MMA keeps on going

Mixed martial arts has grown tremendously during the last half-decade, but there are people who sneer upon it and call it barbaric. When the naysayers are told that MMA-related ring head injuries are miniscule compared to boxing, they rarely offer an intelligible response. Normally they say, “Well ... or but,” yet little else. Harrah's Laughlin Casino & Hotel hosted “Total Combat 29” on Saturday night (see Monday's issue for results, story), and none of its competitors will more than likely lose life or limb. Mixed martial arts competitor Ed Ratcliff, a Chicago native, sold shoes at Foot Locker and was a bouncer at a night club before getting into MMA full-time, and tries to explain why the sport is not as dangerous as some might think. Ratcliff said boxers wear bigger gloves more to protect their hands than to safeguard the heads of their foes. Pugilists take a 10- or 12-round pounding to the head; whereas, the MMA combatants wear smaller gloves, grapple and kick, which leads to less wear and tear to the skull. “There are more superficial cuts and bruises (in MMA),” Ratcliff said, “but the brain isn't getting constantly knocked back and forth.” While a boxer takes a pounding to the head during an entire fight, the MMA competitor fights a maximum of three to five rounds. The refs/officials are also quick to stop the contest if one of the combatants does not tapout while held in a compromising lock or is taking a pounding. Ratcliff said despite MMA's growth, some of the populace has not accepted it because it is a relatively new sport. MMA fighter Dominick Cruz, a Tucson native residing in San Diego, said his last 9-to-5 job was at Sherwin Williams as a delivery driver and paint mixer. Most people are exposed to basketball, football, soccer and volleyball at a young age, and not many of them ever try a new sport, he added. Whether it is boxing or any other full-contact endeavor, there is doubt that these sports provide an outlet for those who have mentalities similar to Mike Tyson. If such avenues were unavailable, these aggressive personalities would be roaming the streets doing harm to others and/or themselves. “We're a different breed of people,” Cruz said. “We wouldn't be able to compose ourselves without any competition.” When someone asks him how he can be an MMA fighter, Cruz answers, “How can you sit behind a computer for eight hours a day. Fighting chose me; it's a mentality. “It's a sport just like any other thing.” Cruz said Total Combat gave him an opportunity he would otherwise not have had. As much as MMA has struggled to gain widespread recognition, it has been a struggle; however, the sport experienced a major breakthrough two weeks ago.