The Decline of an Era Brings the Rise of Another

Mixed Martial Arts fighting, namely the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship is growing in its popularity at a phenomenal pace. This growth comes at the decline of the once extremely popular sport of Boxing. However it gets little to no respect from places such as ESPN, as the link to the MMA section on ESPN.com sits in the "more" section above the Little League World Series and WNBA links. And when is the last time you turned on Sportscenter to a piece on last nights UFC pay-per-view main event.

Apparently there is something to fear about this increasingly popular sport. It is written off as barbaric and thuggish where boxing is a poetic and graceful sport(its hard to imagine anything Mike Tyson has done as graceful) yet only the latter has seen an in-ring death. And how much more graceful is a sport where many of its pre-match press conferences and weigh-ins end up in rumbles of their own. What MMA really is, is a display of all facets of fighting. Not only with the boxing or striking aspect as it is called in MMA, but also with the extremely important ground game. Although boxing is a true sentiment to a mans fighting ability, when is the last time you were in a fight at a bar and said, "whoaaaa wait a minute!!! Lets settle this like men.............I'm gonna go get my boxing gloves."

Is it not possible that MMA fights are just plain more entertaining? The last boxing match I had the "pleasure" to view was the highly amped Floyd Mayweather-Oscar de la Hoya fight last spring that was regarded by much of the media, as boxing's last hope. And after hours of meaningless under card bouts featuring fighters I've never heard of (this as a moderate fan of the sport) the much hyped main event ended in a split decision in favor of Mayweather after 12 rounds of mildly entertaining boxing at best. If that was the fight to "save" boxing it doesn't stand a chance. Especially when compared to pay-per-view events in the UFC where even the under card events can be equally if not more entertaining than the main event. Not even the return of "The Real Deal" Evander Holyfield could stir up excitement in a dying sport.

It is also possible that Boxing struggles in popularity as it struggles to find a superstar within its sport. This is unlike the UFC which has the likes of Chuck"The Iceman" Liddell and the now recently retired Randy Couture, whose retirement is comparable to that of a Joe Frazier in boxing yet recieved little attention by such media outlooks like ESPN

Lets not forget the fact that in order to resurrect a dying sport, boxing in this case, you need the appeal of the younger generations as these are the people who will grow up and show interest and pump money into the sport. I however see no attempt what so ever by boxing do this, where The UFC has thrived in this aspect. It's quite possible that Boxing is too stubborn and rich in history to "stoop down" to low levels such as using a network like Spike TV as their main spot for not only promotions but also the occasional live fight.

Professional Boxing has had its run of greatness and will always have a place in American Sports History, but it's time it moves over and gives way to what is the future........and that is none other than the UFC.