UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Photo: Josh Hedges, UFC
When it comes to MMA, or mixed-martial arts, I admit I am biased. MMA is my entertainment of choice, in the same way that ice hockey is the choice for millions of Canadians. Or the way that baseball and football is for millions of Americans. Or the way that Cricket is to millions of people in India.
MMA can be loosely described as a “sport”, though I imagine you’d find many fighters who might characterize it somewhat differently. For many it is the ultimate test of physical strength, mental discipline, intestinal fortitude, and martial arts skill. Though it may be inherently violent, it isn’t necessarily violence that attracts fighter or fan to the sport.
All combatants enter into the “octagon”, the 8-sided cage that contains the fight, willingly and with great passion for what they do. There is no coercion of fighters to get inside a cage and bleed. Nor is there any ill will or animosity between opponents; or at least beyond the scope of normal aggression in a fight. When the war is over, both fighters will almost always show the utmost respect for each other, and even great care and concern if they did injure their opponent.
But for whatever reason, some people aren’t happy to let consenting adults test the physical limits of their own bodies. They deride the sport, and call it “human cockfighting”. They say that it should be banned in all jurisdictions, and that it invites and inspires violence outside the sport as well. After UFC [The Ultimate Fighting Championship] 115 in Vancouver, some newspapers alleged without any evidence whatsoever, that a gay man was assaulted downtown by two other men leaving the event.
First of all, it isn’t human cockfighting, which is a sort of absurd term. The reason that cockfighting is considered immoral in the first place is that it places two aggressive male chickens into a cage in the prime of their mating instinct, and allows them to peck each other to death. The animal knows not what it does, since it does not possess human sentience.
The highly trained fighters who enter into an MMA fight, however, are not animals. Not only are they athletes of incredible calibre, but they are required to be trained at an elite level in all three aspects of the sport: wrestling, submissions, and standup. A fighter who is a world champion in only one discipline could still easily get defeated by a fighter of lesser ability, but who has trained to be proficient in all categories. It is a veritable triathlon of fighting.
The sport has an undeniably large following and appreciation by fans, even by those who do not have any martial arts experience themselves. Yet there continues to be obstacles allowing for this sport to flourish.
Despite the fact that UFC 115 was held in Vancouver, it was extremely difficult to get approval for the event, partially because of insurance issues, but mainly owing to the political obstacles. And even as Ontario has finally agreed to allow MMA events there, doctors in British Columbia are now balking at future fights, calling for politicians to ban it permanently.
The B.C. Medical Association wants the federal government to ban MMA not just in the province, but in the entire country. The BCMA already held a caucus meeting in July, passing a resolution to pursue banning the sport, and they will bring that agenda to the Canadian Medical Association’s annual general meeting in late August.
How disappointing. It’s particularly unfortunate because perhaps the most popular and talented MMA fighter on the planet is Canadian. Georges St-Pierre, who has fought in the elite UFC since 2004 and lost only twice, is considered the most dominant “pound-for-pound” mixed-martial artist today. In Canadian sports vernacular, he’s the Wayne Gretzky of MMA, winning Canadian athlete of the year back-to-back in 2008 and 2009.
St-Pierre dispatches number two-ranked opponents in the world contending for his welterweight crown, as though he were fighting people leagues below his abilities. Simply put, it is a pleasure to watch Georges St-Pierre, and for that reason he is already one of the most popular athletes in North America.
There are a lot of activities that may be considered dangerous, including skateboarding, skiing, boxing, and even the one that I’ve spent the past ten years training in, rock climbing. In fact my brother broke his ankle in 2004 while training in a climbing gym in Toronto. But you don’t hear calls for those sports to be banned. And that’s mainly because we’re used to the idea of those sports, and we know that the participants accept the inherent risks willingly.
If you don’t like MMA, that’s fine. I don’t like synchronized swimming, or figure skating, or golf. But don’t ruin something that other people enjoy, just because you can’t come to terms with that dislike. The last time I checked, this is still a free country. And MMA fighters should have the right to participate in the activity they love.
