Why Do I Even Watch This? (Part One)

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May 7, 2013 by JJ Saddington

I’m a self-loathing MMA fan. I watch it, but I cannot defend it.

Like me, you have friends who visibly recoil in disgust when you tell them you watch MMA. Like me, you also have friends that think you watch WWE, even when you posit the notion that WWE is to MMA what soap operas are to real life. It is the former’s response that deserves your attention and perhaps more than a little introspection.

Part One: They Made The Choice

I liken my passion for mixed martial arts to the mindset of a meat eater or an illegal downloader: no matter how well articulated the case for the defence is, the moral upper hand is always just out of reach. Justification for either can be made, be it a graph showing a positive correlation between downloading and physical sales or the case for canine teeth and the genetic implications for eating meat. Ultimately, many of us simply like the taste of meat and want music for free. As with any martial art, I enjoy the technicality, I marvel at the athleticism and the determination and struggle in the face of adversity is borderline life affirming. However, if there was a way to remove any aspect of physical pain or bodily harm, I can’t honestly say I’d still watch. Call me sadistic, but I think we all are. There’s a side of us that enjoys watching people fall over or walk into glass doors, this is that but magnified many times. There are no bonuses for Ground Control Of The Night, but a big fat overhand right can earn it’s owner $50k. We want violence, we just don’t want the results on our conscience.

Should we feel guilty when we get what we ask for? When the beatdown we were baying for is delivered upon a fighter we’ve never met, but don’t like? I guess that depends on how you define responsibility, where your involvement begins and where it ends. We’ve all revelled in witnessing the agony of defeat, exulted in a one sided beating and even jumped up in celebration in the event of a KO finish. But what part did any of us really play in this?

I believe we are all responsible for the injuries incurred in the cage or ring. Every bump, every bruise, every concussion and every broken limb. An audience witnessing a brutal knockout may not have landed the devastating uppercut or brutal flying knee, but it was delivered as much for their enjoyment as the victor’s winning bonus. Without a crowd, there is no event. Without your money, they would be working elsewhere. That’s not to say people fight only for financial gain or public adoration, but remove both and you have no sport. Social responsibility, that’s what I’m talking about here. Finding the biting point for where our actions lead to these consequences.

They made the decision to fight, but you gave them the reason to. You asked for it, accept that this was for your entertainment. I’m not suggesting that fighting is a selfless act, done solely for the enjoyment of the people, merely that we’re all in this together. You make it what it is.

I had intended to post a link to the video of Miguel Torres post knockout at UFC 145, but it has already been removed.