Mixed martial arts gave the combat sports scene a major shot in the arm when it emerged in the mid-1990s. Boxing, which had long ruled the fighting landscape, would mostly dismiss its more brutal counterpart until the UFC was able to establish itself as a legitimate organization. Since MMA has emerged past its “human cockfighting” origins and developed into a more established sport, its popularity has grown.
But much like with anyone making Premier League predictions, there is plenty of debate about whether MMA has passed up the “Sweet Science” as a more watchable combat sport than boxing. While both sports are full of their characters and personalities, MMA has one edge over boxing that helps make things a little bit more entertaining. The MMA world is ruled by a monopoly, the UFC, that helps bring the best competitors together. There are external forces that have crippled boxing.
Here’s what makes MMA better to watch than boxing.
Styles Make Fights
Ultimately, the genesis of MMA was to set up dream fights between people with different disciplines. Who wouldn’t want to see Bruce Lee lock horns with Mike Tyson? When it comes to watching MMA, seeing a wrestler attempt to get a fight to the ground and avoid a knockout blow from a fierce striker makes for a tense affair.
There are sometimes downsides to pairing two people with different styles against each other. In a recent UFC championship fight, wrestler Carla Esparza was paired with strike Rose Namajunas. Neither side was willing to take risks and a boring five-round standoff ensued. However, that is more of an exception to the rule.
Which Fights Should I Care About?
Boxing’s biggest problem over its history has become oversaturation. There are five major recognized belts for each of its 17 weight divisions from the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine. Other than Ring Magazine, which doesn’t have a hand in setting up fights, the other organizations seldom have the same rankings.
The issue with each organization having its own rankings is once fighters win championships, each organization can issue mandatory challengers for fighters who want to keep the title. This makes it hard to have truly undisputed championships. Having too many champions and not enough unification fights always leaves you wanting more with boxing.
While MMA has several organizations around the world, UFC clearly has top billing and is where many fighters aspire to fight. Since the UFC has a monopoly and still pays the best salary to its fighters despite not paying all that well, people know when they turn into a UFC card, they will usually see competitive fights.
MMA Has a More Regular Schedule
Big boxing events come along several times a year and are usually filled with a lot of hype. However, fight night events are less frequently available to average fight fans. Anyone making Premier League picks can watch that league on a consistent schedule, while boxing fans are left trying to find fights to watch every weekend.
With the major MMA leagues — like the PFL, UFC and Bellator — they all have their own quirks about schedules. The PFL is set up like a team sports league, with scheduled regular seasons and playoffs. Most weekends, the UFC has fight cards available on streaming, while Bellator streams fight for free on YouTube as prelims to pay-per-views.
Boxing’s Style Isn’t as Appealing
Anyone trying to make Premier League predictions today will see that boxing doesn’t have the potential for evolution like MMA does. Due to the blend of styles and disciplines, MMA fights can turn on a moment’s notice and go in a number of different directions. While boxers do routinely switch stances and will try different strategies, those turns are a lot more subtle.
The action in boxing is broken up more frequently in boxing, with men’s fighters only having three minutes per round to work. In MMA, since there are fewer rounds, there is more of a sense of urgency to finish the fight, especially if a fighter is behind on the cards. Also, with there being 5 minutes per round in MMA, fighters have more time to set traps and put their opponents on their back foot.
Promoters in Boxing Have Too Much Power
Top prospects in boxing are fed inferior fighters for a long time before they start building into more competitive fights. While this helps build hype and makes their record look good, it takes a decent chunk in a boxer’s career before fans will see them challenge themselves. Watching boxers knockout inferior fighters isn’t exciting.
While UFC risks building a fighter’s confidence by feeding them difficult opponents, fans of MMA get treated to watching those guys battle through adversity and try to climb the ladder.