Is the UFC considered a sport?

[toppcat]

Definitley a sport and now a more popular one. ESPN and our local paper (Newsday) are now covering UFC and I have to say while I am not a fan, all the nephews in my family in the 15-25 age group love it. So there is an audience already built is as the sport grows.

[barrysloate]

That sport is much too violent for me. Couldn't they compete in a more friendly manner...say over a game of checkers, or Trivial Pursuit? That would cut the violence considerably.

[chaddurbin]

nothing will surpass pride in my eyes...when sakuraba was taking on the gracies, silva at his very beastly peak, fedor becoming an ice-cold machine, cro cop nogueira etc etc...but ufc have good marketing and they are definitely the face of MMA when it's all said and done.

[D. Bergin]

Well to be technical, I would say MMA is a Sport and UFC is a Sports Organization.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Since Tyson quit boxing the door was opened for something new to come along, so hard to believe how big it's got and how far boxing has fallen. It has grown so fast they really need to be careful so it doesn't implode on them.

[David W]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHarmonica

Since Tyson quit boxing the door was opened for something new to come along, so hard to believe how big it's got and how far boxing has fallen. It has grown so fast they really need to be careful so it doesn't implode on them.

Bingo.

Boxing is dead, as their have been no noteworthy heavyweight fights in over a decade.

Without heavyweights, boxing suffers.

MMA has picked up the slack.

[Exhibitman]

Sure it is a sport, just not one I find to be particularly enjoyable to watch. Not that it's too rough, just too sloppy. The fights I've seen end up with a lot of grappling on the canvas, which I don't find to be artful or interesting as a spectator. As far as boxing being dead, hardly. The top PPV events are all boxing and it generates a lot of money. Pacquiao v. Mayweather next spring will likely double the PPV buys on the biggest MMA event ever. The two also have different demographics. MMA is whiter, younger and more America-centric than boxing.

BTW, anyone see the Williams-Martinez fight on HBO tonight? Holy crap, what a war! The two best middlweights in the world going toe to toe for 12 rounds.