Joe Chacon's Blog
MMA fighters carry themselves with such a great deal of pride that one would think most of them would jump at the chance to represent their country in the Olympics.
Think of the captivating scene as Jon Jones enters the cage with his USA shorts. Standing across from Jones with the flag of the Netherlands on his trunks is Gegard Mousasi.
Fans would see matchups they may not otherwise see, and the world would get a glimpse into the sport that many of us have fallen in love with over the last two decades.
Are you excited about MMA in the Olympics?
Well, don't get your hopes up because it will never work.
The most comparable sport to MMA currently in the Olympics is boxing. Even that is a reach.
Boxing works because the judges are able to give points for successful strikes. The fighter with the most points (unless it is decided by knockout) wins the fight.
In MMA there are too many variables that determine the outcome of a fight. Most of the action that takes place inside the cage can't be scored. This is one reason why we see so many bad decisions year-in and year-out.
It has been proven that MMA is a safer sport than boxing. That does not hold true in the Olympic format, however. Boxers wear headgear for Olympic bouts and most of the fights go the distance and are decided by points.
While headgear is worn in various MMA promotions throughout the country, it changes certain aspects of the ground game. So much so that most professional fighters would not want to wear it.
Will we ever see MMA in the Olympics?
At the end of each UFC fight, fighters are automatically suspended for 14 days due to precautionary reasons. It would be irresponsible for the Olympic Committee to expect an MMA fighter to take on more than one fight within a two-week span.
Given the pace of the Olympics and depending on how many MMA participants are involved, there would not be enough recovery time between fights to complete any sort of Olympic format.
The sport of MMA has developed dramatically over the last 10 years, but there isn't great competition in every part of the world. If MMA were to be an Olympic sport we would potentially see very one-sided matchups that may be dangerous for certain fighters.
Perhaps the biggest reason MMA in the Olympics will never happen is because the world's best MMA fighters are not going to detour from their professional careers to train for a series of fights that won't pay them anything.
It's not just the fights at the Olympic games. These fighters would also have to qualify for the Olympics through tournaments just like the other sports, which would take even more time away from their paying jobs.
The thought of MMA in the Olympics is exciting, but the execution of it so difficult that it will never come to fruition.
Joe Chacon is a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
# 2
threattonature @ Aug 7
Hell you convinced me and I was firmly in the camp that MMA was needed in the Olympics.
However I disagree with the last point. with boxing no professionals compete but I see no reason that there couldn't be amateurs looking to make a name for themselves to compete in the Olympics. In regards to the tournament format how long do Ultimate Fighter seasons last. I would look at the Olympics as similar to that.
However I disagree with the last point. with boxing no professionals compete but I see no reason that there couldn't be amateurs looking to make a name for themselves to compete in the Olympics. In regards to the tournament format how long do Ultimate Fighter seasons last. I would look at the Olympics as similar to that.
# 3
Joe Chacon @ Aug 7
@threattonature Great point about boxers and the amateur scene. As far as The Ultimate Fighter seasons; the last one lasted a little less than three months with sixteen fighters in the tournament.
# 4
scottyo60 @ Aug 7
Boxing I'm pretty sure is talking about going to the 10-9 format because they are having a hard time keeping boxers amateurs. I do agree with time issue between fights, but I think several would jump like threattonature said wanting to make a name for themselves. Especially with the pride involved in MMA.
# 5
HitThatRowdy96 @ Aug 7
Great article. Another reason why MMA may not be as advantageous in the Olympics is the fact that Dana White seems to buy most of the major MMA circuits these days, thus having a higher chance of having more fighters in his company that could qualify for the games; and I'm sure he wouldn't want to risk injury to one of his top stars if he decided to do the Olympics. I also agree with the comments regarding amateurism, but the IOC would have to come up with a) a scoring system and b) a rule system that can encompass and compromise upon the different rule systems in different league (e.g., rules about ground head kicks/elbows, cage vs. ring decisions, rounds). All in all, there are just a lot of things that keep MMA from making a big splash into the Olympic lineup. This article made me realize that a lot more.
# 6
allBthere @ Aug 7
I'd only be interested if it was amateur. I don't want to see JDS, even GSP winning olympic gold - with sports that have a MAJOR league where the olympics is not #1 it's just not as interesting imo.
Take soccer, ... the women was a big point of interest, but the men this time is such an afterthought for me after the euro, and world cup.
Tennis, even though Murray is a good story it's still a bit weird...the excitment is seeing sports that are usually not in the spotlight and getting those guys a chance to shine.
For example in the olympics I love watching the track events, weight lifting, women's beach V-ball, indoor vball, some gymnastics, some swimming, some fencing, TKD, some AMATEUR boxing ... but these all have the same thing in common.
I get my fill of MMA in 'regular' times and it just seems like a cheap way to get more medals/sports going if you use 'PRO' fighters.
So I guess I only like pro sports/athletes in the olympics if it's the absolute pinnacle of the sport to win gold. IE 100m's and so on...
Take soccer, ... the women was a big point of interest, but the men this time is such an afterthought for me after the euro, and world cup.
Tennis, even though Murray is a good story it's still a bit weird...the excitment is seeing sports that are usually not in the spotlight and getting those guys a chance to shine.
For example in the olympics I love watching the track events, weight lifting, women's beach V-ball, indoor vball, some gymnastics, some swimming, some fencing, TKD, some AMATEUR boxing ... but these all have the same thing in common.
I get my fill of MMA in 'regular' times and it just seems like a cheap way to get more medals/sports going if you use 'PRO' fighters.
So I guess I only like pro sports/athletes in the olympics if it's the absolute pinnacle of the sport to win gold. IE 100m's and so on...
# 9
DubTrey1 @ Aug 8
Agree on all points here - but perhaps like others mention, amateurs - and even if this could ever happen - IF - Brazil would destroy. Just IMO.
# 10
MattyEdgeworth @ Aug 8
Well actually by 2016 Amateur boxing will no longer have head guards because it's been shown that they don't actually do anything to lessen the impact of a punch. In fact some have said that they increase the area of trauma on the head and so are actually more dangerous.
Then they are going back to the 10 point must system used in pro boxing. The point scoring system is a nice idea in theory but has proven to be difficult to score and turns boxing into something it's not. So to decrease the gap between the amateur and pro game they are going back to the 10 point must and removing headguards.
There is also going to be rules on pros being allowed to enter but there will strict guidlines and that sort of thing on who is allowed to enter so you want to see the top pros of course.
So really your article is very, very flawed and many points that you make are not valid. Personally I don't think MMA belongs in the Olympics at least not for a long time because the amateur level is so poor at the moment.
Then they are going back to the 10 point must system used in pro boxing. The point scoring system is a nice idea in theory but has proven to be difficult to score and turns boxing into something it's not. So to decrease the gap between the amateur and pro game they are going back to the 10 point must and removing headguards.
There is also going to be rules on pros being allowed to enter but there will strict guidlines and that sort of thing on who is allowed to enter so you want to see the top pros of course.
So really your article is very, very flawed and many points that you make are not valid. Personally I don't think MMA belongs in the Olympics at least not for a long time because the amateur level is so poor at the moment.
# 11
Joe Chacon @ Aug 8
@MattyEdgeworth Which aspects of my article are "very, very flawed"? I'm discussing why MMA is never going to be in the Olympics and you're telling me about the future rules of amateur boxing. I appreciate the feedback but would love for you to elaborate more on which points of mine "are not valid" instead of just a generalized statement.
As far as everyone else who has replied, great stuff. It's great bouncing stuff back and forth off each other. This is exactly why I write this sort of thing. Not to be the definite yes or no of a topic, but to become more well-rounded and learn some things along the way. You guys are making some great points.
As far as everyone else who has replied, great stuff. It's great bouncing stuff back and forth off each other. This is exactly why I write this sort of thing. Not to be the definite yes or no of a topic, but to become more well-rounded and learn some things along the way. You guys are making some great points.
# 12
MattyEdgeworth @ Aug 8
@JoeChacon Pretty One point you make is that it would be difficult to score but because amateur boxing uses the point scoring that's why it works for the Olympics. At least that's what I thought by what you said. The point I'm making is that if you claim it wouldn't work because there is no way scoring everything that happens with a point system, really though you can still use the professional scoring system or some new variation of it.
You go on to say that MMA has been proven to be safer than boxing but that this isn't true at the amateur level due to the headguards worn. It has also been proven though that headguards don't actually do anything to lessen the impact of a punch, I've also heard some say that it can do more harm (I would doubt that bit though). The point of this is because seeing as amateur boxing(which you brought up your article) is getting rid of head gear and because it doesn't actually improve safety there would be no reason for it to be worn in hypothetical Olympic MMA. These are the points which I feel aren't valid, you said in your response that "I'm discussing why MMA is never going to be in the Olympics and you're telling me about the future rules of amateur boxing." just to remind you again that your brought up amateur boxing which is why I responded with that.
I appreciate the time taken to write the article though, and feel that the rest of it is very good. Particularly your point about the suspensions and recovery time. People mention the ultimate fighter but it takes place over a period of months I think rather than weeks. The only thing that could maybe be done is have each stage of the tournament be one or two rounds but it' s hard to determine a winner withing three to five rounds that this isn't really practical. Most people including me wouldn't want to see that anyway.
Finally you make a good point about mismatches and this is what I was alluding to at the end of my post, MMA has a pretty much non existant amateur system and unlike boxing is only popular in select areas. There just wouldn't be enough countries to compete.
You go on to say that MMA has been proven to be safer than boxing but that this isn't true at the amateur level due to the headguards worn. It has also been proven though that headguards don't actually do anything to lessen the impact of a punch, I've also heard some say that it can do more harm (I would doubt that bit though). The point of this is because seeing as amateur boxing(which you brought up your article) is getting rid of head gear and because it doesn't actually improve safety there would be no reason for it to be worn in hypothetical Olympic MMA. These are the points which I feel aren't valid, you said in your response that "I'm discussing why MMA is never going to be in the Olympics and you're telling me about the future rules of amateur boxing." just to remind you again that your brought up amateur boxing which is why I responded with that.
I appreciate the time taken to write the article though, and feel that the rest of it is very good. Particularly your point about the suspensions and recovery time. People mention the ultimate fighter but it takes place over a period of months I think rather than weeks. The only thing that could maybe be done is have each stage of the tournament be one or two rounds but it' s hard to determine a winner withing three to five rounds that this isn't really practical. Most people including me wouldn't want to see that anyway.
Finally you make a good point about mismatches and this is what I was alluding to at the end of my post, MMA has a pretty much non existant amateur system and unlike boxing is only popular in select areas. There just wouldn't be enough countries to compete.
# 13
MattyEdgeworth @ Aug 8
*woop ignore the word pretty at the top, I was going to say 'pretty much....' but then deleted it.
# 14
Joe Chacon @ Aug 8
@MattyEdgeworth Good stuff, Matty. Thanks for taking the time to write it out.
# 15
MattyEdgeworth @ Aug 8
Some typos in there but no problem, glad I cleared up what I was talking about. Perhaps I should have said your argument about headguards and scoring is flawed, rather than the article in general.
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