So ITV4 have become the first British TV channel to air ‘cage fighting’ fights, promoted by the British MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). The show will start in May of this year and will consist of two one hour shows which will feature individual cage gladiator fights.
Already The British Medical Association is calling for the sport to be banned because of its use of excessive violence.
The BMa website states:
the BMA opposes mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting and calls for a complete ban on this type of contact sport. Ultimate fighting can be extremely brutal and has been described as ‘human cockfighting’. It can cause traumatic brain injury, joint injuries and fractures.
The BMA believes that doctors cannot stand by while violent fighting tournaments are allowed to take place. Large amounts of money can be earned by participants, promoters and others linked to ultimate fighting but no amount of money can compensate for permanent brain damage and premature death.
I’d love to hear what you all think of this recent move. Is ITV showing admirable bravery and pioneering the way for this sport to become mainstream in the UK? Or do you think that cage fighting is a barbaric sport which should be banned from our TV screens?
We have started a poll on the sidebar of the site, please leave your vote there and your comments below.
24 Comments »
of course they should show it, as it is a legitimate sport.
why do i have to agree that itv are being brave in order to vote yes????
Why are they not trying to ban boxing or wrestling or judo or thai boxing then all mma is, is a mix of martial arts (mixed martial arts) it encompasses a number of olympic sports but just allows the competitor to choose wich one he uses at any given moment of the competition their is more injury incured in rugby than mma, i think that itv is just the first of many to follow and i salute them for making this stand.
People dont understand MMA, they see it an just assume that it is dangerous. Boxing is alot more dangerous, i am not sure of the stats but getting punched just in the head for 12 rounds is alot more dangerous than MMA, within which, boxing is just a small element.
MMA is a safe well regulated sport, not as dangerous as boxing because it doesn’t have repeated concussive headshots with big gloves on.
Of course ITV should show it, its better than all the usual dancing on ice or pop idol rubbish.
Of course the should show it, it is a GIANT step forward for the sport in this country…well done to ITV for showing some initiative.
marc
Founder http://www.uk-mma.co.uk
MMA is the fastest growning sport in the world. If critics actually watched the skill, hard work and dedication involved in the sport they would think twice before assuming its glorified street fighting.
Its a great idea to show MMA on ITV, a huge step forward for a growing scene.
of course it should be shown on the ITV network, like people have said before it is the fastest growing sport around and all the proffesional events in the UK make sure that the fighters safety is paramount.
In fact i think more cage fighting events should be shown on ITV.
The BMA objection to MMA is on ideological, rather than medical grounds. The argument over intentionality is misleading. From a medical perspective, there’s not really any difference between an intentional injury and an accidental, but statistically inevitable one.
Angrrr have previously employed Cage side medical staff who include hospital consultants, the overwhelming response initially was one of morbid curiosity & even surprise that this was happening in sleepy Weston S Mare & beyond.
After the events all of those medical staff asked could they be considered for future events & all said they were surprised by what they had seen, stating that the picture portrayed by some of the Media was one of a Medaevil tournament to the death & that this was obviously not the case, they all commented on how much safer than Boxing it was due to the fact that not everything revolved around strikes to the head.
One Hospital consultant called an easy nights work, he dressed 1 cut above the eye unlike the Horse Racing events he was covering for the Jockey Club, commenting that “at every Racing event he covers there is always a serious injury that could lead to death or paralysis, he has now resigned from the Jockey Club & only covers MMA events.
If our chosen SPORT was banned as some hysterical persons are calling for it will not stop it, this means it would disappear underground, unregulated & would become a truly dangerous sport.
The other huge consideration is this, we are lucky enough to live in a DEMOCRATIC country, all of the Combatants take part of their own free will & never aim to cause permanent damage or serious injury to their opponents, to the un-initiated, go & have a look, you will enjoy it & see it for the truly skilfull SPORT that it is.
Chris Payne, Angrrr Management
I’ve been involved in martial arts for over twelve years, in that time I have never had a serious injury or an injury that has caused me to have time off work. I have competed professionally in Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing and love the sport/s.
On an aside, I had some pretty nasty injuries from football, rugby, squash that all meant I had to take time off work, yet no-one asks for these sports to be banned, I believe boxing does not enter into the top 5 of most dangerous sports in this country and MMA does not feature at all, why not ban rugby, motor sports, horse riding, golf and cricket, all of which have far more injuries and deaths than the so called “blood/human cockfighting sports”
When you come down to it, it’s a matter of choice, if you don’t like it don’t watch it. But please don’t call for bans or besmirch my character because you dislike what I love, I am a skilled employee/educated/married with a wonderful family who loves training and competing. I don’t like “pop music” but I don’t call for it to be banned, I just don’t listen or buy it.
MMA is a legitimate sport, anyone who uses the term human cockfighting to describe has either
a) Never watched a show
b) Not done any research
c) Read reviews written in the early 1990s
d) All of the above
What annoys me is that the BMA use this argument
“Ultimate fighting can be extremely brutal and has been described as ‘human cockfighting’”
when it was the BMA who used that description. I would also like the BMA to come forward with any research that anyone of them has done into just how much more brutal the sport is compared to Boxing, Rugby, Ice Hockey, Wrestling, Judo. My message to anyone who in future decides to write an article against MMA do their homework, go to a local show there are many all over the UK, done some research or visit a gym. The UK MMA community has been around a while now, and these absurd critics who claim the sport is barbaric are about 8 years too late, these arguments have been voiced and disproved in recent years in America, so somebody from the BMA better come up with a new idea or maybe just some proof would be good!!!
I think I’m more concerned with the presentation of the program rather then the fights themselves.
The BMA have assumed responsibility as the moral voice of these isles without consulting any member of the public, when all they are qualified to do is give medical advice. Rugby, Horse Racing, Polo, Motor racing etc “can cause traumatic brain injury, joint injuries and fractures.”. Everyone involved is a consenting adult who knows the risks, and are more informed then a BMA board member.
In MMA less shots to the head over a shorter period of time then in boxing (due to the multiple facets of the sport), and referee intervention when the sportsmen is not intelligently defending himself (as opposed to multiple 10 counts that allow further, unecessary punishment to continue) makes the sport less of a risk then boxing.
If the BMA were to do legitimate research they would compare the number of deaths from sanctioned Boxing (hundreds if not thousands) to the number of deaths in sanctioned MMA (1) before continuing their misguided crusade.
It concerns me that the BMA is making more noise about wanting to ban certain sports when the more important issue of the NHS crisis is being ignored.
Ave been training and competeing in mma for 4 years and have never injured nothing while i ve broke my ankle 2 times and had concussion and had stitches in both knees playing football so that shows my take on how dangerous it is.
It’s the whole Cage fighting thing that gets a lot of peoples backs up IMO.
I have followed MMA for around the past 5 years coming from being a dedicated follower of K1.
At first glance I too thought it was dangerous and hearing most people talk about made it sound illegal. However when you look into the sport and do some actual research rather than going along with what people are telling you see that it is a highly skilled and competitive sport which “yes” does have knockouts and “yes” does have the odd bit of blood but as all of my friends here say so does many other sports, the sport has evolved far from being held underground every single fight show I have watched or been part of has had superb checks for fighters welfare.
An excellent move forward to get this sport even more recognised for what it really is apart from people who know nothing about it judging it due to its “CAGE”
I think it is about time people realised that this is a sport and its here to stay. We have an exellent safety record and the fighters should be recognised as the athletes that they are. The only thing that is holding this sport back in the UK is ignorance. Well done ITV4 and Cage Gladiators for making this deal possible. The medical proffesionals should be more worried about things like MRSA and the state of the NHS in this country, rather than picking on willing participants wishing to display their skills in Mixed Martial Arts, and trying to earn a living at what they enjoy and train hard for.
Mixed martial arts is brilliant and deserves prime time t.v. coverage as a sport, but also let us not forget the many people who enjoy the benefits of fitness and training and confidence that mma gives, those people who do not wish to compete or are unable to, but still derive great benefits from this unique form of Martial arts, l have many serious trainers in my gym who do it because they love it.
It’s about time the UK Mainstream TV companies got behind MMA. More exposure will lead to more understanding of the sport.
MMA is the evolution of all martial arts - the best and most effective moves from a variety of disciplines (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai)- the BMA need to do some research and find out how hard and long the fighters train to prepare and develop the skills needed to compete - do they want to ban all martial arts??? What about rugby, you get way more injuries in that!
The fighters are there because they want to be, they know what to expect they have trained for it. This growing SPORT needs the coverage so that people can understand it.
You NEED to get knowledgable commentators for the shows none of this sensational crap, just the sport for what it is.
I echo all of the above.
The BMA wants to take a look at it’s own sport first.
Michael Watson anyone?
Professional MMA - on the go now for 15 years, has never had a substantial injury attributed directly from the fights.
Edit to above.
Somehow, I seemed to get the BMA and the BBBoC confused - apologies!
I think its a great move by ITV. Mixed martial arts is a legitimate sport and so there’s no reason why it shouldnt be shown, when the likes of boxing/kickboxing/pro-wrestling are all shown regularly.
would just like to agree with all the above.check the stats for deaths and injuries in a boxing ring on a rugby pitch or in motorsports and then compare that to mma fights, mma is alot safer enough said….well done itv its about time that some mainstream free to air tv companies backed up mma by televising fights. bma need to get their facts straight and stop spouting rubbish before they persecute a perfectly legitimate sport,mma has came along way since UFC 1 and other early mma shows.
I agree with bma because mma is actuly based on when they really kick there heads in etc and not really safe at all because they will get perments brain damage and premerture deaths which not very nice.
I would like to add my 2 pennys to this. I am a huge MMA fan and think its about time UK tv channels started to acknowledge it. This sport and a sport is, is growing at an extremely fast rate it is only 13 years old or so and already has the potential to over take boxing and profesional wreslting in its size. My point is this if this was such a “barberic” sport then it would not have reached the heights it has in such a short time.
Also regarding the fighters themselves if you look at them and there back grounds you wil be notice that they all are very inteligent and have very good backgrounds indeed you look at the top guys and they have degrees in business or teachers some ran there own compaines. All these guys and girls chose to spend there time and there money which they earn working what we would consider to be a good and respectable jobs training in a sport they love.
My point here is this the sport has come on leaps and bounds since the early days of vale tudo style fighting where anything goes. It has become technical and regulated there has never been a death that is directly realated to mma but if we look at boxing its a different story. If we look at old boxers like Ali look what boxing has done to him and then the first people to fight in the UFC the Royce Gracies the Ken Shamrocks both of which are still competing today after countless fights each over the last 13 years. So i think i should stop there cos i just sound like im cryin but im tired of having to defend the sport i love just because someone else doesnt enjoy it.
(Also im sorry if i have spelt things wrong not very god at that, lol)
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