Any UFC/MMA fans on this board?

[redbeard]

My wife got me started watching UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) when the first "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show came out. Now we are watching the third season and renting the past matches from netflix. I usually don't care much for watching other forms of martial arts but find UFC to be fascinating. I especially like it when a "striker" (Boxing, kicks, etc) fights a wrestler or Jui-Jitsu expert.

Any other UFC/MMA fans here?

[psic]

I've never even seen it on TV, but I do like K-1 which I sometimes watch on Eurosport. Basically, it's mostly martial arts (karate, tae kwon do, kung fu, kickboxing), but there's also boxers, and one guy is ex-NFL. The reason I like it is because it's very sportsman-like. The fighters always congradulate each other, they usually touch gloves at the beginning, etc. The commentator on Eurosport is also quite good (It's the british eurosport).

[redbeard]

Basically, it's mostly martial arts (karate, tae kwon do, kung fu, kickboxing), but there's also boxers, and one guy is ex-NFL. The reason I like it is because it's very sportsman-like. The fighters always congradulate each other, they usually touch gloves at the beginning, etc.

Sounds like much the same thing. The fighters are usually very sportsmanlike in the UFC as well, which I agree makes it much better. I loose respect for a fighter who won't offer a gesture of respect for his opponent after winning the fight. Every now and then you do have two guys who really don't like each other, and they talk some trash. I don't care for that but at least it is real (unlike pro wrestling) and not standard procedure (boxing).

One thing that makes it really interesting to me is how different the fighting is than you always see in the movies. Just like the (very few) fights I've seen in life, usually someone gets knocked out pretty quickly or it goes to the ground. Also, very little kung fu is used even though pretty much all of those moves would be legal. I think it proves what is style and what is substance. If it works, people use it in the UFC. If it looks good, you see it in the movies.

[psic]

One thing that makes it really interesting to me is how different the fighting is than you always see in the movies. Just like the (very few) fights I've seen in life, usually someone gets knocked out pretty quickly or it goes to the ground. Also, very little kung fu is used even though pretty much all of those moves would be legal. I think it proves what is style and what is substance. If it works, people use it in the UFC. If it looks good, you see it in the movies.

Exactly, (though with K-1 the fights never go to the ground, and they usually don't finish too quickly), most movies are not very 'real' in that regard. You can see the same thing with sword-fighting. Some movies are very good (the first highlander movie) while most are pretty bad.