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I agree that the random sneering at MMA was unnecessary and really, pretty ignorant. MMA in the US is now very well-regulated by state commissions. There are in fact many rules, and it is by any possible measure, far less hazardous to its participants than boxing. For example, if you are knocked down, the fight is immediately over; there are none of the repeated concussions that lead to the severe long-term brain damage endemic to boxing. I mean come on, people often DIE boxing (or playing football, for that matter)! There hasn't been a single fatality in over a decade of American MMA.
The athletes themselves are extremely high-level, many of them Olympic medalists. There's none of the corruption or stolen decisions that boxing fans have come to take for granted, and the dream match-ups WILL happen--and not in ten years, either. And the sport itself: more exciting to watch, more range and depth of strategy, and an infinitely better reflection of what a fight really is.
Boxing is an archaic monster on its last legs. MMA is thoroughly modern and growing fast. It really only takes a quick wikipedia search to have an educated opinion.
Seren
