A disgrace? Ultimate Fighting Championship is a bloody amazing sport

JOIN THE DEBATE: BOXING, mixed with grappling, kick boxing and submission wrestling - UFC is a bloody amazing sport.

Mark Hunt v Brazilian Antonio Silva in the UFC Heavyweight clash.

ALMOST every day, I defend the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Colleagues, friends and family know I am a huge fan of the sport (yes, it is a sport ,folks) and constantly they barrage me with arguments as to why it should be banned full stop.

"It's way too brutal."

"There's blood."

"It would be illegal if it was held out on the street."

"You can't use a cage, fighters are trapped in there."

And don't even get me started on the people who have decided that women shouldn't be allowed to fight either.

But, to all of these people, I deliver the same response every time - don't watch it.

``But... but... but...'', but nothing. Don't watch what you don't like.

BUZZ ROTHFIELD: UFC IS A BLOODY DISGRACE

Who's more stupid, the men and women jumping inside of a cage to fight - and for God's sake it's a cage, not a ring - or the people who choose to watch it, even though they hate it?

You know you're dealing with people who don't really know what they're talking about when "ring" and "UFC" are used in the same sentence.

C'mon, you can't be serious.

The fight which Phil Rothfield referred to in his column UFC Fight Night's main event between Aussie Mark Hunt and Brazilian Antonio "Bigfoot'' Silva was the best fight I have ever seen.

It was like something out of a Rocky movie.

The two lumbering giants pushed their bodies to the absolute limit, slugging it out inside the cage for 25 minutes. They both fell down and they both got up. It was a true testament to their spirit and competitive drive.

The round of applause at the end of the final bell was deafening just watching from the TV at home, let alone being there in the flesh at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

Just have a look at Hunt and Silva after the fight.

Bloodied up? Yep.

Brutal? You bet - but it epitomises the 'never give up attitude' that embodies professional sport and Saturday's fight between Hunt and Silva was a testament that.

And there they are, arm-in-arm after a tough night at the office.

If you label the UFC as a disgrace and call for Australia to ban the sport then I couldn't disagree with you more.

To say fighting in the UFC does not require a large degree of skill informed and erroneous.

Mixed Martial Arts is extremely technical and takes a lot more skill than the casual observer would realise or could comprehend.

The beauty of the UFC is that it combines boxing, kickboxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and muay-thai. What other sport combines so many technical elements which need to be mastered to reach such an elite level?

I can accept that not everyone is going to be a fan of the UFC. But you can't lay hate on mixed martial arts without aiming at boxing, too. And if we're going to take a look at boxing, then the NRL, AFL and Super Rugby are next.

There's plenty of biffo in State of Origin and we love it. But that's completely acceptable because it's on grass and not inside of the cage?

Violence is violence at the end of the day, but it's not illegal.

Competitors are subject to regular blood tests to ensure diseases are not spread - if anything this is the safest, most entertaining and respectful form of violence you can get.

And if you don't like this column, don't ever read it again. It's that simple.

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