Sydney Morning Herald: "The Sickening Roar for Gore"
by Michael Rome on Feb 21, 2010 8:07 PM EST
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I decided to do a quick check of the major Australian papers for their view of last night's show, and the column on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald says it all:
But now the blood pouring out of Bonnar's head is so copious the ring floor is slippery and even the referee thinks it's time to call the doctor. This worthy man checks Bonnar and ruefully shakes his head. The fight must be stopped.
BOO! BOOOO! BOOOOOO! Though we in the crowd feel badly let down and roar our extreme displeasure...
And so the afternoon goes on, with nine vicious bouts and much blood spilt. About 30 police watch as the fighters continue to bash each other to a pulp. If it were to happen 100 metres away, on the street, those same police would have to arrest them for grievous bodily harm - though they'd take the precaution of calling for back-up first.
There is so much quotable material in the article that it was hard to choose what to go with. I highlighted the above because I knew as soon as I saw the Bonnar fight that skeptical press would jump on it. The blood, the questionable implementation of the rules, and the brutality made it the perfect example for a reporter looking to make a point.
There's a degree to which the effort to convert old men of a certain sensibility to mixed martial arts is simply a waste of time. The UFC spends a lot of time, effort, and money convincing certain reporters from big name establishments to come out to their shows, and more often than not they're rewarded with a smug piece by someone who was never interested in giving it a chance to begin with.
In the United States, it took years and numerous shows to convince skeptical members of the press to at least accept mixed martial arts as a sport. The effort overseas in markets they visit once or twice a year will be even more difficult.
While the article reads something like an annoying time capsule, it's worth noting that the author does concede the athletes are highly skilled before promising to never watch a show again.
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you're kidding
which game did they ban?
Own the Podium became Owned on the Podium. What a failure.
Cigano, it is your time to avenge your master's loss!
Making the world a better place, one dirtbag at a time.
this is ridiculous
Own the Podium became Owned on the Podium. What a failure.
Cigano, it is your time to avenge your master's loss!
Making the world a better place, one dirtbag at a time.
Except Aussie Rules Football…
Canadian Bureau Chief and Staff Writer - MMA Madness - www.mmamadness.com
by E. Spencer Kyte on Feb 21, 2010 7:54 PM EST up reply actions
That’s only violent to the eyes because its crap.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
You are just a jealous Pom ;-)
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Feb 22, 2010 4:55 AM EST up reply actions
Just a truth telling Australian.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
thought u were a pom for some reason..?!?!
I think there is another Sam who is a pom.
you must be from nsw/qld then.
resistance to the afl is futile. it is the only thing that distracts me from mma these days… you will succumb eventually!!!!!!
unfortunately they don’t show it at bars in spain =-(((
How is that like Goulet? That dude goes out cold in a drafty room - Blackout612
by Well Read Idiot on Feb 23, 2010 10:01 AM EST up reply actions
and stingrays.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:54 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
Lol
I shouldn’t laugh at that
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Ben Franklin
And small breasts in porn.
You can’t make this stuff up.
by ScooterMagruder on Feb 22, 2010 12:34 AM EST up reply actions
That’s one of the most bizarre ever. Are you a man with a taste for small breasts on a woman? You’re a pedophile. Are you a woman with small breasts? You’re encouraging pedophiles. Are you a gay man or woman? We haven’t figured out what to do with you yet.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
wow...
I hadn’t heard of this until I read your exchange and looked it up. That is…really, really odd.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 22, 2010 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
Well apparently Australia has their over-reactive, alarmist kooks just like we in the states do
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:08 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
speaking of media coverage
i’m watching sportscenter right now, and during the highlight of the Orlando-Cleveland NBA game, Dwight Howard accidentally catches LeBron with and elbow. Stu Scott says: “Howard must have thought he was in the Octagon or something, throwing a nice Muay Thai elbow there”
i thought that was awesome
Goldie: "Michael Jordan-esque in his grappling skills is Travis Lutter."
Rogan: "No, no he's not. No."
hate Stuart Scott. Used to like the guy but him (and everyone else on sportscenter) are always chasing the next big “line.” The moment the sportscasters became more of the focus of the show than the highlights they were calling was the moment I stopped feeling like it was a show I needed to watch every morning.
…now that I have that completely random rant that had nothing to do with anything out of the way..
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 22, 2010 9:43 AM EST up reply actions
Oh well
Bad press does suck but based on that crowd last night I don’t think there will be a problem selling MMA in the rest of Australia
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Ben Franklin
I'd get arrested for tackling somebody as well....
I guess that means football should also be outlawed.
Soccer
If a guy rolled around on the floor crying about a fake leg injury 100 meters away, a bunch of Aussie’s would rightfully kick the crap out of him
by tharv3 on Feb 21, 2010 8:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Soccer jokes! Why I never!
The man known simply as "Christmas Cheesesteak"
by Neil Manich on Feb 21, 2010 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
Soccer's a decent sport.
I just hate that rolling around clutching the leg stuff. I realize that, strategically, they’re trying to get the other team a penalty but it just looks so pathetic that I had to bag on it.
Sensationalist media is sensationalist.
I don’t think he got that we didn’t want to see the fight end like that.
Thay get off on rugby over there...
That’s pretty close to some MMA violence. I stress “close”.
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Ben Franklin
Gay Sex
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:18 PM EST up reply actions
Just following the narrative.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:21 PM EST up reply actions
About 30 police watch as the fighters continue to roll around the floor and lie between each others’ legs. If it were to happen 100 metres away, on the street, those same police would have to arrest them for public indecency – though they’d take the precaution of calling for towels first
by StevenGiles on Feb 21, 2010 7:38 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
well done.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:44 PM EST up reply actions
Well, he was really close to sitting up and exploding on him.
"an excellent example of why most MMA "journalism" is a joke. Pseudonyms like "toxic" and shitty writing like that dopey article"--- Joe Rogan.
HA!
My friend and I were dying about the “exploding on him” comment all evening.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 8:57 PM EST up reply actions
I didn’t think the article was that scathing, and it was certainly better written than it’s American counterparts.
MMA is a brutal sport. I thought the article highlighted that without taking the easy holier-than-thou tone. Just my take on it.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
There is just no context for bringing up the fact that there are police officers there standing idly by, I feel.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 7:27 PM EST up reply actions
Some contenxt first:
1 – Peter Fitzsimons (sp?) is a sports writter and former Rugby union players, he is very old school like boxing, doesn’t like newer sports.
2 – Talking to the police there. They were they because of the large number of Croatian fans there and the trouble they have caused at other sporting events (riots @ the tennis and soccer games). also they were unsure how a drunk and reved up australian crowd would react. There were far last police at the UFC event then would be at the cricket or rugby.
3 – the bonnar / ksos fight and the cro cop fights were pretty bloody and it makes it an easy target. I got a few txt msg from female firends watching saying it was too bloody for them.
4 – think the cro cop fight should of been put on the under card and shown if it was good (KO or something like that).
On point 2
Maybe it’s different in Australia but I’ve never been to any event in North America of comparable size to UFC 110 that didn’t have a visible law enforcement presence. I highly doubt that cops were only there because of the Croations.
by Worldisart on Feb 21, 2010 8:27 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
“, he is very old school like boxing,”
I was just gonna say this same writer would probably laud these guys as warriors if the same thing took place in a boxing ring.
by ufc4 on Feb 21, 2010 8:49 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I agree, sort of
I think that it’s easy for writers to go to town on the sport when the blood flows and, if someone is unable to get past the sight of people covered in blood and continuing to fight, then obviously they’re not going to be interested in looking at the depth that MMA has as a combat sport.
Of course, some of his snotty comments – especially his “there’s actually RULES!” – are aggravating to those of us a little more educated about MMA and it’s even more aggravating that the paper sends someone to cover the event as a new spectacle rather than giving it straight coverage, but overall he just comes across as someone who was given tickets without knowing what he was going to see.
I hope that his statement about never watching another fight extends to writing about it too.
Get rid of the ramp!
“The UFC spends a lot of time, effort, and money convincing certain reporters from big name establishments to come out to their shows, and more often than not they’re rewarded with a smug piece by someone who was never interested in giving it a chance to begin with.”
This is the biggest thing I take from Rome’s article. If you don’t like MMA fine, that’s your opinion. But why even go if you’re so closed minded as to not even give it a chance? I don’t like the ballet, you don’t see me going there and then writing articles about how much I hated it do you?
by ufc4 on Feb 21, 2010 9:05 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Well…the piece Andrew Sharp wrote on SBNation after 109 was from the point of view of someone who legitimately did not like MMA before he attended that show as a media member. He was going to go and write about his experience…it just happened to be a positive one for him that changed his point of view.
I didn’t hear anyone saying he shouldn’t have gone if he didn’t like the sport heading in with that one because the end result was the one we wanted. I really think Rome and others here are taking this one a bit too personally.
A sports reporter covered a major sporting event. He may have been told that this is his assignment and that he would be covering it. It may not have been his choice. And even if he writes a mildly negative piece about a thing he doesn’t like…it doesn’t really matter. The sport goes on and these guys will continue to fade away as the years continue.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 22, 2010 10:08 AM EST up reply actions
Another quote from the article
A cross between Fight Club, rock’n’roll, a vicious bar-room brawl and the fall of Saigon
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
Just and opinion.
I don’t agree with the guy (at all), but I have no issue with his OPINION. Everyone has eyes and they can make a decision on what they see. I love when people enjoy something (like MMA) and someone else has a completely different view from theirs, then they go after the guy with both guns blazzing (and visa, versa for the writer going after MMA).
People who enjoy MMA will always love the sport (no matter what some writes in a paper or in a blog), and those who hate it will always hate it (it happens in all sports, look at how MMA purists HATE things like the WWE). As long as there’s violence in sports, movies, music, there will always be people who think it is their job to tell others how to govern themselves, but they have no more rights to tell me not to watch something as I do to tell them they should enjoy MMA. Time won’t change people, 20 years from now there will still be guys that think MMA is barbaric, so I never get to bent when someone doesn’t enjoy MMA, I will always like it, so no big deal.
So interpretive dance is an athletic show?
"an excellent example of why most MMA "journalism" is a joke. Pseudonyms like "toxic" and shitty writing like that dopey article"--- Joe Rogan.
Heard a guy recently call WWE “premeditated gayness,” cracked me up.
I'm the best ever. You're the most average in a minute.
And NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.....Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy!
by slapjaw ackrite on Feb 22, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I thought he brought the story back from the depths with his last paragraph about ‘highly skilled fighters’ and admitting this ‘wasnt his cup of tea’.
The police presence was due to ethnic tensions that we seem to get at every sporting event from tennis to AFL to netball.
The event has been getting such positive press in the media that a couple of ‘bah humbug’ opinion pieces arent going to dampen anyone’s spirits. The positives from having this card on free-to-air tv over here dwarfs any bad press the show gets.
"Like a ballet of violence clothed in fine Brazilian silk." ~ MMASuPreMaCy
We should just wait 10 years and all these guys will die of old age.
Keep firing Assholes!
Blackout is always right
Old people preventing progress. Some things are universal.
"I hope he tries to stand with me. That'd be great, I'd love it." - Heath Herring UFC 87 pre-fight interview.
by Earl Montclair on Feb 21, 2010 8:42 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
but it looks like we might have moved into an age when tens of thousands of people no longer want cups of tea. They want buckets of blood.
This quote at the end of the article I thought was funny, like he is insinuating there was some kind of tea sipping event that is no longer popular. But I understand the context he meant it in.
Well I was there yesterday and when the cut open there were a number of douchebags who were applauding the cut like a pig just got stuck and they were about to eat it. Which probably didn’t leave him with the greatest impression.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
I'm sure he just brushed over the actual injury
To Brian Foster’s kneww. A big but harmless cut on the forehead is much more interesting. Cest la vie!
...
lol peter fitzimmons is not to be taken seriously.
Fitzsimons a Joke
A decent Rugby player in his day, now trying to stay contaversial to make a living in the media. Him & his pompus wife a former Beauty & The Beast panel regular, have been doing their best bitchin & moaning about anything that will bring attention to themselves.
If I knew how I could post dozens of Rugby photos just as bloody as the one above.
I bet Fitzsimons enjoyed the fights..a big brute of guy like him, Im sure he loved the physical contest.
Holy snapping duck shit...
Most of the local media pieces Ive read about the UFC coming down here to Aus have been pretty good. A bit ignorant at times, sure, but relatively positive given how recent the mainstream media has jumped into this here MMA thing.
Almost all concede that the sport is just that, a sport, that its come along in leaps and bounds, that the fighters are very skilful and most accurately mention that the sport is brutal, bloody, violent and not for everyone. It would be unreasonable for them not to mention the violence involved in the sport…..escpecially given the brutality of UFC 110.
Here’s a sample of a few Aus new articles for those who’d like to form their own opinions of the media coverage down here:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/ulitmate-fighting-championship-takes-centre-stage-in-australia/story-e6frg7mf-1225832740685
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/crikey-its-time-to-fight/story-e6frexni-1225832545545
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/fghters-48-hours-from-mayhem/story-e6frecj3-1225832120204
Here is an interesting talk back radio interview about it too. The hosts are fans but its good discussion that needs to take place down here.
http://www.2ue.com.au/blogs/2ue-blog/crowds-flock-to-see-caged-fighting/20100222-or3v.html
by GeeDub on Feb 22, 2010 5:12 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Why is everyone up in arms about someone calling the ufc violent?
It IS violent, and bloody. And some of the fans watch for specifically those reasons. It’s the only sport I can think of where opponents are free to bleed all over each other, and where color commenters discuss how the copious blood will change game strategies for each fighter. This sport will never be family entertainment.
Personally, i think if MMA ever wants to consider legitimacy in an event like the olympics, it will need to adopt Strikeforce rules and ban elbows on the ground as well.
Sure glad Lesnar got his shit straightened out.
This is one more argument against olympic status
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by greco-roman airlines on Feb 22, 2010 10:04 AM EST up reply actions
Hell yea this sport is violent as hell.. And many love it. Listen if you enjoy this sport surely something is wrong with u.. Get over it! Anybody who enjoys watching a human skull get crushed is a sick sick individual… Better off than being fake and saying honor and crap is why u watch.. We are humans we enjoy violence… theres nothing wrong with that..
Hey look at it this way.. We have evolved at least they arent fighting to the death anymore or fighting lions..
I am interested in seeing an elite fighter fighting a declawed deteethed chimp.. Chimps are strong as hell man! We are so like them yet they are so much stronger than us.. I would like to see Brock Lesnar vs a chimp or any of the champions. Do you think they would beat our stronger counterparts?
Wow just wow
The last section makes me question your intelligence levels, buddy. Fight a chimp? Seriously? Grow up man. Lesnar would destroy even undeclawed, undeteethed chimps. Even their champions.
I'm the best ever. You're the most average in a minute.
And NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.....Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy!
by slapjaw ackrite on Feb 22, 2010 2:13 PM EST up reply actions
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