An outsiders encounter with the worlds fastest growing sport

I came across this piece that I thought was a pretty good read,thought I'd share it.

It's by a sports reporter that had no interest in MMA who went to watch UFC 109.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/2/10/1300771/meeting-mma-outsiders-encounter

Sounds like he was overwhelmed by all the action, as you would expect for someone at their very first MMA exposure.

I think moral of the story here is once you get past all the taboo and social ignorance that this a barbaric form of violence and actually watch and learn MMA with an open mind most people can appreciate the skill, talent and energy from an MMA fight(er).

Great find Payne! That's one of the best articles i've read in a while by someone on the outside looking in at MMA.

"And when you think about it, that makes for some pretty fascinating matchups. Differentiating between the styles—knowing which armbar comes from Brazlian Jiu Jitsu, or which defensive move comes from Wrestling—is beyond my purview, but theoretically, it makes for a chess match between fighters that's impossibly intricate, and highly intellectual. This isn't just two guys trying kill each other with their bare hands—there's a lot more to it. And while I'm not fluent in the fighting styles, having seen one fight, I want to be. It'd make the fights that much cooler. That's at least a partial explanation for why fans become so immersed in this stuff."

Great article!

Think this sums it up

I have found when introducing MMA to mates who know nothing about it I get the "this is hard to watch/totally barbaric" line to begin with - it doesn't take long for those comments to change to things like "his guard is wide open, mount him ffs, ELBOWS...ELBOWS DAMNIT"

I think people just need to watch a few fight to become fascinated by the sport. Human Beings didn't build the focking Colloseum in Rome cause the don't like fightin....Even my old housemates sister used to call in for a j now and then and we would be watching it, at the beginning she was like "this is so sick", after 2 or 3 viewings of varous fights her comment was "when is Brock fighting again, I want to see him smash someone"

My Mum takes the same attitued as my Girlfriend, she would turn away at Violence of any Kind, she is a real religious one! One time me and my Brothers were watching UFC in her house and It was Guida vs Roger Huerta, She walked into the room and looked at the screen and said "This is Awfully Exciting isnt it?" Damn Straight!

Yeah my G/F started off with no interest whatsoever and now has favourite fighters (Keith Jardine and Houston Alexander sadly) and says she prefers UFC to pride because kicks on the ground are "uncalled for" and moving people back into the middle of the ring "stops the flow"

great artical