My debut article for MMAjunkie.com, a popular Mixed Martial Arts Web site, tells the story of former welterweight champion Matt Serra. A fellow Long Islander, Serra and I talked about an array of topics during our 30-plus minute conversation, during which he made it clear more than once that he wants to not only fight Matt Hughes, but retire him. This feature was also syndicated on Yahoo! Sports as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.
One of the great things about MMA is that it features the theatrics of boxing and professional wrestling, but not only has a triangle choke hold on the public (unlike the former), but it's for lack of a better term, "real" (unlike the latter). Look, I may not be as big a wrestling fan than I was in the past, but "fake" is a dirty word . The difference is that while pro wrestling's results are pre-determined, and the industry promotes itself as sports entertainment, it's more real that anyone — especially the ignorant — can possibly imagine. The average person, even many who are supremely conditioned, wouldn't last 30 seconds training with a pro wrestler or a mixed martial artist.
Getting back to the point, what happens inside an MMA ring — the octagon — is real from start to finish. And the hype to each fight tells a compelling story and makes you give a damn about each fighter. Each has a story, a rival, a vendetta, and the UFC does a tremendous job of striking the emotional cords of their audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment