Do people think that mma is a white sport?

Question

just currious i know about the gracies and how martial arts started in asia, and that yes there are mma fighters that aren't white, but particulary in the UFC the fighters are mainly white american's, the fans in the crowd tend to be whites, the never back down movie was dominated with whites, white music like rise against, my chemical romance (what the ***, my chemical romance in a mma movie geez), white setting, the wannabe mma backyard fights i see on youtube are mostly young white guys, the people that give predictions on UFC's on youtube are actually all white, the music on UFC is metal which mostly white people like, the octagon girls are all white, well except for arriany celeste, whats the deal, is this the truth are will no one believe it and just ignore it?

Answer 1

I think that like some other sports (hockey, in particular), it has a socio-economic explanation.

Sports can be expensive. It's not unheard of in hockey to pay thousands of dollars a year just for your kids to play a season of minor hockey.

In order to get good at MMA, you need to spend years training and continue that training in various disciplines. The costs of gym fees, coaches, training partners, as well as your time can get very expensive, very quickly.

Long story short, it takes a lot of money to really get to the point where one can make enough money off the sport for it to be lucrative, and in very general terms, this tends to favour Caucasians.

Answer 2

You have something against white people, white girls, bands with white musicians, people listening to bands with white musicians...duh it's america, it's still populated mostly by people of European decent.

Something else you need to realize; boxing and wrestling weren't always sports, they were for combat, and they originated in Greece well over 2500 years ago.

I listen to metal (and other stuff) and I don't really give a flying f*** what trendy people think is cool.

Answer 3

hmmmm....I would have never thought of that if you didnt point it out. Well, its dominated by caucasians but it usually doesn't mean that its a white sport. and that goes for basketball too since its not a black sport. We shouldn't be worried about saying which race it belongs too, but one thing you can proudly say is that the MMA is an American Sport cuz we hybrid like that, lol. I dont ignore it, I know its dominated by whites and you can say its a white sport if you like, but deep down, its every race's sport that lives in the USA

Answer 4

I do not personally, Anderson Silva says it all.

Answer 5

I tend to think that MMA is new and since it is new the diversity of different ethnic backgrounds have yet to merge with those that are currently in MMA. In wrestling, BJJ, Muay Thai, etc. you don't see a large group of minorities in these sports; yet no one questions it, however, these are solid beginnings for a fighter in MMA. I will agree that you see more Caucasians in MMA, but Anderson Silva (yes people I know he is Brazilian and Brazil has black people just like everywhere else), Rampage Jackson, Anthony Johnson, Kongo, and Soko are all black and have very lucrative contracts with the UFC. Kimbo Slice (even though he is not an elite fighter) is promoted as the face of the EliteXC Company.

There are in fact many minorities in MMA. But they are exactly that a minority. When NFL, MLB, Golf and Boxing started off in their infancy they were all played by a majority of Caucasians. In fact, MLB and Golf tried to separate them! MMA is in its infancy and you will see a much more diverse group of people in the future... I for one want to see the best compete... I don't care what they look like or where they are from. I have respect for anyone that can get in the ring/cage and put it all on the line.

Answer 6

Well lets look at it.  The UFC heaveyweight champion is Not white.  "Big Nog"  The light heavyweight champion was rampage jackson up until 1 month ago he is black.  The middleweight champion is Brazilian.  The Lightweight champion is  fro Hawaii.  Elite XC'S most famous fighter is black.

Stop trying to make everything about race dumbass

Answer 7

Man - look at the roster of any MMA organization INCLUDING the UFC - you see plenty of non-white or non-american fighters  - BJ Penn, Quentin Jackson, Fedor Emilianenko,  Anderson Silva, Thiago Alvez, Minotauro Noguiera, Cung Le, Diego Sanchez - and they are the top paid, fighters in the game.  If I went on down the list,  I'd get tired of typing before I ran out of non-white names.  

Look at the pound-for-pound top fighter lists, too - Kid Yamamoto, GSP, and others I list above are consistently on the list.

The UFC DOES cater to the typical TV watching audience in the US - mostly white males between 18 and 35.  That's why they have mostly white ring girls and commercials geared toward whites.  But that's business, not racism.  Why would a company that sells feminine hygiene products sponsor MMA fights?  It's the wrong audience...so they don't.

As far as fans, whites are the ones that buy tickets and go to the fights.  So what?  Look around Las Vegas (where many fights are held).  You see white people and latinos everywhere...blacks are the minority there, so why would it be different inside the arena?  The fight crowds are mainly white and latino...just like on the streets outside the fights!  Non-whites are not kept out or kept from buying tickets.  Whites are the ones that fill the stands at "black" concerts too - ever been to see Public Enemy?  Wu Tang Clan?  How about Def Jam Comedy shows?  White people fill the stands...explain that one!

Back to fighting - look back at the last 5 years of fight cards from the top organizations (UFC, Pride, Shooto, K-1, Dream, whatever you like)  and find me a single card where there weren't any non-white, non-Americans on the TOP of the card if not the HEADLINE FIGHT...

Now look over the shoulder of any fighter in any organization when they are announced - or when their team comes out after a win or loss - you'll see whites, latinos, blacks, asians...there are tons of non-whites training, cornering, cut-men, refs, etc. in these organizations too.  

Race is not a part of fighting - skill is.  Let's leave race out of the picture.

Answer 8

there are more whites in it than any other race yes.  and the gracies are part scottish so they are even part white.

Answer 9

"whats the deal, is this the truth are will no one believe it and just ignore it?"

you want us to do something about it? tell all our black and hispanic friends to come over to watch ufc with us? you think it's the white people's fault that watch ufc that other ethnic groups aren't doing it as well? if other ethnic groups want to get into it as much as white folk, they will. it's not like we need to start forcing it down their throats or anything

Answer 10

First, what does the color of their skin have to do with anything?

Second, look at the current champs,

Heavyweight Interim Champ: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazilian). Light-Heavyweight Champ: Forrest Griffin (White American).

Middleweight Champ: Anderson Silva (Brazilian).

Welterweight Champ: Georges St-Pierre (White Canadian).

Lightweight Champ: B.J. Penn (Hawaiian American).

I see 1 "white american" on this list. What's the point of this question?  

Answer 11

that's why one ufc is from hilo, 3 are from brazil? right dominated by white guys!

Answer 12

No.  Race in MMA is ridiclious. It is a completely global sport - events and fighter hail from literally everywhere: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.  That is literally the whole world.

I refuse to see that awful movie, but I believe the trailers do show people from other races.  I think you may be just considering the United States.  The most dominate organization in the US is the UFC.  Its run by white guys so maybe with their marketing they come across that way.  But take a look at their champions:

Brazilian

American

Brazilian

French-Canadian

Hawaiian