Hey, Mainstream Media, Please Quit it with the Boxing vs. MMA Crap!

Dana White was a guest on ESPN Radio to be apart of a boxing vs. MMA "debate" hosted by Ryen Rusillo. Some of White's comments have been making the rounds but there are several things that need to be pointed after listening to the entire podcast.

This "debate", which is really from 2007 --though James Toney has injected a bit of life into it-- is coming on the slowest day in sports. Literally, nothing else was going on and all they could come up with was the classic boxing vs. MMA mumbo jumbo.

What the mainstream seems incapable of understanding is that a rising tide carries all ships. The increase in the UFC's popularity has had some serious ancillary affects for combat sports as a whole. Jiu-jitsu schools are seemingly everywhere, not to mention Muay Thai, Judo, a serious boon in the interest of wrestling at the high school and collegiate level and, dare we say, boxing too?

Is it so hard to conclude that fans exposed to such rich diversity of technique are becoming interested in that technique? It's currently happening with BJJ, Muay Thai and Judo so why not boxing?I must confess that my interest has increased exponentially.

Now the false narrative of boxing vs. MMA seems a little less tangible.

This taps into a larger issue -- the mainstream press doesn't know how to talk about MMA or the UFC. The coverage always ends up being; "MMA vs. boxing", Brock Lesnar or the sport being "controversial", either due to Dana White's mouth or the brutal nature of the sport.

What makes the constant repetition of these stories so frustrating though is the fact that the people leading the discussion are so woefully ill-informed.

We're fairly confident that Ryen Russillo is one of the good guys but it's hard to listen and not conclude that Russillo is out of his element and unprepared. Michael David Smith of Fanhouse has described this virulent strain of misinformation in the mainstream media before and it appears this is another case of the "Dog ate my uchi mata."  

Case in point the poor use of rhetoric to start the podcast segment. Russillo repeatedly asks listeners to name 10 fighters in the UFC compared to ten contemporary boxers, yet Ryen himself doesn't follow up by highlighting ten superstar UFC fighters. It makes him look like a tween trying to be cool by pretending he likes some band: "Oh yeah, I love The Arcade Fire! Oh, so what's your favorite song? Uhhh, I like all of them!!".

Wait a minute Zak, it was a rhetorical question! Not really. Russillo begins  to name drop boxers as evidence that people didn't know who they are but if he can't duplicate the same thing for UFC fighters then he looks like a fool. If your anecdotal evidence is that no one knows who David Haye is but you can't name Mauricio "Shogun" Rua or Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva off the top of your head then the anecdote fails. 

Here's a better exercise. Ask a random sports friend to name 10 UFC fighters (I bet they'll get to 6 or 7). Then ask them to name 10 MMA fighters NOT in the UFC. That'll show you the cultural relevance of "MMA" versus UFC.

Things take a turn for lunacy when Ryen describes The Ultimate Fighter as a good show!

What Ultimate Fighter is he watching because I want those DVDs?

Apologies to Mr. Russillo but I don't enjoy watching twenty-somethings ejaculate on sushi or urinate on each others pillows in the dead of night or get an enema on cable television or argue over masturbating in the shower. That show is reality show shiza and that's not even dealing with the serious technical flaws in the premise (the contract sucks and lots or fighters make it into the promotion so nothing is really at stake). Season 11 might of had less frat humor but 25 seconds of Jamie Yager (that's the guy with afro for those that can't remember names) on your television will make you want to take a hatchet to your cable box.

We know it's a process to build a sport and to insert yourself in the culture. And we know it is going to take time and energy for people to learn about the sport, which we are grateful for. But if it's at all possible could we try just a wee bit harder, so we don't have to listen to radio hosts stumble over the term single leg takedown?

Thanks!