MMA in NY, an Analysis in Ignorance

"If you're adding kicking and punching to mixed martial arts, how can you regulate it so that there isn't serious injuries?"

This question from NY Post Reporter Megan Paznik says everything you need to know about the level of research done by many on the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

I had the displeasure of earlier watching a video report that Ms. Paznik did on the "barbarism" of the sport, with plenty of bloody fight photos and even comparisons to dog fighting.

Well Ms. Paznik, here is my answer to your question.

Last time I checked, boxing is regulated in NY, as are many of the individual disciplines in MMA. That list includes wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, and the list goes on. In addition, other contact sports such as football, hockey, and lacrosse are both legal and popular in the State of New York as well as elsewhere around the country. I could put together a video of Eli Manning's nasty cut this past preseason, Lawrence Taylor breaking Joe Theismann's leg, and Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills suffering a career and life threatening neck injury with similar comparisons to ban the sport of football, and oddly enough every reference I just used is from a New York NFL franchise.

Every contact sport carries with it a risk of injury, as well as a responsibility for the organizations which promote such sports to ensure the safety of athletes in competition. The fact is that in almost twenty years of operation, the UFC has never seen a life threatening injury or death in competition...which includes the pre-sanctioning days of the mid-1990's. Within the sport you have a referee whose sole job is to ensure that a strict set of rules of followed, and who also is there to ensure the safety of both fighters. As in boxing, medical evaluations of athletes are required prior to and after competition, and there must be a medical staff on hand to further ensure the safety of each fighter. In no way is it a fight to the death as in dog fighting as some would lead folks to believe. There are just as many cuts, bruises, and broken bones in football, hockey, and yes...even boxing as there are in MMA, if not more.

And finally, my most important point...the economic impact of denying New Yorkers the pleasure of watching our sport. The effect of Mixed Martial Arts on every market it has reached has been both favorable and noticeable. Why would anyone in their right mind not add tens of millions in revenue to the local economy? In this day and age it is not only stupid, but ridiculous. Nearly every other major market benefits from MMA, yet New York persists with an obtuse attitude toward a safe, marketable sport, and is basically telling the world the economy there is fine...and they don't need your business.

Give me a break. Get off your pedestal and join the rest of the world in enjoying Mixed Martial Arts.