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Mixed Martial Arts in the SWFL
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Sports culture in the U.S. is a fickle, feisty beast. Fans want excitement, high scores and role model athletes – things not always compatible in big league play. They want drama and dramatic action. They want old records broken, new heroes and a few feel-good stories. But outside of the big four – basketball, football, baseball and hockey - it's not easy to think of sports capturing the attention of fans and even some of those seem to be dropping off the wagon.
Football remains America's favorite sport and baseball has a loyal following. But it’s NASCAR that has probably been the most recent sport to jump into the legitimate mainstream, however like many of its races, even that is starting to feel a little stale.
The sports market today is actually defined not only by how many people a given game can capture but by how long it can keep fans’ asses on the couch and eyes glued to the screen.
With that in mind, it's much easier to list sports that are beginning to fall by the wayside. The NHL has great attendance in the arenas, but couldn't land a big-time television contract if it paid the networks to broadcast games. Basketball is big in the neighborhood, but the ratings show that interest doesn't materialize much off of the pick-up court.
Then there’s boxing.
A sport that used to be dignified and celebrated within
American culture, boxing has now taken perhaps the biggest leap off the ledge of mainstream sports interest. The only thing holding any sort of attention with fans is ESPN's Contender series, and that is more of a reality show than a boxing bout.
With boxing falling-out of favor, a new brand of sport fighting has taken shape and achieved a dramatic rise in popularity over the past few years: mixed martial arts.
Photo by JAKOB SCHILLER
Mike "Youngbuck" Johnson, right, lands a punch against his opponent Wesley Brandon during a full contact mixed martial arts cage fight at the Lee Civic Center on Saturday night. Johnson won the fight in a split decision.
Mixed marital arts, commonly referred to as MMA, is a combat sport that taps into a wide arsenal of techniques. Fighters can punch, kick, throw knees and grapple or ground fight, using specific holds and locks. Imagine kickboxing and wrestling put together and set in a cage and you’ve got the basic idea.
The now huge Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC) has a head-lock on MMA competition and has been the most prestigious league in the sport, but increasing numbers of fighters have resulted in the creation of several new leagues – some including teams – as well as local bouts across the country.
At the beginning of the month, one such local production took place in Southwest Florida at Germain Arena, Fat City Fight Night II, the second event hosted by local fight promoters Harmful Intent Promotions. Their first event took place in July at the Lee Civic Center.
With nine fights on the card and many local fighters, fans had plenty to cheer about. Without the big names UFC brings to the table, the attendance provided a visual example of just how much people enjoy the sport, regardless of who is competing in the chain-link ring.
In the first fight, Matt Sposato (229 pounds), of Cape Coral, immediately pounced on his opponent, Chris Adams, and won the fight just 14 seconds after it started. He lifted the 248-pounder and threw him down to the mat. Sposato unleashed a flurry of punches that quickly opened a cut below Adams' left eye, causing referee Jorge Alonso to stop the fight.
Fans went nuts.
In what may have been the best fight of the night, Jason Goodall of
Cape Coral and Cuban Heander Rodriguez went at it just before the main event. The Cuban failed several times to take advantage of pinning Goodall, but Rodriguez did land several haymakers, coiling up and exploding into Goodall.
Between those blows and constant jab kicks to Goodall's forward leg, in the final round Goodall started to lose his balance. He was able to save face by delivering several solid kicks of his own and landing a final one-two combo taking Rodriguez to the mat one final time before the end of the bout, and in a split-decision between the judges, Goodall won the fight 29-27.
Sound exciting? Maybe that’s why this is the new sport gaining ground in America.
How can you tell? MMA has a young fan base. By attracting younger fans and athletes alike, MMA has secured a future, and has in its relatively short lifetime achieved almost as much success with its pay-per-view events as boxing has in recent years.
According to an article in Las Vegas Review-Journal, a boxing match held at the MGM Grand in 2005 between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, one of the most competitive bouts of the year, generated 350,000 buys at $44.95 each. A UFC fight also at the hotel a month later did 320,000 buys at $34.95. And MMA has only gotten bigger.
"Mixed martial arts is great because almost anybody can do it," FGCU student and MMA fan Brandon Chavis said. "You don't have to be tall, fat, brawny or even all that fast; you just have to know your stuff in the ring."
While Chavis looks like the type of person one would expect to see fighting in the cage, some fans are content to just watch the sport. Many Southwest Florida bars have begun buying the pay-per-view fights, attracting fans that don’t want to pay for it themselves for an evening of synchronized cringing and cheering.
Whatever the appeal, MMA has found its way into the crosshairs of sports fans looking for something entertaining that doesn't involve a ball or a helmet and brings with it a whole lot more full contact value.
The guys at Harmful Intent are hoping to hold more events, and if they can start to pull in a couple of nationally-known fighters in the future, Southwest Florida may become the next hotbed in the growing landscape of MMA's popularity. Stay tuned, the MMA gold rush is far from over.
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