MMA is taking the world by storm, as it continues to grow bigger than ever with MMA franchises such as the ‘UFC’ rocketing while boxing could be on the ropes of decline.
MMA in recent years has been a sport which has only shot up in popularity, with the most popular franchise being the ‘Ultimate Fighting Championship’ also known as the UFC. The UFC is an MMA franchise which is now being broadcasted all over the world, attracting fans from every corner of the globe to watch the sport. Boxing on the overhand has been around for decades and has always been a popular watch on TV but with broadcast companies such as the UFC on their tail, the sport is slowly dying out with fans complaining about the excitement of the sport.
One of the main talking points in Boxing from the fans point of view is that the ‘big fights’ in Boxing never happen, killing the excitement of the sport. In Boxing there are plenty of ‘super fights’ that could happen, that should happen and which would have made sense to happen but the fights don’t get put onto a card. This is because within Boxing, there are many promoters who work alongside the boxers and are in other words their boss. These promoters never set up the big bouts because they want their athletes to succeed and hand pick their opponents out for the boxers in the division who are lower down in the ranks.This is a major issue within Boxing as the fans are watching because they want to see the most entertaining fights with the most elite stars in the business but it never happens which kills the excitement for the fans.
The UFC takes a different approach, they have a ranking system in each division from rank one to fifteen. If you are a champion in the UFC, you will always defend your title against the next best fighter in the division, you will have to defend your title against the number one contender. If you beat them then you will defend your belt against the number two, three and fourth ect. In the UFC you start off as an unranked fighter, fighting opponents at a similar level to you, everytime you win you move up the ladder and face tougher opponents. you will always fight an opponent better than you until you eventually fight a ranked opponent, if you beat them you take their ranking.This is why the UFC always has those exciting and ‘big fights’ due to the fact you are always fighting an opponent similar to your level. If you are the champion, not only have you proved you’re the best fighter, you are required to continue proving you are the best fighter in your division. You will always fight the next best due to the way the ranking system works in the UFC. This is why UFC cards are always stacked with good fights because you will always see a ‘big’ fighter, combating another ‘big’ fighter due to the nature of the ranking system. In Boxing because the fighters are mostly handpicked, the fights and cards are never as exciting because you will have a ‘big’ fighter, pitted against a curated nobody in a fight no one asked for.
On top of the lack of excitement boxing is also a much more confusing sport to understand, in terms of how many divisions and champions there are in boxing. In boxing there are seventeen weight divisions, which is a lot in itself, with five major belts which anyone in the division can win. This is often extremely confusing for the ‘casual’ and ‘would-be’ fans who just want to watch the more entertaining fights. This system means that there can be more than one champion in a weight division as you could have multiple people holding different belts, which just defeats the whole idea of being a ‘champion’, there are many people who have a belt in boxing and keeping up with this is complicated. Unlike the UFC in which it is easy and simple to both understand and keep up with, there are eight weight classes for the male fighters and one champion in a division with fifteen ranked fighters per division competing to climb the ranks to get their title shot.
These are just a few reasons why MMA will be bigger than boxing in the near future, MMA, especially the UFC is on an exciting rise in terms of the fights and entertainment for the fans, while boxing is slowly becoming a sport where the best do not fight the best anymore, causing fans to retract from their beloved sport.
