Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a combat sport that combines elements of various martial arts disciplines, striking from boxing & Muay Thai, and grappling from jiu-jitsu & wrestling. The origins of MMA can be traced back to the early 20th century, when practitioners of different martial arts began to test their skills against each other in informal, no-holds-barred contests. Somewhere around this time the Gracie family came up with maybe the GREATEST idea EVER to PROVE their art was indeed the best of them all. Those early contests were driven by a passion for martial arts and a love of competition, as fighters sought to prove that their style was the most effective. As the sport evolved, more rules were put in place to ensure safety, and today MMA is a regulated sport with a large and dedicated following. In a self written movie that woulda made millions at the box office in the 80's. A story was written out before our eyes that finally proved what art was the best.
Then along comes Dana White and his "Power Slap League" claiming to have "fights", "athletes", and "coaches" all wrapped up in a literal copy-cat of MMA fans beloved T.U.F (The Ultimate Fighter) format. What a slap in the face! To compare the circus that is power slap league (which I will only refer to as p.s.l) T.U.F gave us all insight into fighter life and training while introducing us to fighters that would go on to become staples in our sport and carry it to new heights. Stephan Bonnar (R.I.P) Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kamaru Usman, Robert Whittaker, Rashad Evans, Brandon Moreno, and Rose Namajunus, I could go on and on.
I love this country and the freedoms it affords us but it sometimes affords us to be as dumb as we want to be and allows for people to make poor decisions for pure entertainment purposes. I can see no longevity for these so called "athletes". Who is going to watch this and say "when I grow up I want to become a champion on p.s.l"? How long could these "athlete" careers possibly last? The people in charge of this should be embarrassed claiming that they are looking for these fighters best interests and the claims that they are currently mentioning to have in place are pathetic at best.
I tried having an open mind and watched some of epsiode 2. It took me slaps to realize I should not have watched ONE. IMHO this should be taken down immediately and replaced with something ANYTHING. We might as well have one legged men a$$ kicking contests. I'm down for people to do whatever the heck they want to do, trust me. However I have a hard time not feeling bad for the people that lose on this show, have nothing to show for it except for a $2k check, a broken orbital socket and now they gotta show up for their graveyard shift at Wal-Mart on Tuesday. Am I wrong? What do you think, how long should this go on? Do you consider these to be fights, are these people "athletes"?
