"Why I hate the UFC" Great article written from a boxing writer

Paul Magno is one of the few honest boxing writers. Most of the rest are in the Shillwani class.

Oh man nothing better than that to  say he got em!

Great read ! I agree. The ufc is a bully making machine

Why I Hate The UFC


By Paul Magno

I’ve given the UFC several chances over the years. Some things have piqued my interest, like Holly Holm’s beating of Ronda Rousey and prime Anderson Silva’s run. I also have a great admiration for jiu jitsu and all of its forms, especially the early UFC dominance of Royce Gracie. I’ve often said that when it comes to combat, the only two disciplines that matter are boxing and jiu jitsu and that the rest are just child’s play.

But as for the UFC product as a whole?

The UFC is pure boardroom-engineered macho fairytale shit show appealing to the lowest common denominator of fight fan.

Aesthetically, there are about a million things that don’t sit right with me-- from the timing structure of the fights that robs the sport of the late fight high-drama boxing at its best can produce to the idea of a combat sport that allows one fighter to bash another when he’s down and out to the entire atmosphere of a typical UFC show, which seems more like a “buy now” infomercial than a sporting event. It also doesn’t help that the UFC has been so aggressively negative towards boxing in its rise while, at the same time, riding heavily on its coattails for cheap publicity whenever possible. Aside from all of that, I do believe that there’s a whole racist undertone to the sport and its marketing decisions that most would prefer not to address, but that’s a topic for another time.

What probably turns me off the most, however, is the culture the UFC has created, both among fans and within its own roster of fighters. The recent publicity tour for Saturday’s Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz bout has served as a reminder why I tend to steer clear of the UFC carnival.

It goes back to the boxing gyms where I grew up and learned many of my life lessons. Most of those who came through the doors were decent people eager to learn the art of boxing. But there were always others—angry, frustrated, coarse, loutish—who liked bullying their way through life and wanted to become more proficient at it. They strutted around with their chest puffed out, talking tough, and looking for fights. Whereas many of the boxers learning the craft of the sport eventually found a gentlemanly quality through the discipline required to learn the art form, these other guys only became more uncouth, more aggressive as they lurked in the gym. These are the meat-heads who intimidated me as a child and against whom I’ve been fighting to squash since I was old enough to fight back.

This is the mentality encouraged and promoted by the UFC—a product totally eschewing all the inherent nobility in the discipline of combat in order to play up to the “punch him in the motherfuckin’ face, make him bleed” base instinct of a base society. It plays to the worst instincts of combat sports fans.

I’m aware of the fact that Mixed Martial Arts is a legitimate discipline and art form, but we all know that the UFC is not about that.

The UFC is a jerry-rigged take on a larger sport, pandering to a bloodthirsty subset of an ADD world. It pushes its fighters into its bogus, manipulative atmosphere and encourages poorer than poor sportsmanship—then it robs them blind by shamelessly underpaying them.

The UFC has dumbed down the world of combat sports and its effects can be felt everywhere from tactical boxing matches that are drowned in boos to the angry jibes of drunken fans jeering solid grappling at an MMA bout.

Stripped of its sense of nobility and craft, combat sports are just fodder for angry, frustrated bullies and, unfortunately, the UFC has made a killing from cultivating and encouraging the worst of the worst in fandom.

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Well written, aside from the part about "allowing fighters to bash opponents when they are down and out." That's called the ground game buddy. I personally like seeing good ground work. The Kron fight at Rizin was a great example of exciting grapping. The biggest problem domestically is the dog fence they fight in. This weekend alone the dog fence ruined a lot of fights in Bellator and UFC because instead of allowing or repelling a takedown, the fighters were stuck up against it in a boring pushing stall fest. If a fight hits the floor in the center, there is good grappling action that can take place.

"The UFC is pure boardroom-engineered macho fairytale shit show appealing to the lowest common denominator of fight fan."

Yup, exactly. When I was watching Diaz vs McGregor this morning I was just thinking, this isn't about martial arts. It's just trailer park fighting. Seeing most ufc fights makes me miss the days of Pride even more. That was the legends in their prime, in the prime of MMA. I'm hoping Rizin brings that back. With the exception of a handful of fighters in the ufc, I couldn't care less about it.

^ yeah i agree it will be great if rizin can bring back the martial arts of the sport i mean yeah you had fighter's who did a bit trash talking in pride but even then it was few and far between most just went in and fought .

Now it is all about shit talking and people getting title shots over people who deserve them and here they say ufc the biggest and best if that is true than mma is fucked . Ufc is  a hype thing what will they do when the hype dies or the band waggoners move onto something else ? .

The fights in pride were all fought to the death. It wasn't a place for all these point-fighting cowards. AT ALL.

Longtime Fan wrote:The fights in pride were all fought to the death. It wasn't a place for all these point-fighting cowards. AT ALL.

True that Pride had balance ingredients of NHB with modern sport and show martial arts presentation. Perfect combination imo. One champion can be there too there solidly developing the east asia talent but as far as a show goes it can do more. In bases on Victor Cui vision and there associates they molded of east and west and obviously chose the cage for west. Everything else is fine but the show can do better in showcasing east Asian nuances of each country can be representative of the theme of the card. We know when rizen comes to play its a japanese show that we know and love. One needs to sharpen up there production.

Longtime Fan wrote:The fights in pride were all fought to the death. It wasn't a place for all these point-fighting cowards. AT ALL.

Yeah, there were many great exciting fights in PRIDE. I cannot stand the point fights.

There is only one reason to hate the UFC...

Dana *aggot White

Overall a really good article.

Cage fightimg is trashy.

Bellator and ufc choose to promote the 'cage fighting lifestyle'.

I choose to not watch ufc and i can barely stand to watch Bellator.

Kinosis wrote:"The UFC is pure boardroom-engineered macho fairytale shit show appealing to the lowest common denominator of fight fan."

Yup, exactly.  When I was watching Diaz vs McGregor this morning I was just thinking, this isn't about martial arts.  It's just trailer park fighting.  Seeing most ufc fights makes me miss the days of Pride even more.  That was the legends in their prime, in the prime of MMA.  I'm hoping Rizin brings that back.  With the exception of a handful of fighters in the ufc, I couldn't care less about it.

Watch that UFC unstoppable press conference and their is no more bushido between fighters which is also unappreciated by fans. Fighters squabbling with each other like kids....what is this? WWE? It's just awful to watch now and really fucking embarrassing when conor comes on TV. I am ashamed to even say I watch this sport sometimes it's nothing more than a circus thanks to bellator and UFC

TeamJohnPerretti wrote:Overall a really good article.

Cage fightimg is trashy.

Bellator and ufc choose to promote the 'cage fighting lifestyle'.

I choose to not watch ufc and i can barely stand to watch Bellator.

This is why I love watching kickboxing all the time...actually feels like a sport....no hype....no favorites