MMA and Pro Wrestling

Guest column by the MIT Comparative Media Studies program:

Interest in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased significantly in the last few years. It has reached a point where wrestling organizations are monitoring the pay-per-view numbers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and view it as a competitor in the pay-per-view arena. One topic that interests me is the lack of media coverage for MMA in the United States. Even professional wrestling was covered in papers in the early 20th century. Why can't you see coverage of the UFC on SportsCenter? First, we need to take a quick look at how MMA reached its current level of popularity.

In the mid 1990s, a new combat sport was created by the Gracie family in Brazil, and quickly spread to the United States in the form of The Ultimate Fighting Championship, and to Japan as Pride Fighting Championship. The sport involved fighters from different styles all competing in the same tournament. Wrestlers fought boxers. Karate specialists fought Jiu Jitsu masters. The sport was quickly accepted in Japan, with most major news outlets carrying stories of the fights and the fighters. In the United States, however, the UFC was seen as barbaric, and quickly banned in most states. While the first tournaments were billed as having “No Rules”, there were rules against biting and groin strikes. The UFC decided to market the event as a gladiatorial spectacle, instead of a legitimate sporting event involving trained athletes. Unfortunately, the athletes in the first tournaments were not always that well trained, and some very vicious fights helped to create an image of the UFC that many people considered morally outrageous (especially to politicians).

On the brink of bankruptcy, the company was sold to Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in 2001. With new leadership and new rules, the company has seen a huge jump in popularity and acceptance, with pay-per-view buyrates matching all but the largest of WWE events.

So why do most mainstream media outlets refuse to cover the UFC in the United States, while they continue to cover boxing? Part of it has to do with the past conception of the UFC as a bloody spectacle, instead of a sporting event like boxing. I imagine part of it might also involve the press remembering the beginning of pro wrestling as a work. They see MMA as they saw pro wrestling before, and don't want to get caught reporting fixed outcomes like with wrestling in the early 20th century.

How do you feel about MMA? Is it a fad? Will it gain the mainstream recognition that wrestling has not had since the late 90s? Will it affect wrestling in America?

Article written by MIT Comparative Media Studies Department, Article edited by Benjamin Zeidler