Short on Rules: Ultimate Fighting Championships

I don't really follow Ultimate Fighting (UFC) or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or whatever it's called -- seems like there is half-a-dozen names for it. But when UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell fought Quinton Jackson Saturday night and I had a chance to catch it for free on the large screen at a local pub (as opposed to watching it via Pay-Per-View on television) I figured "Why Not?"

So after my first real introduction to MMA I can honestly say -- I just don't get it.

Liddell vs. Jackson was the main even in UFC 71. If you blinked -- or maybe looked at your French fries for a second you would have missed the fight. Quinton Jackson barely worked up a sweat fighting Chuck Liddell. In less than two minutes of the opening round, Jackson caught Liddel with a quick left hook and Liddel dropped faster than his stock options after the fight.

O-k, so Liddell fell on his back and Jackson pounced on him with a half-dozen fierce blows before the referee intervened and stopped the fight.

Now there was a lot of positive buzz generated for this match: Liddell hadn't lost a match in the last three years. In fact, the last match he DID lose was to Quinton Jackson. Plus cover stories on Sports Illustrated and ESPN Sports. All good for the sport that is UFC.

My beef is that if this had been a boxing match, I'm reasonably sure Liddell would have cleared the cobwebs from his head, beaten the count of ten, took a standing eight-count and continued fighting. Would he still have gotten his butt kicked? Probably. Liddel entered the fight at 37 years old with a slight paunch compared to Quinton Savage -- heavily muscled and only 28 years of age. Up to the moment of impact, Liddel hadn't done much. In fact at one point, Savage even chided Liddell to step in and start fighting.

And I just don't see where the "mixed" part of Mixed Martial Arts is. A spinning back kick or two, but mostly hacking to the lower legs. In some of the preliminary matches there were a few good displays of Jujitsu. Again, maybe I'm a purist. There's something about 12 rounds of boxing and the skills needed to break through an opponent's defense.