Thursday, February 21, 2008

If John McCain Wins the Presidency, Will Mixed Martial Arts be Banned in America?


For those who don't know, in the early days of Mixed Martial Arts in America it had alot of problems with angry politicians. I actually wrote an article awhile back on the rise of mixed martial arts that explains McCain's role. Here is what I wrote-Senator John McCain was so adamant about banning the UFC he was successful in making it illegal in all but 3 states. McCain, who is known for having connections in boxing, also had it removed from 90% of pay-per-view providers. Since then the sport has bounced back and is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. today. Now what we don't know is if McCain still has strong beliefs about this issue. Its not likely that he changed his mind, the question is if he really wants to push the issue if he gets the presidency. I'm not a big supporter of his politics and this is an issue I wholeheartedly disagree with him on. As Dennis Miller used to say "Now I don't want to go on a rant here, but".

MMA is a sport, a beautiful sport and there are many reasons that this sport is growing so fast and yes one of them is the violence. The violence is probably what turns most people on at the beginning, but violence is also what turns people on to football, boxing and many others. Its just outright stupidity to want to ban a sport like MMA and endorse a sport like boxing, which is what McCain did awhile ago. Boxing has had more serious injuries and any person with half a brain can see the medical difference between getting hit, kicked or submitted for a short amount of time to getting punched in the head over a hundred times in a longer time period.

It really pisses me off when people who have never watched this sport automatically assume its "human cockfighting". If people(including Mr. McCain) would actually sit down and watch these fights, after awhile they would start to appreciate the incredible skill and intelligence these fighters exhibit, the way I and numorous fans do. It is a sport, there are rules that prevent the bouts from resembling street fights in any way.

So the question remains will McCain push the issue if he is elected? In my opinion its not likely to happen anymore because MMA is sanctioned in so many states around the country now. It has become big business and in that sense big business is hard to bring down for anyone, even the president. My advice to Mr. McCain, sit down, relax and watch a fight like BJ Penn vs Georges St. Pierre, Fedor vs Crocop or Tyson Griffin vs Frankie Edgar and speak to me about MMA being "human cockfighting". I will send the DVD's to Mr. McCain myself. In closing it is likely that if he gets elected that he will make some fiasco about it, but hopefully the people of the U.S. can see MMA for what it really is, a wonderful and a beautiful sport.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think we need to risk it... don't vote for that chump. Get the word out to the community not to give this guy the chance to sack MMA.

Anonymous said...

Couldnt agree more. I think for the most part, anyone i talk to these days doesnt complain about the violence in MMA anymore, and people are starting to understand the complexity of the sport. But Mccain the french fry man is a deuche and always will be, i hope to god he doesnt get elected. MMA is the best sport in the world, I dont think even mccain could stop it now. As always awesome post, and cant wait to see silva vs. Hendo, im drooling already for that fight.

Anonymous said...

there is one solution. and one solution only. OBAMA 2008 baby!

KG said...

This guy is what gives MMA a bad reputation.

Anonymous said...

The UFC then was a far different animal from the UFC today. The troubles the UFC experienced led to weight classes, rounds, rule changes, etc. I strongly doubt McCain would attempt to take the sport apart now, even if he still doesn't appreciate it.

Furthermore, if you don't think liberal nanny-staters like Obama and Clinton have as much potential to meddle with MMA, then you are delusional.

Anonymous said...

FUCK McCain

Anonymous said...

considering his alleged ties with professional boxing, and the lack of true meaning in his opposition of our beloved sport. . . would it be to far fetched to say that maybe personal interest / gain has sparked his opposition to our entertainment ? at our level mma is only that, entertainment. but to the men who dedicate their lives , and to those who understand the fundemantals of EASTERN beliefs associated with martial arts, mma is so much more.. what is he really fighting for ? safety for citizens and viewers... or personal interest ? you decide .

Anonymous said...

I think the liberals are going to be busy cleaning up after the illegitimate retard of a president that screwed up the last eight years of our country. No liberal politicians have a vested interest in MMA, and they are more worried about the health of our kids than of pro athletes. Where does "tinkering with MMA" fit in the following list of clean up tasks... 1. Stop the illegal war in Iraq. 2. Go and get the SOB's that actually attacked us on 9/11. 3. Repair the record high debt our nation is in. 4. Bring the jobs back to the USA.
5. Curb the oil addiction. 6. Halt pollution... 7. and oh yeah, let's ban that MMA stuff while we're at it??? Yeah. And before you start calling liberals nannys, come on down to Austin TX, where we are very liberal with our beatings of right wing douche bags.

Anonymous said...

It's not so much that he had a different opinion of MMA than it's fans that concerns me.
I think that the bigger issue is that he was so uninformed on the subject.
If you can find a copy of his Larry King interview with Ken Shamrock, he was way off base.
This isn't the kind of leader that I want to make decisions that affect the country

Anonymous said...

Well, you do have a point here.

That dickhead McCain DID say the war in Iraq could last a hundred years, so obvioulsy he wouldn't be wasting anytime on trying to clean up that mess. That should leave him plenty of time to focus on the important issues...like MMA.

It's obvious that americans are too busy watching reality TV and piling up debt to expect anything more from our president than for him to focus on regulating a sport. Issues like an unconstitutional Federal Reserve and IRS, Patriot Act, FEMA internment camps and a myraid of Executive orders that could put Captain America himself behind bars on the whim of a president declaring marshal law...yeah, I'll bet he does keep us focused on the "brutality" of MMA...it would behoove him to do so.

And that's my two cents.

Chris L said...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13901908

"They have cleaned up the sport to the point, at least in my view, where it is not human cockfighting any more. I think they've made significant progress. They haven't made me a fan, but they have made progress," McCain tells NPR.

Anonymous said...

Man how many of you guys like high taxes,freedom of speach and so on?
How many of you like when nuts BLOW are people up with airplanes?
Blame PRES.BUSH for muslums wanting everyone dead including YOU your MOM,DAD,SISTER even cliton and obama.They will try to kill anyone who dosnt belive the same wacked out point of view as they do,dont belive me go ask one and see what happens,though it will be hard to post your views with your head cut off and your burning body hanging from a bridge as they are beating you with a stick for the world to see including your mom and dad.Why dont you talk to the guys famliy who this happend to and see what they have to say about it.All you guys that blame all on the PRES of the USA for the worlds shit try moving.Its makes me sick to know we have people who hate this country so much but still want to live here and spend my money that i pay in taxes for whatever th f they want.F-in DUMB FKS look at sept,11 2001 was that PRES BUSH that did that?Go ahead vote obama and see what happens,HIGH TAXES,A FUCKED ARMY but im sure you fucks that dont like to work and want a hand out will be lovin it right?
Dont fuckin start crying when someone in your famliy gets blown to shit by some crazy fuck cuz we dont want to secure are boarder and would rather put the money towards some lazy fucks that wont work.VOTE OBAMA AND SEE HOW FUCKED WE ARE IN FOUR YEARS FROM NOW,VOTE MACCAIN IF YOU LIKE LOW TAXES AND WANT A SAFER USA TO LIVE IN.

Anonymous said...

In fairness to McCain:
See the following article
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/11/20/sogadd120.xml
Here's the relevant excerpt:
"Senator John McCain, of Arizona, led the charge to ban these competitions from cable television, describing the events as "human cock fighting". Now he has revised his opinion, saying: "The sport has grown up. The rules have been adopted to give its athletes better protections and to ensure fairer competition.""

Anonymous said...

Hopefully John Mccain wins the presidency and bans this uncivil and unmoral sport that causes more violence in america. MMA / UFC have absolutely nothing to do with Martial Arts.

Anonymous said...

Good morning
there are more violent than the mma, with fewer rules (often without rules), or women and children are affected, this is not a sport but yet mr mccain the prefere the mma: war.
a pity vote does not this stupid, we have forgiven twice the U.S., we do not forgive three times.
ps: though all of your newspapers write, the french love Americans ...

ps du ps: et élire un afro-américain montrerai au monde qu'il se trompe sur vous...

Anonymous said...

mccain banned it back when it was so rough...now that rules have changed he has as well and actually helped the sport

Anonymous said...

Let's take no chances. He could quickly turn his attention to banning MMA again, especially to help his boxing buddies. I've been a fan since UFC 2 and I'll never forgive him for what he did to our sport. True fans will not support McCain.

Anonymous said...

Let's be realistic, here. The sport of MMA has been legitamized and is no longer banned. MMA is no longer associated with the words, "no holes barred" or "human cock fighting." As long as MMA continues to be considered a sport, I don't think we'll have to worry about McCain or any politician for that matter banning it.

Anonymous said...

I read in a magazine article about him that this idiot watches BOXING but hates MMA. Uhhhh Boxing is way worse than MMA, those guys take tons of headshots. Id rather be able to tap out or not have to get up and fight again after a concussion.

Anonymous said...

McCain has since amended his claims on MMA due to the regulation and rule changes of the last few years.

Still, go Obama

Anonymous said...

If NObama is elected, no one will have any money left to pay for fights anyway. Didn't you hear him say he's going to "spread the wealth"? So basically, if you work for your money, he's going to take your earnings and give them to some bum that sits on a couch all day...