Ultimate Fighting or MMA?

Inspired by the comments in this post, and a lingering desire to explore the topic myself anyway, I wanted to tackle the issue of the etymology of our sport.

The currently accepted terminology to describe our sport is MMA, which of course stands for Mixed Martial Arts.

Then there is the subversive, Big Brother-coined marketing term Ultimate Fighting, which we all boo and hiss each time it is mentioned.

It has been known by many names in the past, kind of like Prince, with only slightly less makeup and short guys in tight clothing.

A brief list, with some explanation:

• Vale tudo (Portuguese for "anything goes")
  
• No holds barred (originated from freestyle wresting, to describe the rules--or lack of--in the match)
• Cage fighting (on account of, you know, the cage and the fighting.)
• Full-contact fighting (as opposed to the point-based competitions of the Asian striking arts)
• No rules (that's what the Aussies call it)
• This list is boring.

Now, the late, great, actually still alive Jeff Blatnick is said to be the guy who coined the term. According to this article, anyway. So we have him to thank for it, although I have a sneaky suspicion that, you know, other people were involved.

You might be interested to know that the Japanese term for MMA is sougou kakutougi, with sougou meaning "mix" and kakutougi meaning "large, flattened sausage." No, wait. Kakutougi means "martial arts" (with a sporting connotation, as opposed to budo, the more traditional type.)

So the Japanese, also, call it mixed martial arts.They also call tiny apartments "mansion" though, so we can't really trust them.

Of course, a brief explanation of the reason why it is called mixed martial arts at all is both required and possibly redundant for most readers; It is because of the mixture of martial arts that are needed to compete, from the grappling arts to the striking arts and pretty much nothing in between.

What about the term Ultimate Fighting? Oh, do hold on a minute. I have to get a Kleenex. I'll be right with you, I just have to Hoover the floor. Why don't I Xerox you a copy of my buttocks? Darn it, I just sliced off my finger. Let me get a Band Aid.

Ultimate Fighting is a brand, just like Kleenex, Hoover and Xerox. It is due to our insatiable appetite for the goggle-box in the corner of the room that these words enter our lexicon with barely a whisper and before you know it we are Tipp-Exing and Sellotaping our way through life. 

The public's exposure to our sport is almost exclusively through the UFC (although that is changing.) Now I have to admit, I have not often heard the phrase "ultimate fighting" pass the lips of many broadcasters during an event.  I have a feeling Joe Rogan, the perennial keeper of the real, would rather eat his own armpit hair than call it ultimate fighting. I've heard Dana, the ultimate company man, say it a few times, but mostly it comes down to sloppy reporters using the first phrase that comes to mind when they write on the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

While the phrase Ultimate Fighting itself is not inherantly evil or dangerous, when it becomes the main term used by the uninformed public and the should-be-informed media, it does become dangerous, because it closes the doors to other shows who apparently  don't do ultimate fighting.

The UFC holds on pretty tightly to its intellectual property and you can bet your pancreas that Ultimate Fighting is copyrighted up the wazoo. So for a news reporter to report on, for example, Strikeforce, using the term "ultimate fighting" creates a whole host of troubles. 

Here, I must admit my ignorance. I know that Strikeforce would not be allowed to promote their show as containing "ultimate fighting." But what if it was reported on by Johnny McReporter-face, and he frequently used the term ultimate fighting to describe what was going on in the cage? Would the UFC ask them to edit the term out of the article? Would they allow it to stay in? Would they ask them to use an alternative phrase? Anybody know?

It is my belief that while the term Ultimate Fighting is a good one for describing the sport, we have to resist using it for the simple reason that it has been branded by the UFC, and the UFC is not the sole organisation promoting the sport.

Although, if you are happy with the idea of a world where all competition is stamped out and the UFC lords over all, then Ultimate Fighting is probably your cup of tea.

If not, the cumbersome Mixed Martial Arts will have to do for now.