not a sport

[whiteheather]

how they can call UFC a sport, I am at a loss, it is nothing but sheer brutality..sadly just a few days ago, a young man age 15 died in playing this sport with friends.................i know it can happen in any decent sport, but UFC is not a sport in my mind.....my opinion only.................:okay:

[Sizmasta]

What is boxing then?

Your right tho, It is a very brutal sport....

[KIDWCKED]

The Roman Gladiator

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

History & Origin

Like sporting events in many ancient cultures, Roman gladiatorial combat originated as a religious event. The Romans claimed that their tradition of gladiatorial games was adopted from the Etruscans, but there is little evidence to support this. The Greeks, in Homer's Iliad, held funeral games in honor of the fallen Patroklos. The games ended not in the literal death of the participants, but in their symbolic death as defeated athletes, unlike succeeding Roman gladiatorial combat.



The Roman historian Livy wrote about the first known gladiatorial games, held in 310 BCE by the Campanians (9.40.17). These games symbolized the re-enactment of the Campanians' military success over the Samnites, in which they were aided by the Romans. The first Roman gladiatorial games were held in 246 BCE by Marcus and Decimus Brutus in honor of their father, Junius Brutus, as a munus or funeral gift for the dead. It was a relatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in the Forum Boarium (a cattle market). From their religious origins, gladiatorial games evolved into defining symbols of Roman culture and became an integral part of that culture for nearly seven centuries. Eventually gladiatorial games reached spectacular heights in the number of combatants and their monumental venues.

For instance, in 183 BCE it was traditional to hold gladiatorial games in which 60 duels took place. By 65 BCE, Julius Caesar had upped-the-ante by pitting 320 ludi, or pairs of gladiators, against one another in a wooden amphitheater constructed specifically for the event. At this point, gladiatorial games expanded beyond religious events, taking on both political and ludic elements in Rome.

[kijiji]

Martial arts has been around longer then ANY north american sport these men are in great shape both physically & mentally and train all their lives just to get a shot at the ufc,is it something young un supervised children should do in the back yard ? hell no,but then again you can get killed doing most sports.To say that mixed martial arts is not a sport is wrong.

[zoogor]

it is a sport. any thing that involves skill is a sport even poker is aired on sports channels.
it is brutal but they know the dangers.

[fputs]

People have died in sports such as football and auto racing. I don't see the connection with death and sport.

[swanone]

physical combat is a sport, because you dont like it that doesnt mean its not . i dont like hockey but that doesnt change the fact that its a sport ( even tho its not played with a ball ... inside joke for the ones that know )

[mclovin]

physical combat is a sport, because you dont like it that doesnt mean its not . i dont like hockey but that doesnt change the fact that its a sport ( even tho its not played with a ball ... inside joke for the ones that know )



OMG tell me your not a Canadian loll

[swanone]

OMG tell me your not a Canadian loll

family is from Halifax

[DsssTester]

Lol not a sport that is funny. If you want to start with the brutality claims better off to start with ones that have high death counts or serious injuries on a regular basis American football or boxing is where one should start as those are both much more brutal. Pro mma has literally less then 5 deaths in its history might be about 3 and boxing averages 2 per year. As far as a sport lets see it encompasses Boxing,Wrestling, jiu jitsu and others that are included in the Olympics. Pankration which is basically early MMA was included in the Greek Olympics in 648 BC.

[igoreshka]

If UFC is not a sport, what about Chess? They call it sport stillhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xx6HCsepZb8/SWOEJDxStaI/AAAAAAAAAC8/UpsWjEO1PVA/S220/large-smiley-001.gif

[chickenman]

it is a sport. any thing that involves skill is a sport even poker is aired on sports channels.
it is brutal but they know the dangers.

Well they show WWE [ or whatever it's called these days] on sports channels but I don't consider that a sport as the outcome is already determined before hand.

[torpainter]

Well they show WWE [ or whatever it's called these days] on sports channels but I don't consider that a sport as the outcome is already determined before hand.

the wrestling powers had it declared entertainment so they would not have to have a ringside doctor at every match...lol

[The Cobra]

how they can call UFC a sport, I am at a loss, it is nothing but sheer brutality..sadly just a few days ago, a young man age 15 died in playing this sport with friends.................i know it can happen in any decent sport, but UFC is not a sport in my mind.....my opinion only.................:okay:

Well kiddo, seems you`ve been answered in droves. While I`ll agree that MMA style fighting is brutal, it`s been around like todd and others have mentioned since the dawn of time---mano vs mano if you will. MMA is well policed and refereed by both the Sanctioning bodies and the fighters themselves---it is based on the age old "respect your opponent" idea of barefisted fighting. No matter where we go in sports there is always the chance of injury or even death, baseball, football,hockey,boxing, car racing, horse racing etc etc all have their own tragedies. To most dedicated athlete`s there is something much worse than death on the playing surface---there is the chance of permanent injuries like paralysis or brain related issues. Both of which have far too many examples in every sport to list. I do notice that the refs in MMA are a little slower to stop or intervene in some fights that a year or two ago would have been stopped. MMA is growing and developing a larger fan base every day and the promoting of MMA whether we`ll admit it or not---- includes blood. Why we humans enjoy the sight of blood in a good fight is up for grabs----but a little blood isn`t always a bad thing. Blood is replaceable and in reality we as humans can bleed profusely from our nose, forehead and even a paper cut and it doesn`t mean a thing except some good viewing from some people. A bunch of blood on the face or body of an MMA fighter looks brutal but it`s very seldom that blood coming from a fighter is a dangerous situation. Blood sells--I`m not saying it`s right but I`m sure saying that that`s the way it is and the MMA is selling the Mano vs Mano thing so you can expect to see blood in these fights. Messy ?---yes,,,,it`s what the public wants?---yes..........Overly brutal?---NO. JMO

[dishuser]

Well they show WWE [ or whatever it's called these days] on sports channels but I don't consider that a sport as the outcome is already determined before hand.

they call it sports entertainment
that's why it's aired on sports channels

[1boxman]

WWF or WWE ..The only true Olympic sport ...lol

Anything athletic is concerted a sport .

All fun in games until you loose an eye..Than its a sport .

[igoreshka]

WWF or WWE ..The only true Olympic sport ...lol

Anything athletic is concerted a sport .

All fun in games until you loose an eye..Than its a sport .
100% agreed:comfort1:

[chickenman]

Well they show WWE [ or whatever it's called these days] on sports channels but I don't consider that a sport as the outcome is already determined before hand.

Well I guess I could say the same thing about SOME boxing matches in the past. Did someone mention Don King ? lol:tehe:

[Chickwalla]

how they can call UFC a sport, I am at a loss, it is nothing but sheer brutality..sadly just a few days ago, a young man age 15 died in playing this sport with friends.................i know it can happen in any decent sport, but UFC is not a sport in my mind.....my opinion only.................:okay:

Next your gonna say Darts isnt a sport ? Getifuyaweebassa lol

[1boxman]

Next your gonna say Darts isnt a sport ? Getifuyaweebassa lol

Darts is a game .

[fputs]

Bikini watching is a sport! Sports Illustrated has it every year.

[dishuser]

Darts is a game .

from wiki
Darts is a form of throwing sport where darts are thrown at a circular target (dartboard)

[mike_g19]

You guys are all crazy, the UFC or anything that has to do with mixed martial arts these days is not brutal what so ever. I would have to say back when it first came around, lets say the first 5 UFC events were brutal and barbaric and only because there was no weight class and no rules (pulling hair, groin shots etc.) now a days its all about technique and being smart. There is all kinds of rules that need to be followed, it wont be tolerated otherwise. Look at Paul Daley for example lost his fight again Koskcheck and sucker punched him when the fight was over, he got booted right out of the UFC and lost his contract. I would have to say that MMA is the best sport around, hands down.

[ft@t@lk™]

UFC...UFC...UFC

seriously, fishing is a sport too

[badboyz4life]

yea its not a sport lmfao
but its great MMA

[aquariusone]

When in doubt about an issue - consult the experts.

What do they say?

"A sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. It is governed by a set of rules or customs." In, addition, it requires skills (be it mental or physical) and well defined criteria.

Card games, poker, chess, are classified as "sport" because they require skills - mental.

Jogging or playing football or catch outside the stadium (for fun) is recreation.

Therefore, MMA/UFC are combat sports as they meet the two most important requirement: skills and well-defined criteria.

As to whether or not UFC/MMA are "brutal" and could cause death, that is subjective. Insurance companies attach "high mortality" ratings on those engaged in contact sports accepting the reality that life expectancy for those athletes is much shorter than an average person.

(I say that Boxing is deadlier than UFC/MMA simply because there is no such thing as "submission" or "tap out". Many great boxers very seldom "give up". Consequently, they suffer greater long-term physical damage and even death in the ring.)

[chuck]

well. MMA is more different from any other sport.

it pits man vs. man!

all other sports have a goal, or an object in question, puck, ball, sticks etc... and other sports require the aid of an object. say a car, a horse..etc...