Re: Why don\'t you watch boxing?
As a kid, I would watch SportsCenter before going to school (elementary school). I enjoyed finding out the results of the big boxing matches. I'd say I was aware of who the big fighters were and such. I was introduced to MMA when a friend of mine and I rented a bunch of the early UFC VHS tapes in late middle school/high school. I didn't have enough to pony up for PPV, and I kind of forgot about it until last year. Since then, I've become extremely devoted to MMA and, as a result, combat sports. Which means, I am interested in boxing (and ADCC and K-1, etc.) because of my re-interest in MMA. I think the boxing vs. MMA debate is silly, and you should enjoy both.
Now, I have a few nitpicks with your post.
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Here are some things that UFC does really well that boxing doesn't
i) The UFC decides who fights who. In boxing, the fighters/promoters do. So in UFC the best guys are going to fight each other, in boxing each guy acts in his best interests (which often leads to top fighters avoiding each other for easier fayre) which devalues the product offered.
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The best guys don't fight each other. It's gonna get a little better with the UFC buying Pride, but it looks like Fedor isn't going to sign. It's taken forever to get Wandy/Chuck, which may or may not happen. Guys like Gomi, Aoki, Kang, etc. etc. etc. are stuck in limbo right now and will probably stay in Japan. Big inter-promotional fights don't happen. It's still probably better than boxing, but it isn't perfect.
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ii) UFC has 4(?) weight classes and one champion in each. Boxing has 16 and 4 or 5 world champions in each division. There is the issue in MMA of multiple fighting organizations, but UFC seems to be solving that by monopolizing the best talent out there. So, in MMA, there are 4 legitimate world champions, average fan knows who they are, the champs have to fight 3 times a year, against the best opposition available. Compelling. Boxing is a mess.
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UFC has 5 divisions - 155, 170, 185, 205, and 265. I actually think think there's room for 1 or two more. I'd like to see something more like 155, 165, 175, 185/190, 205, 265. There's a lot of guys in each weight class right now who are stuck between trying to fight at their more or less natural weight or having to cut 15-20 pounds to keep up with everyone else. Again, it's still probably better than boxing with it's 43 weight classes, but it can be improved upon.
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iii) Network effects. People like to watch sports with other people. UFC has done a great job of appearing cool and in fashion, took off amongst some people, and right now if someone is indifferent between watching boxing or UFC on a Saturday night, they are more likely to plump for UFC, because that's what their buddies are watching.
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Agree with this, though I wish they'd cut out the pro wrestling/metal/macho [censored] with their marketing.
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iv) (Edited in): Boxing revolves around the heavyweight division and the HWs bloooooooow right now (and all the top ones are non-Americans). It's interesting that MMA seems to have a more even distribution of interest by weight than boxing. Any ideas why this is?
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I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that there's only 5 divisions. There's definitely a lot less talent at HW than at 170-205.
And to the guy who said this:
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MMA, #1 fights #2. Always. There is a continual battle to see who #2 is too. You get to see the people come up. Its all shown on the same card.
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This is so far from the truth. The UFC doesn't even have official rankings (Shooto in Japan does though), so it's impossible to have #1 vs. #2 fights. The only rankings that exist are done by independent websites. The UFC sets up fights based on how they can market a card. Why else would Keith Jardine, coming off a loss to a newcomer, fight Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 76? Why did Randy Couture fight Tim Sylvia for the title at UFC 68?
FWIW, I think the UFC does a good job at putting together intriguing and relevant fights. But they certainly don't put #1 against #2, etc., because they don't have a (public) ranking system.
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