe Rogan and boxing promoter Lou DiBella argued in favor of their sport on ESPN’s SportsCenter; Sports Illustrated’s L. Jon Wertheim constructed a long piece citing the rise of ultimate fighting and its threat to overthrow boxing; and, pound for pound kings Floyd Mayweather Jr. (of boxing) and Chuck Liddell (of UFC) both trashed the opposing sports in recent interviews.
But throughout this seemingly unsolvable debate, one thing has become clear: MMA fans are more paranoid that their sport will lose popularity than boxing fans. Mixed martial arts gurus are so determined to prove that opponents to their sport are afraid it will soon take over boxing, that the group has become hypocritical. In the debate on SportsCenter, Rogan, after talking about himself for a solid ten seconds, yelled at DiBella: “You’re taking this all very personally! Your sport is getting swallowed; it’s going to go away.” DiBella wisely rebutted: “I’m not screaming about your sport dying.”
Rogan fell into the trap that nearly all MMA fans do: he turned the argument into a battle of which sport is better, and tried to make DiBella seem ignorant. But DiBella is far from unknowledgeable; in fact, throughout the debate, he kept his composure, made many insightful points, and did little to disrespect mixed martial arts. On the other hand, Rogan was irate, yelling out his points, trashing boxing, and even blowing DiBella a sarcastic kiss. He was so determined to prove his sport was legitimate that he was the one who seemed to take the argument personally.
A statement made by ESPN Magazine’s Alison Glock in her article, “This Guy Scares You?” (a feature piece on Liddell) is another microcosm of MMA paranoia. In the article, Glock quoted Liddell as saying, “I’d drop a boxer so fast.” Said Glock, who referred to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as “boxing’s biggest mouth” after he said Liddell would be beaten in a boxing match: “Liddell’s probably right.” Boxing is five or so basic punches; MMA adds wrestling and martial arts. Unless a boxer landed an early knockout punch, he find himself pinned and looking for the nearest exit.
Glock’s quarrel that a mixed martial artist would beat a boxer in a street fight is ridiculous. Fact is, put Chuck Liddell (a dynamic striker) in a boxing ring with say, David Haye, and the latter would win easy. Put Haye in a cage with Liddell however, and watch the Brit be destroyed. If the two fought on the streets, who knows who would win? MMA has restrictions of fighting just like boxing does. For all we know, Haye could be a fabulous head butter or eye gouger. Plus, the most commonly used move in street fighting is punching, and all boxers do is punch!
Mixed martial arts fans and experts alike need to stop trying to make their sport noticeable – it already is. Boxing fans understand that MMA – particularly the UFC – is officially legitimate; MMA fans need to refine their “You don’t know me! Don’t judge me!” arguments. There is a genuine competition between the two sports, and the debate of which will overtake the other often leads to erudite conversations.
My take? Boxing will always be number one. In 2006, HBO put on eleven pay-per-view shows (as opposed to nine by the UFC) and still came only $46 million short in revenue (impressive considering most of boxing’s shows are free whereas over half of UFC shows are on pay-per-view). Moreover, boxing’s roots are planted too far into society to just be ripped up. Big screen movies about boxing are still being made, and the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout doubled the buys of UFC’s biggest selling pay-per-view card (UFC 66). Although the UFC continues to grow (Dana White recently announced the purchase of rival organization Pride Fighting) it will take a complete unification of all of the leagues to even come close to matching boxing’s depth.
And oh yeah, neither sport is necessarily better than the other. Neither MMA nor boxing is human cockfighting, and neither requires more intelligence than the other. The argument that mixed martial arts is a more sophisticated sport than boxing is bologna: just because there are more aspects to mixed martial arts, doesn’t mean it is a more intelligent sport. One could say the same about football because that sport has more aspects than boxing.
So will the UFC soon die out? A year ago, I said yes. The lack of depth in the UFC coupled with the lack of success of other MMA organizations in mainstream America looked like a combination for disaster. But with UFC’s purchase of Pride Fighting, that argument is taken away. Now, I think the UFC’s future is up in the air. Dana White could be expanding his organization too fast. Foreign MMA interest could go down if all big fights come to America. Chuck Liddell’s recent loss could plummet the sport’s popularity. Or, Dana White could be expanding his enterprise at just the right pace, and the UFC could become a sport in itself. Quinton Jackson could go on to be the sport’s biggest star, and tremendously raise its popularity. Foreign interest could be provoked if White brings more shows abroad.
MMA has always been boxing’s determined little brother. But now, it’s time for the little brother to stop trying to prove himself. The big brother now respects his younger sibling, but now matter how much respect he gives, he will have always been the one born first, and in this case, always number one.
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