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MMA vs Boxing

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MMA vs Boxing
Throughout world history people have enjoyed watching two men compete in hand to hand combat. Professional boxing made its debut here in America around the turn of the 20th century. Unlike boxing, mixed martial arts is a relatively new sport. Both sports are very technical and require their fighters to be in superb condition. Many fighters train all their life to make it big, but few ever get there. Although both sports are immensely popular, one stands alone as the dominant sport. In this paper I 'll prove that the sport of MMA is more technical, more exciting, and much safer than boxing.

The first thing I 'd like to discuss is how these sports structure their fights. Both boxing and MMA are scored using a ten-point must system. This means the fight is judged by rounds, and the winner of each round can score a possible ten points. In boxing, the fighters wear sixteen ounce gloves. The fighters stand in front of each other, punching from the waist to the head. Punches must be thrown to the front or side of the opponent, never to the back. The goal in boxing is to knock your opponent out. If this does not happen then the judges decide the winner of the fight using a ten point scoring system. In contrast, mixed martial arts competitors use four ounce gloves. The mixed martial arts fighter is allowed to strike with all parts of their bodies. Many things are not allowed now, unlike when the UFC first started. Fighters must abide by the rules set forth before the fight and obey the referee at all times. One of the best things about mixed martial arts is that participants not only box, but can wrestle and fight on the ground too. These fights mimic what one might see on the streets, without the dirty stuff. The mixed martial artist does not have the luxury of training in just one discipline. He must train in all areas to successfully compete. For this reason, MMA is much more technical than boxing.

2The second thing to consider is the excitement level produced by the



Cited: ambell, Jesse. "MMA vs. Boxing: America 's fastest growing sport goes head to head with the "Sweet Science." Blickees.com 2 July 2007. 1 November 2007 Doyle, Gregg. "Freeman: Boxing over MMA." CBS Sports 2 May 2007. 1 November 2007 . Henderson, Lee Andrew. "MMA Vs Boxing." Associated Content 18 May 2007. 1 November 2007 Maxson, Matt. "Five reasons why UFC has all the fans." The Rebel Yell 12 October 2006. 1 November 2007 . Moses, Matthew. "MMA vs. Boxing: It 's no contest." Divinesatirist.com 29 May 2007. 4 November 2007 . Thesis: The sport of MMA is more technical, more exciting, and much safer than boxing.

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