[norcal313]

My reply to the article's author:

"Dan,

I read your article.

Now, my first reaction is laugh and wonder if you really did any homework on the subject. Instead I took a moment to try and realize where you’re coming from. I understand now, I understand your pain, I understand the panic inducing hysteria that this ‘MMA’ has brought to the boxing world. Instead of writing an article with numerous holes in it and blatantly obvious biased opinions (I can’t call any of your assumptions or predictions facts), how about realizing that the organization you targeted is not everything there is to be seen in regards to MMA. Have you even looked abroad at organizations in the UK, in Japan, such as Pride FC? You fail to see the appeal of the sport.

I remember when I was in my teens, I watched a boxing event every once in a while. I was always left with this empty feeling that boxing couldn’t fully satisfy. I wanted to see real sparring, I wanted to see what the human body was capable of in an event with more possibilities, an event that would pit multiple styles and training disciplines against each other. If you cannot see the appeal of this then you are merely being blinded by your stubbornness and unwillingness to accept what MMA has become.

Now, granted, the early UFCs were not all that pretty to watch, there was much less development between the competition and each fight was very unorthodox. But if you really researched the sport today you would see how hard these fighters train, how much time and energy is put into developing their skills and most importantly, how talented many of the professional fighters really are. Watching a professional fighter well versed in grappling and striking is a thing of beauty. Fighters are so well rounded these days that it bothers me that someone like yourself, someone who supposedly enjoys the competition between two professional fighters, can bash another similar sport simply because it’s draining the appeal of boxing.

To give you some insight on my personal background, I wrestled in highschool and in college, I also did Judo in college and I am now training MMA. I can tell you first hand that MMA is here to stay, the enthusiasm I see from people of all backgrounds, all walks of life, and all ages, is real.

Get past the problems you supposedly see in the UFC and see the sport for what it truly is.

Regards,


Chris"