Wheelie
24-04-2007, 05:24
Niet echt heel positief
Ultimate Fighting Championships @ M.E.N. Arena
Emma Unsworth
22/ 4/2007
IT'S a disturbing thought that despite centuries of industrial and technological progress and decades of Stephen Fry on the telly, some human beings still have the urge to beat the living daylights out of each other.
And, more disturbing still, other human beings take great pleasure in watching them.
Just as the Romans had the gladiatorial arena, so 21st century civilisation has the Ultimate Fighting Championships - so-called because, in this chicken wire, bumper-topped ring, almost anything goes.
There's a list of fouls, including 'eye gouging' and other shameful behaviour, but otherwise the extreme martial arts sport allows all manner of attack - and with a modern-day arena crowd baying for blood, the opponents are visibly twitching to deliver.
The non-televised prelims of welterweights and lightweights seem to result in a variety of pins and submissions, but to be honest I'm struggling to watch.
I'm slightly more comfortable viewing the action on the big screens, but even then I'm wincing and shuddering with each crack and thwack.
At one particularly aggressive shoulder drop I retch without thinking, then apologise to myself and those either side of me. It's a grim business. And a lucrative one. Judging by the banners and accents in the crowd (there's lots of shouting - both supportive and derogatory, especially when half-dressed women do a circuit of the ring brandishing round cards and grinning maniacally), people have travelled far and wide for this.
Between each bout there are adverts for WFC DVDs on the screens too - WFC was banned in Britain until recently, but now it seems to be here with a vengeance.
Roars
Immediately before each fight the opponents introduce themselves in pre-recorded bursts on the big screens. They're dead-eyed statements of intent, but the crowd roars approval for British fighters.
The name of this tour is 'Nations Collide' and competitors are from all over the globe. How about a nice multinational tea dance? I catch myself saying 'Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear' to myself over and over like Miss Marple on a particularly bad murder case.
As the evening progresses the weights get heavier - and the action goes live. The arena is full by this time and the noise intensifies. It's all more than a little unnerving, not to mention gruesome.
Especially with an advert continually broadcast on the big screens mentioning 'blood spilling down'. I'm finding it difficult to be here, and it's only going to get worse with the heavyweights and main card.
I look around, wondering if anyone is here looking at the 'skill' involved, at the speed and accuracy of these men, or is it just the blood they want?
Fewer rules as to the exact nature of the fighting surely mean it is actually more of a spectacle than a sport - if you're restricted only by extreme fouls, how can you really assess anything other than a knockout? A win or a lose. Blood simple.
UFC isn't as 'daft' as WWF, in that there are genuine injuries being sustained here, but surely its 'sportsmanship' can be questioned?
Either way, for me it's all way too disturbing, and a case of never again.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/s/1005/1005189_ultimate_fighting_championships__men_arena .html
Ultimate Fighting Championships @ M.E.N. Arena
Emma Unsworth
22/ 4/2007
IT'S a disturbing thought that despite centuries of industrial and technological progress and decades of Stephen Fry on the telly, some human beings still have the urge to beat the living daylights out of each other.
And, more disturbing still, other human beings take great pleasure in watching them.
Just as the Romans had the gladiatorial arena, so 21st century civilisation has the Ultimate Fighting Championships - so-called because, in this chicken wire, bumper-topped ring, almost anything goes.
There's a list of fouls, including 'eye gouging' and other shameful behaviour, but otherwise the extreme martial arts sport allows all manner of attack - and with a modern-day arena crowd baying for blood, the opponents are visibly twitching to deliver.
The non-televised prelims of welterweights and lightweights seem to result in a variety of pins and submissions, but to be honest I'm struggling to watch.
I'm slightly more comfortable viewing the action on the big screens, but even then I'm wincing and shuddering with each crack and thwack.
At one particularly aggressive shoulder drop I retch without thinking, then apologise to myself and those either side of me. It's a grim business. And a lucrative one. Judging by the banners and accents in the crowd (there's lots of shouting - both supportive and derogatory, especially when half-dressed women do a circuit of the ring brandishing round cards and grinning maniacally), people have travelled far and wide for this.
Between each bout there are adverts for WFC DVDs on the screens too - WFC was banned in Britain until recently, but now it seems to be here with a vengeance.
Roars
Immediately before each fight the opponents introduce themselves in pre-recorded bursts on the big screens. They're dead-eyed statements of intent, but the crowd roars approval for British fighters.
The name of this tour is 'Nations Collide' and competitors are from all over the globe. How about a nice multinational tea dance? I catch myself saying 'Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear' to myself over and over like Miss Marple on a particularly bad murder case.
As the evening progresses the weights get heavier - and the action goes live. The arena is full by this time and the noise intensifies. It's all more than a little unnerving, not to mention gruesome.
Especially with an advert continually broadcast on the big screens mentioning 'blood spilling down'. I'm finding it difficult to be here, and it's only going to get worse with the heavyweights and main card.
I look around, wondering if anyone is here looking at the 'skill' involved, at the speed and accuracy of these men, or is it just the blood they want?
Fewer rules as to the exact nature of the fighting surely mean it is actually more of a spectacle than a sport - if you're restricted only by extreme fouls, how can you really assess anything other than a knockout? A win or a lose. Blood simple.
UFC isn't as 'daft' as WWF, in that there are genuine injuries being sustained here, but surely its 'sportsmanship' can be questioned?
Either way, for me it's all way too disturbing, and a case of never again.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/s/1005/1005189_ultimate_fighting_championships__men_arena .html