Sunday, March 6, 2011

Mixed Martial Arts: Why it's better than boxing.

                                        
Since its conception, MMA (Namely the UFC) has been compared and contrasted with boxing. If you read the title of this blog you will know where I stand on the debate. So here are some arguments against MMA in favor of boxing that I will debunk.

1. People say that boxing is better than MMA because the "rivalries" are better (when in fact it is just manufactured).

2. People will say "The most effective MMA weapon is the boxing punch" Really? The "Boxing punch"? Right, because the "Boxing punch" is a martial art that has been around for thousands of years right? Wrong. Boxing has been around only for a few centuries, while say Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai are thousand + year old arts that have efficiently sculpted punching techniques. Besides, the "boxing punch" is not even comparable in terms of lethal force against the deadly roundhouse kick.
                                        (You can do this in MMA, not in boxing)

3. Boxing advocates claim that boxing requires more skill. For those of you who don't track boxing or MMA I will put it in easier terms for you. Do you think it'd be more difficult to master just baseball? Or to master baseball, basketball, and football at the same time? Now you understand the underlying difference between MMA and Boxing. Boxing focuses completely on striking skill, nothing else. If you're a bad striker you can't succeed in boxing. Simple as that. In MMA however, you can be the shittiest striker ever. Wanna know why? Because there are more options. You can be bad at striking but amazing at take downs and submissions, and visa versa. This is one of the main reasons why MMA is simply more entertaining, and a better sport than boxing.

4. Boxing is more entertaining than MMA. This really isn't even an argument. Boxing is easily one of the most predictable sports out there. It is INTENSELY momentum based. In the sense that the guy who is landing strikes will 99% of the time simply win the fight. While in UFC, crazy turn-arounds are commonplace. In UFC 117: Silva Vs. Sonnen, Sonnen was moping the floor with Silva (Silva being the acclaimed best fighter in the world). Sonnen was landing strike after strike on Silva and pretty much dominating him the entire fight. Then Sonnen takes Silva to the ground, and, as stated above, this is is where the variety aspect of MMA kicks in. Silva SUBMITS Sonnen via triangle armbar on the ground, and pulls out a win. If true champions overcome adversity, Silva takes the cake on that one.
                     "Good job son, you mindlessly bludgeoned that man's head so well."

So what do you think requires more skill? I'll let you decide. But I believe that boxing (in the next decade) will be withered down quite a bit in comparison to the MMA movement, it's getting way too popular for boxing to compete.

10 comments:

  1. I would say that boxing requires more skill, since you have to follow a set pair of rules. While UFC is really just insane =), i prefer watching UFC thou.

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  2. why compare? mma may be more excited but boxing has great history and still widely popular all around world

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  3. I agree with you completely.

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  4. Oh ya, MMA definitely better then boxing.

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  5. Completely agree. MMA will always be better than boxing. Followed.

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  6. MMA and boxing arent really comparable. Boxing is more another discipline that could be used in MMA.

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  7. very thrue much better than boxing indeed

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  8. Yeah - way more exciting to watch, I think.

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