UFC's "Rampage" Jackson

Hear about this creep on the radio today:

 

This will make him more popular in MMA. Bunch of antisocial roid freaks and the worst thing to happen to sports in the past 20 years.

 

Sounds like this will be his last fight for UFC. Then he'll disappear.

 

Wow, I guess that means we got the really watered down version of him in "The A-Team" then.

 

I debated whether or not to ask you to explain that. In the end, I simply cannot pass up this entertainment.

So, by all means.....how so?

 

The overall crassness -- and the belief that you get famous and earn market share by being as big of an asshole as you can -- is something they've used to their great advantage, and others in other sports have followed. The leader of the sport is famous for a misogynistic rant against a female reporter who dared to write true facts about him. He's more popular because of that rant. They have embraced the freak show (Kimbo Slice, anyone?) and marketing partnerships with porn sites (I know we'll disagree on that one).

And the crowds who go to the shows include the disgusting dregs of society. I have seen this myself and I have talked to many police officers who detest MMA events because of the element they bring.

My opinion may sound extreme, but it's a long-held one. Probably not going to come off it. Certainly not going to come off it on a thread devoted to one of the sport's leading stars producing The Rapist's Guide To Good Rape.

 

MMA killed boxing (but boxing helped kill itself as well).

I would have loved to been a sports fan in the 1960s and 1970s when Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Norton where having fantastic bouts. I doubt MMA will ever be able to duplicate what boxing once was, and for that, I'm sad.

 

It's an affliction.

 

I don't care for mixed martial arts, but several very, very smart friends of mine love it. I keep up with it for work, though, and because I enjoy watching a good roundhouse kick to the face.

Anyway, let's fact-check this thread quickly:

• Quinton Jackson has not been a leading star for about three years. He's washed up.
• Kimbo Slice was reviled by MMA fans because of his lack of skill and never signed with UFC.
• Declining American interest in boxing preceded MMA's rise here.
• Dana White is only famous for that rant among journalists.
• Baseball built the heel archetype back with Cap Anson and Ty Cobb.
• Several of UFC's biggest stars really aren't assholes, which White surely isn't thrilled about. That's why Chael Sonnen's name keeps popping up all the time.

Do you feel the same about pro wrestling?

 

It would have been interesting to see if boxing could have maintained its popularity longer if Tyson hadn't gone to jail. Actually, maybe that didn't impact it since those first couple fights after he got out got insane PPV numbers.

I used to be a huge boxing fan. I never missed a Tyson fight from when he won the title until his last attempt at a comeback. Other than the Klitschkos, I don't think I could name an elite heavyweight now and the only fights I've watched in the last several years have involved Pacquiao or Mayweather.

 

Everyone having a winning record didn't help, either. The numbers never added up.

 

Slice did have at least a couple UFC fights. In fact, I seem to recall him having a surprise upset win in his UFC debut.