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The demand for MMA doesn't justify airing it
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Mixed martial arts finally reached mainstream television Saturday night, May 31, when street-fighting legend Kimbo Slice met British brawler James Thompson on CBS-TV, and the Elite Xtreme Combat match supplied the blood-thirsty fans of that so-called sport exactly what they wanted.
Thompson was dealt a savage beat-down and yet he couldn't understand the referee's rationale for stopping the fight — but perhaps that was because he was having a hearing problem at the time.
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His mangled left ear was nearly torn off. And as that bloody mess bobbed up and down, it looked like someone had ripped his beating heart from his chest and plastered it to the side of his head, which, as near as I can tell, is perfectly within the rules.
The soaring popularity of Ultimate Fighting Championship and other brands of mixed martial arts, like EliteXC, merely shows how desensitized we've become to violence and gore, and the fact that the sport has gone from niche cable channels and pay-per-view venues to network TV — beamed into the nation's living rooms for every tot to see — makes it all the more disturbing.
MMA aficionados will say part of the allure is the blend of fighting styles, and that Slice and Thompson shouldn't have been featured because they're just boxers. But in every snippet I've seen on cable, someone ended up in a helpless position while getting his face pulverized.
CBS will broadcast two more nights of bouts, and I suppose the network sees it as a ratings winner. But just because there's an audience for it, that doesn't mean we have to cater to it.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
