If you’re looking to play a game that’s easy and relaxing, there’s plenty out there for you. More and more often, however, it seems like people are becoming interested in challenges that are increasingly violent. While striking billiard balls around a pool table can be some person’s idea of a good time, there are others who enjoy hitting others in an octagon. If you’re in a pool room, you’ll see some nice game room furniture around, but placing such things within the ring of any mixed martial art fight would probably cause serious injury and a lot of damaged goods. Why has this new kind of sport gained such a large following in such a small period of time? In this essay, we’re going to take a look at a few possible answers.
UFC only began around a decade ago, with tiny crowds and only a cult following. Gradually, though, more and more people have been drawn to the brutal nature of the sport.
The game itself is somewhat similar to kickboxing, except there are less rules involved. The gloves being worn are quite small, so getting a knock-out can be easy if a blow is landed correctly, and take-downs can be made so that the opponents will wrestle it out on the floor. Here it’s possible to set the opponent up in a hold that will cause them great pain, requiring them to “tap-out” in order to stop further injury.
Obviously, the brutal nature of this sport has caused a whole host of serious injuries to those who choose to go in the ring. Yet that doesn’t stop the increasing numbers of people who wish to take part in this brutal game.
A number of years ago, the old WWF star, also a legend of UFC, Ken Shamrock, was put in a fight against the competitor who was the dominating fighter of the time, Tito Ortiz. The match itself was violent, with Tito able to simply grapple the older Shamrock and land a massive number of blows onto him. What such a beating does to a person can barely be imagined, and it’s a wonder that Shamrock did not choose to end the match sooner.
What are the psychological reasons for people wanting to play this game and for us to watch and enjoy it? Perhaps it has something to do with the distance we’ve come from our own primal natures, when we were forced to fight animals and each other just to stay alive. It might be that since we’re no longer in a situation where we are put in a life-or-death scenario, we look for vicarious thrills from other places to replicate this experience that’s lacking in our lives.
Whatever the reason, it’s doubtful that mixed martial arts will decrease in popularity any time soon. With touring companies around the world constantly occurring, and pay-per-views earning exceedingly well, we’ll have this kind of game around for a long time to come.