MMA: Legalized Assault and Battery?

Flash back—ancient Rome.

“Kill!! Kill!”
Gladiators, superb fighters trained with weapons of their choice, are fighting in the arena for the pleasure of men and women sitting in the stands loving the sheer spectacle of it all. Each stroke of the sword, each jab of the spear, whips the people into frenzied blood lust. The result for the spectators, side bets won or lost, and a little recreation; for the gladiators, a fight for survival.

Flash forward—USA.

“Get him! Knock his head off!”
MMA fighters pummeling each other—kicking, punching, wrestling, as they try to smash each other into oblivion. The time has changed; the people have changed; the ingrain brutal nature of man has remained the same—the love of violence.

Boxing has rules; wrestling is entertainment; Mixed Martial Arts or MMA is just savagery. Admittedly, MMA fighters are in the best of condition and well trained, but seriously have you ever watched a fight and thought about what was happening? In the United States, sports in general, caters more to blood and guts rather than finesse or just athleticism. We are breeding a culture of violence; we are breeding a ‘thuggish’ culture.

Imagine if you will a bar, a street, or any public place and someone picks a fight with you. Any physical confrontation, and the chances are, you can be arrested, and put in jail for assault and battery. However, if the purse is right, for your pleasure, a fight can be arranged and fighters paid to wreck mayhem on each other. Because people are paying money, and the fighters are playing by the ‘rules’, it is not deemed assault; it is not breaking the law. Such a staged fight is called entertainment. Forget that they are still inflicting bodily harm; forget that they still end brain damaged; the fact is that they have given us entertainment. This is justifiable battery.

How different is this from the Roman Arenas of yore? How different is this form of barbarism? How much have we advanced in our taste for entertainment? Is it any wonder that our children are affected by this ‘thuggish’ culture?

Am I crazy or are the values of our society wacky? Talk to me!

Riaz Sahibzada