SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
March - 2015
39
ing only the highest trained
officials, elevating cutman
practices, to even suggesting
uniformed athletes.
Most of the changes to the
sport have been in response
to the ongoing criticism of
the thing many hold dear,
MMA. Those criticisms drove
the sport into a better place,
into the light if you will. Those
criticisms were heard loud and
clear and while those criticiz-
ing might have hoped MMA
would just quietly sail off into
the darkness, the effect was
quite to the contrary. The im-
provements made due to those
who tried to tear it down have
now, over time, elevated the
sport to heights nobody could
ever have imagined.
That success has brought with
it many burdens though. As
notoriety has come in leaps
in bounds so has scrutiny on
some of the more elusive de-
tails of a game which as a
whole is amazing. Yet under a
microscope it is a sport which
has more than its fair share of
glaring flaws.
Much like a teenage athletic
phenom thrust into the spot-
light at such a rapid pace no-
body thought to ask if this
kid was prepared for such
overwhelming success and
all that comes with it. MMA
has emerged in its adolescent
years swinging for the fences
and breaking down barriers.
Prosperous would be an un-
derstatement when describing
the value and potential of this
sport as it grew up before our
very eyes.
Like the phenom MMA has
seen great success come rela-
tively quickly and with that suc-
cess so have the temptations
become greater. Power, victory,
notoriety, legendary status, but
most importantly riches dangle
like a carrot on a string. All
these things are attainable for
those ranging from coaches, to
athletes, to promotions.
Just as history has shown us
time and time again when
many of those carrots are dan-
gled man can quickly become
corrupted by desire to attain
them hastily as opposed to tak-
ing the long road. One need
look no further than our great
American past time to see how
those aspirations for quick suc-
cess have tarnished the legacy
of a game which has stood for
over a century. How the ac-
tions of a few have ruined even
something like the Baseball
Hall of Fame and complicated
how we judge the successful
against the legendary.
So we fast forward from a
time when mixed martial art-
ists were just perceived as bar-
barians to the present where
they are far more. They are
now perceived, by the trained
eye at least, as some of the
most superior athletes walk-
ing the planet. Look no further
than former UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre if
you need supporting evidence
as such.
The point here is one of the
sport’s greatest proponents to-
wards driving its forward prog-
ress hasn’t been Dana White,
it wasn’t the UFC, it was the
athlete. Without quality and
forward thinking athletes the
UFC died years ago in some
half empty arena filled with
drunken slobs screaming kick
his ass sea bass.
Those same drunken slobs now
sell out some of the worlds
greatest venues and enjoy
world class elite competition
on a regular basis. They don’t
show up for the mediocre or
random fight. They show up
for the elite. Without those
elite athletes they show up to
see it would be a Tough Man
competition.
The questions have been raised
throughout the years though.
As the sport, as the athlete and
what is expected of them pro-
gresses, what is acceptable and
what is not. Where is the line
between integrity and dishonor
drawn? Another far more im-
portant question must also be
asked. What are the repercus-
sions when that line is crossed.
Or far worst than that, how
severe are the consequences
when that line is blurred?
The echoes of a legend failing
a drug test for performance en-
hancing drugs spread through-
out the sport like a drop in the
center of a placid body of wa-
ter. The ripples will reach from
the pinnacle of the sport to its
foundation.
