Garth

he
McLennan
sports editor
Summer
Olympic
Games are
one of the
best venues for sporting excellence in
the world. However, there are a number
of sports that are a part of the Olympics
that shouldn’t be and many should be
included but aren’t. And while I don’t
think that anyone has the time to list
all of the reasons why table tennis and
synchronized swimming should be
expelled from the Games, one sport
that should warrant consideration in the
future is mixed martial arts (MMA).

MMA, through various

organizations such as UFC, Pride FC
and K1, has grown rapidly in popularity
throughout the world. Pay-per-view
buys have soared and MMA gyms
specializing in Muay Thai kickboxing

 

   

and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have started
popping up everywhere. There is a
thriving lower-league MMA scene in
Vancouver and the sport is popular all
over the world.

So is it time for mixed-martial arts
to join the Olympics? I say yes. There
was an attempt to have them brought
in for the 2004 Summer Games back in
Athens under the ancient Greek name
of Pankration, but it didn’t make the
final cut.

Think about it; MMA has, for
better or worse, become a global
phenomenon. It has blown past boxing
in popularity and media recognition
and is very much a mainstream sport
now. MMA is also a sport that can be
practiced everywhere and by almost
everyone. It isn’t unique to a certain
country or social class. Like many
sports, MMA fighters have to be in
fantastic shape to compete effectively
and there aren’t many activities out
there that come with the type of
pressure and require the kind of focus
that MMA does. MMA combatants
have to be versed several different
martial arts if they have any hope of
competing and they have to incorporate
strategy into their bouts.

Combat sports aren’t anything
new to the Olympic Games. In ancient
times, fighting competitions were brutal
and many were not nearly as refined as
they are today. In Beijing, the site of

the 2008 Summer Games, there were

18 wrestling events, 14 for judo, 11

for boxing and eight for taekwondo. If
you have that many then surely there is
room for MMA. After all, while I prefer
boxing by far to MMA, if you can have
boxing in the Olympics then you can
have MMA.

We’re talking about an insanely
popular sport here, and while I can
understand the reluctance of some to
include it because of its extremely
violent nature, this isn’t a niche activity
anymore. On a UFC fight night, the
bars in Vancouver are flooded with
enough people to rival a Canucks’
game. MMA has become a popular
activity for amateur fighters and
enrolment numbers have been steadily
rising for years now.

My point is, when you have
Olympic BMX and 16 kayak/canoe
events in the Olympics, it’s hard to
argue that MMA should be kept out.

 

L to R: Bryan Corry, Alessandro Lachelli, Andrew Orford, and Marche Riley on Pink Shirt Day

14

STOPS

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