UFC
Family First?
"My gym is my family” is a classic trope in the world of MMA. It’s one of those lines that affords the hardscrabble fighting life some nobility, but it also means fighters who should be fighting each other don’t, and messes things up worse than an...
Rising Up, Rising Down in MMA
MMA fighters can be on top of the world one minute and in purgatory the next. One bad run can send you to the regional circuit, condemned to toil in feeder promotions like the Titan Fighting Championship, where young fighters learn their trade...
MMA Is Too Brutal for the Olympics and That's Why We Love It
What would casual Olympics fans do the first time they saw an MMA competitor grab an opponent in a Thai clinch? Can you imagine—the stunned looks, the open mouths, the covered eyes, the horrible silence, the scandal?
What It Means to Be a Big Mouth in MMA
Who has time to worry about explaining to SportsCenter why they’re going to fight? Figuring out how to fight is hard enough. Only Chael Sonnen could find the energy to master both combat and marketing. Anderson Silva, meanwhile, just wants to fight...
Fedor Emelianenko Made Me Love MMA
Before I saw Fedor Emelianenko fight, I thought mixed martial arts was a debased and debauched distraction for frat boys and thugs. After, my life was completely rearranged. I started filling my time with sparring sessions and endless hours watching...
MMA Makes Boxing Look Brutal
More and more, in magazines and lockers rooms, boxers are being asked to defend their sport against this growing phenomenon.
New York’s MMA Prude Bob Reilly Finally Retires
Bob Reilly’s reign of old-codger squeamishness is finally coming to an end.