Issue 018

October 2006

I had a conversation with someone the other night. It went

“So, are you into sport at all?”

“Yes. Mixed martial arts is my thing.”

“What’s that? Like karate you mean?”

“No, cagefighting.”

“Oh.”

This is typical. For a second or two I can see them trying to put their image of cagefighting together with their previous impression of me as a relatively normal twenty- something woman with a PhD and a kid.

We’re all familiar with the media image of the mixed martial artist as large, muscular, shaven headed, tattooed, brainless thug. The surprise for many people when they first attend an event in person is how few of the fighters and fans actually fit this stereotype. More so than the more traditional combat sport of boxing, MMA seems to attract fans and participants from all different walks of life. Perhaps the most shocking revelation for some is how many nice, normal people seem to enjoy watching what can undeniably be a violent sport.

On reflection, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Violence has, after all, been a staple ingredient in our entertainment and storytelling for as long as humans have been around. There is something about physical conflict and destruction that attracts our attention. Car crashes, violent films, even the fight outside the local chippy: all seem to get their share of spectators.

Despite being, broadly speaking, a peace-loving species, fighting and our fascination with it are part of our evolutionary heritage. Many animals regularly indulge in forms of combat or duelling to determine dominance or settle disputes. MMA offers a controlled environment in which to explore a fundamental part of ourselves that, for good reason, is repressed and denied by most of society.

In the six years or so since I’ve been involved in the sport, I’ve seen some significant changes in the fan base. Perhaps the most noticeable change is in the number of women attending the events. As someone who first became interested in MMA from the point of view of a competitor, I was curious as to what attracted women to become fans of the sport. In trying to find out, I discovered that some of these female fans had been following the sport almost since the very beginning, and knew more about UK MMA than many of their more vocally opinionated male counterparts.

I first met Paula Orton on an internet forum. Smart, knowledgeable and a regular at many of the UK events she seemed an ideal person to interview.

Paula became interested in MMA way back in 1999 after watching some of the early UFCs with her boyfriend. She attended the very first Ultimate Combat event in the UK, and has been hooked ever since.

I asked her about her first impressions of the sport.

“The early UFCs were quite raw with few rules. I admit some of the knockouts weren’t easy to watch at first, but I soon realised in most cases it looked worse than it was, and fighters recovered almost immediately. At events, the styles of fighting being showcased were so different it made it unpredictable and exciting to watch. Huge guys that I expected to come in swinging took the fight to the ground and won by tapping out, rather than knocking out, their opponent. The fact that a fight could be won in the first couple of minutes, without a single punch landing, was something new to me. I was used to watching twelve rounds of boxing.

The fighters need to be skilled in various styles of martial arts, and watching the techniques involved amazed me. The fighters competing were so different; the whole mixed martial arts concept was addictive”

This is a sentiment shared by Louisa Reeve-Crook, another long time fan of MMA who has followed it since seeing the first UFC seven years ago. Her story is one that will no doubt be familiar to many of us.

“I first heard about MMA a long time ago, when a friend got hold of a tape where they ‘break arms and sometimes die’. There was a ridiculous amount of hype back then and I suppose it was a morbid fascination that made me want to watch the tape. Which, of course, featured no deaths or broken limbs!”

“The idea of MMA appealed to me, not because of the violence, but because of the idea of using whatever you want in a fight. I would ask my friends things like ‘karate and kung-fu… who would win?’ It seemed to be a test of whose skill is the best.

“My first impressions did not live up to expectations, which was a very good thing. I hadn’t considered, at that point, that there would be tactics and gameplans. I just expected all out bar-brawl type fights. At that point, I knew nothing about the technical aspects of these fights, so I’d see one of the participants in a fight ‘doing something’ with the arm of his opponent and be really intrigued to know what it was.”

Having been involved in MMA since the very early days in this country, both of these women have had the opportunity to watch the sport grow. Along with it, they’ve seen the development of a lot of the country’s top fighters. Both agree that this is one of the attractions of the sport.

As Paula says: “Seeing your favourite local fighter improving and climbing the ranks gives you a buzz. Competitors train hard because they want to be the best. I go to events to show my support.”

I asked whether they were ever anxious about a fighter getting badly hurt or injured. Louisa admits “it is always in the back of my mind that these guys could get really hurt, which does make me anxious during fights.”

The fans at any MMA event always enjoy seeing a fight end with a spectacular knockout. I wondered whether these women would share that perspective. Paula does. “I do love to see a dramatic knockout. I don’t like to see anyone seriously hurt though, and in MMA that rarely happens.”

Louisa is more equivocal. “A knock-out is dramatic and I suppose more exciting than a sub, but I’m far more comfortable with submission wins.”

She admits that she may be biased on this point, as she enjoys training in grappling “purely for fun… I have absolutely no inclination to compete, it’s just fun for me to tie people up in knots”.

Paula, on the other hand, has recently started training in MMA and has thought about competing. “If my trainers ever think I’m good enough I’d definitely be up for it”.

Perhaps this difference partly reflects their different underlying feelings about the place of women in MMA.

Louisa takes the more traditional view. “I do think the MMA game is predominantly a male sport. I think it is far more inherent in men to display strength, aggression and dominance in the clearest and simplest way possible – to have a fight. I don’t think women, on the whole, have this instinct. Of course, there are exceptions, but generally I think men feel more of a need. That’s not to say that women [who fight] are bad, I just think they have different motivations”

“I’m not yet comfortable with the idea of women punching each other in fights like men do. I guess it’s got something to do with women being ‘pretty’ and it being so much more disturbing to see a bloodied nose on a woman. It’s probably to do with under-exposure to it as well. I’ve not had the chance to become desensitised to it.”

It’s not a view that I share, and yet I’m often reminded just how ingrained this idea is in our society. I still find myself icing my face after a training session in order to avoid getting a black eye that will inevitably result in looks of either pity or disgust from strangers in the street.

Paula sees it as more of a culturally imposed divide. “It’s much more acceptable for men to be involved in fighting and I can’t see that changing. Society can still be very blinkered where women are concerned. Our delicate souls shouldn’t be corrupted with nasty things like violence! (Laughs) It’s up to women to change that. More women are getting interested in MMA, realising it’s a great way to increase fitness and build confidence. I’ve seen quite a few women’s fights and have so much respect for them. Sometimes I’m quite envious, I wish I’d started MMA years ago”. 

There is definitely something about MMA that gives it a broad cross-cultural appeal. Perhaps it is the close historical link with the more traditional martial arts, which themselves attract a diverse range of people.

Perhaps it also has something to do with the community spirit present in the MMA subculture. As Paula said, “Everyone I’ve met through the sport has been friendly. The MMA community are not what people expect. You get the odd cocky twat, but you get that everywhere. Shows are very sociable events, you can meet some cool people.”

And perhaps underlying it all is the fascination we have with that most dangerous and misunderstood of human instincts.

The philosopher John Gray writes in Straw Dogs: “If humans differ from other animals, it is partly in the conflicts of their interests. They crave security, but they are easily bored; they are peace-loving animals, but they have an itch for violence… there is no way of life in which all these needs can be satisfied.”

He has a point; but maybe the sport of mixed martial arts provides some of us with a compromise we can live with.