Violence as Entertainment? Ultimate Fighting Causes Ultimate Controversy

Ultimate Fighting, Cage Combats, Toughman...these are just of the titles given to the sport that is causing widespread controversy across the U.S. This type of "entertainment" involves two amateur fighters being placed in a ring for a no holds barred combat of fists and feet.

At least a dozen people have been killed, and many more critically injured, in these types of events. The real concern is that this number will begin to grow just as rapidly as the number of inexperienced companies organizing these fights increases.

The latest political pressure against the sport has really put the spotlight on the dangers involved with this activity. This, teamed with many anti-fighting professionals throughout the U.S., is encouraging the public to take a stand and support them in banning the events. Medical professionals, particularly those who have treated wounded fighters, are really getting involved to attempt to hault these competitions.

The boom began with the pay-per-view (PPV) broadcasts of The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The UFC was originally broadcasted by PPV providers, then temporarily removed, only to be brought back again, and is now even being broadcasted on the public television station Spike TV.

These broadcasts have created an explosion of amateur, copy-cat organizations taking the idea and holding their own "cage combats." While the UFC has a set of rules and regulations, many of these new competitions, mostly put on by fly-by-nights promoters, have began to cause a real concern for many small communities. Fights are now being held at small town bars and local convention centers rented by those organizing the fights.

Recently, in a well-known area of mid-Missouri, a fight was scheduled at a local bar, creating an uproar among the highly-conservative political community. While the competition was held as scheduled, the bar was closed down just a few months later.

As more and more pressure is put on these types of events, the concern shifts to the possibility of the sport moving into the underground world, just as the UFC once was. If this happens, there is a real possibility that things could get dangerously out of hand with the lack of any enforced rules and regulations to follow.

While it is still unclear how many states will continue to allow these competitions, several have banned the events, while others are facing the issue now. Those opposing these types of events, and residing in states that allow the fighting, can only hope that stricter rules will be mandated, while those in favor will continue to enjoy it's current popularity.