ESPN PTI Hosts Attack MMA - Wrestling Forums : WWE, TNA, ECW, E-Fed, Wrestlemania, Live Wrestling Streams

Twist of lEMOn · 05-03-2007, 01:53 PM

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It seems that despite the growing popularity of mixed martial arts and its increasing exposure in the mainstream, there are still many people within the sporting community who still do not accept MMA nor understand it, even at a fundamental level.

Case in point is this Wednesdayâ€™s edition of â€œPardon the Interruptionâ€ on ESPN.

On the show, which is one of ESPNâ€™s highest rated and most popular series, co-hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser [who are also columnists for the Washington Post newspaper] were speaking on this upcoming weekendâ€™s boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. and its possible implications on the boxing landscape when the conversation turned briefly to MMA, more specifically the UFC.

When addressing the thought that many young athletes are going into other sports besides boxing, Michael Wilbon stated, â€œWell, but they [young athletes] go into UFC, and thatâ€™s like bare-knuckles. Thatâ€™s like a trip back to 1880â€™s and John L. Sullivan [the last bare-knuckles era Heavyweight Boxing Champion].â€

While Wilbon was making the above statement, Tony Kornheiser replied, â€œThatâ€™s not boxing. Thatâ€™s something you do on barges.â€

Wilbon then continued, â€œBut they sell out these casino/hotels, Tony.â€

Kornheiser replied to this by making the assertion, â€œI understand that. [But] they sell them out in the same way that wrestling sells out different venues.â€

These erroneous statements are just the latest in a long string of unflattering comments made by the â€œPardon The Interruptionâ€ crew when it comes to MMA. Interestingly, they also come hot off the heels of Mike Freemanâ€™s recent bashing of MMA â€“ and the UFC in particular â€“ in his column for CBS Sportslineâ€™s website in regards to the upcoming De Le Hoya/Mayweather Jr. fight.

In Freemanâ€™s column, he makes such statements as, â€œBoxing is fighting for its life, and in some ways the largest obstacle to its rebirth is its greatest competitor -- the worst league ever invented, the UFC.â€

â€œWhich means it is good vs. evil, Halle Berry vs. Courtney Love, true sport against the mosh pit of sweat and bloodied skull fractures known as ultimate fighting,â€ further wrote Freeman.

Freeman then equated MMA fighters as, â€œnothing but thugs and ruffians,â€ despite the fact that Olympic medalists such as Matt Lindland, Hidehiko Yoshida, Karam Ibrahim, and Rulon Gardner have competed in the sport.

So, from mainstream sports websites to highly-rated daily television series on the biggest sports-themed network in the world, MMA seemingly cannot get an accurate portrayal, regardless of the fact that the sport is regulated and sanctioned by every major state athletic commission in the U.S.

Again it appears that regardless of how far we have come and how much MMA has grown, there is still a long, uphill battle to be fought before it truly becomes recognized as a legitimate sport by those who claim to be the purveyors of sports coverage to mainstream society.

T.T, This kind of pisses me off, I like the show to. Hopefully the smarten up and stop being dumbasses

Blitzkrieg · 05-03-2007, 01:58 PM

This comes as no surprise to me because in the media, you still do what your bosses tell you to do. They aren't really being objective. I'm sure nobody at espn wants mma getting praise because 1. They still have a deal with boxing and 2. they aren't getting a piece of the pie.

Dakstang · 05-03-2007, 02:06 PM

This guy apparently knows nothing about the UFC or MMA at all. He did not research his topic very well when he wrote his artical.

By the way, his article on the UFC is the most poorly written sports atricle I have ever read and it has no truth in it.

Twist of lEMOn · 05-03-2007, 02:39 PM

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Originally Posted by Blade

This comes as no surprise to me because in the media, you still do what your bosses tell you to do. They aren't really being objective. I'm sure nobody at espn wants mma getting praise because 1. They still have a deal with boxing and 2. they aren't getting a piece of the pie.

Well, ESPN is covering MMA now after all of UFC's major events, which is why this bothers me. You'd expect a station that covers the sports regularly to have there shows take it seriously. I was expecting it from the view after Todd Bertuzzi beat the shit out of some third string defender in a hockey game and that one girl said "we used to go to canada to get away from this...no i just dunno". Not so much from the guys at PTI who I <3'd relentlessly every week night at 5:30

barfly467 · 05-03-2007, 04:25 PM

Who cares, so what if these guys attack MMA? Nobody can like everything.

Dakstang · 05-03-2007, 04:31 PM

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Originally Posted by barfly467

Who cares, so what if these guys attack MMA? Nobody can like everything.

The big deal is that the UFC does not get the respect as other professional sports. I mean ESPN is covering the UFC now and this is the way their employees talk about it on the air? Do you hear them bashing the NFL? NBA? MLB? and saying that they are not real sports?

I think not. It would have been o.k. for them to say that they personally did not like UFC or MMA, but to attack like they did just shows their ignorance of MMA.

Blitzkrieg · 05-04-2007, 06:55 PM

I had not known that espn now covers mma. I thought they still acted like it doesn't exist. Good look and I do usually love that show.

Danny Diamond · 05-04-2007, 08:29 PM

The sports radio station in Boston is the number 1 sports station in the country. I would say almost every single one of them essentially refuses to even acknowledge it, let alone talk about it.

I don't even watch or follow MMA for my own reasons, but I really think the sports media in general does a real poor job letting people know about it, or what it even is. I honeslty, honestly believe that the think its below WWE standards as far as scripting and hoopla around it.

I dunno. It seems to be like its own niche of fans very similar to wrestling but it could be more. Just let people know about it.

Blitzkrieg · 05-04-2007, 10:22 PM

The sooner they talk about it, the better it'll be for them because honestly.. they are strting to miss the boat.

MMA is not something that's going to go away. This generation and next is going to grow up watching and loving it..

Plus, when Hollywood accepts, you have to cover it. Every event I've watched recently has HUGE stars attending. It's a new hot spot. The rest will soon follow.