Mixed Martial Arts has more negative stereotypes than any other sport. Whether it is stereotypes about the fighters, fans, or sport in general, MMA often comes with a negative connotation. If people buy into these stereotypes or not, it is still unfair to the sport as a whole.
The stereotypes range from, “all the fighters are covered in tattoos,” “its fans are meatheads,” “the fighters are thugs,” or the most common one “all the fighters are violent or are barbarians.” Although it may be true in some cases, it is not fair to make these generalizations, especially the latter.
The stereotype “all the fighters are violent or are barbarians” is simply not true. Are some of the fighters violent? Sure. But, every sport and every facet of life for that matter involve people who are violent. The picture of MMA has not been painted in the brightest of light and has taken an even bigger hit as of recently.
In a sport that is still not legal everywhere, the recent actions of its competitors have not helped its reputation. Just this year alone, both Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Thiago Silva have been involved in a standoff with police. Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson was suspended indefinitely for a domestic abuse. And without a doubt, the case that made the most headlines was that of War Machine’s. War Machine was involved in a gruesome beating of his ex-girlfriend and is potentially facing life in prison.
Sure, that is not a good look, but even though these actions are in no way defendable, these are rarities and only represent a very small percentage of the competitors in the sport. What often goes unnoticed or rarely reported is the good that these athletes do or how many of them speak about how they don’t like the violence or fighting.
Guys like Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz have openly spoke about how they do not like fighting. The two former rivals share a very similar stance on the violence part of the sport they take part in. For the both of them, it is more about the martial art than the fighting and is something they grew up loving. They’ve been a part of martial arts their entire life and it was something they were passionate about. If it is possible to make money off of something that is a passion of yours, it is hard to pass up. For many of these fighters, they are not violent individuals or they don’t like hurting people, it is a competition and a martial art, and a way of making a living off of something that they are good at.
In a sport that is looked at as if it is full of thugs, many of its competitors are doing good things for their community and those who are in contact with them. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones once chased down a robber and returned the stolen purse to its owner. Featherweight contender Cub Swanson mentors and helps troubled youth in his area.
Brian Stann, a former fighter and marine, is constantly doing his best to get veterans a job with his program Hire Heroes USA. Joe Lauzon, a 33-fight veteran, has a son who was born with cancer, so he not only does what he has to, to make sure his son lives a long life, but he also does everything he can to help others who are affected by cancer.
It doesn’t stop there. Frankie Edgar and Alistair Overeem do charity work for the American Red Cross. Nick Diaz is involved with the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Rashad Evans does charity work for the Boys and Girls Club of America. Geroges St-Pierre is involved in the program Stomp Out Bullying. Phil Davis is involved with Pink Ribbon and wears pink trunks in all of his fights to spread awareness for breast cancer. Ronda Rousey is involved in the Free Rice program that helps battle hunger. Bellator ring girl Jade Bryce is involved in the Blessings in a Backpack program. This is just a small amount of the charitable work that people in the MMA community do.
One of the more remarkable differences that an MMA fighter has made just occurred on the morning of October 16, 2014. UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman saved the life of his elderly neighbor. His neighbor was sitting in the rain in the middle of her driveway and was severely bleeding after falling through a glass table. Weidman brought her into his home got her cleaned up and immediately called the police to take care of her. It was a situation of life and death and Weidman took action and ultimately may have saved the life of his neighbor.
Surely all of these actions are not those of barbarians and violent people. The bad that MMA fighters do tend to go to the forefront, whereas all the good that is being done takes a backseat. Unlike many perceive, MMA fighters contribute much more good to their communities than they do bad. Like a lot of things, a few bad apples will spoil the bunch. The rare bad actions significantly outweigh the common good actions and continue to negatively affect the reputation of the sport of MMA. Many of the stereotypes that are associated with MMA, are over generalizations and only apply to a small minority of those involved.
