RING OR CAGE FOR MMA?

by Jeff Chan MFC Staff

“Ring or cage?” is MMA’s biggest debate. Fans of the ring often say that it promotes better fighting technique, while defenders of the cage like that enclosure’s dramatic "no escape" appeal. The Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) has always taken place in a ring, and it always will. Why? Because the ring provides more exciting fights and a better overall experience for the fans.

MOST OF MMA’S HISTORY IS IN THE RING

Long before MMA arrived in North America, the pre-MMA pioneers in Brazil and Japan fought in a ring. In December 1963, “Judo” Gene Lebell and boxer Milo Savage stepped into a ring in Salt Lake City, Utah to square off in North America’s first televised MMA match. Cage fighting wasn’t presented to North American TV audiences until 1993, when the aim was to promote MMA as a “deathmatch”-style spectacle.

MMA IN THE RING = CLEANER FIGHTING TECHNIQUE

Very few MMA fans have seen more fights than Eddie Goldman, who has been covering our sport for over 15 years through his legendary show, No Holds Barred (http://eddiegoldman.com/). Widely viewed as “the godfather of MMA media”, Goldman has been an outspoken proponent of the ring, citing clean techniques as the reason for his preference:

“Over the years, cage fighters have learned how to use the cage enclosure as part of their strategy. Many fighters push their opponents up against the cage, or even move them to it after taking them down. This aids brawling, but not the use of submissions or clean striking. Just look at the decline of the number of submissions in so many of the top fights in most of the companies which use a cage, then compare that to the flow of action and the aesthetics of the fights in companies like the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC), who use the ring.” - Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred

MMA IN A RING IS BETTER FOR SPECTATORS

It’s no secret that watching MMA in a cage isn’t great for spectators. Many MMA fans have paid hundreds of dollars for a cageside seat only to discover that they get a better view by watching the fight on the TV screens. But sight lines aren’t the only issue - the action is different too. When not inside the unforgiving walls of a cage, fighters are forced to move and press the action. There’s none of the wedged-into-the-cage ground-and-pound or wall wrestling, there’s more stand-up fighting, more movement, and more overall excitement.


CORPORATE SPONSORS PREFER TO SEE MMA IN A RING

According to MFC CEO Mark Pavelich, most of the reservations about MMA he consistently hears from potential corporate sponsors have to do with the cage. As he stated in his interview on No Holds Barred:

“I hate the cage. I’ve never liked it. It’s completely non-sport-oriented. Why do you think that big companies like Nike aren’t involved in mixed martial arts? Because the second they hear the word ‘cage’, the executives ask, ‘why are these people fighting in a cage?’“

I run the Maximum Fighting Championship like a professional sports organization. People can debate this night and day, back and forth, for the next hundred years, but it doesn’t matter what apparatus is better to fight in. It matters what’s more acceptable to the corporate sponsors that are going to generate money for your organization to keep it alive and keep it rolling.”

THE MAXIMUM FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP WILL ALWAYS BE IN A RING

So cage or ring? The choice of fighting enclosure is going to play a big role in our sport’s future. If MMA is to continue to grow and be embraced by TV networks and combat sports fans worldwide, the ring is probably the path to follow. The Maximum Fighting Championship will always take place in a ring and for anyone who doesn’t believe that the ring promotes exciting fights, we formally invite you to come to MFC 26: Retribution. You WILL be proven wrong. Again.