Mammoth Blog

After giving instruction on technique, Chandler Blades allows Mike Siver to apply the triangle choke while training. The triangle choke is a popular move used in mixed martial arts to make one's opponent submit or "tap out." Blades won his first mixed martial arts fight in 40 seconds with this move.

Editor's note: Mixed martial arts. Ultimate fighting. Cage combat. Whatever you call it, it's popular. And controversial. Proponents say it's exciting and safe, while critics say it's barbaric and dangerous. Here's a look at both sides of the debate.

Chandler Blades, 21, of Midland, got interested in mixed martial arts (MMA) while serving in the Air Force. He is training for a Michigan Fight League-sponsored fight on April 18 at Treetops Resort in Gaylord.

Blades sees MMA as more of a skills competition than a fight.

"Whose skills are going to work better in the same sport?" said Blades, who teaches boxing at the Midland Community Center. "People come in with different sorts of skills and see whose are better."

MMA is not street fighting, Blades emphasized.

"You're not going to meet a bunch of guys who come in off the street," he said. "The guys are either wrestlers or they're in Jiu-Jitsu classes; they're not out hurting people and getting in fights on the streets. It's a lot more professional than that."

But Bob Arsenault, a boxing coach in Bay City since 1971, strongly disagrees.

"I think it's torture," he said. "It's like a street fight outside the bar. I think it's a blood sport and it should be controlled more."

Arsenault said he has judged about 200 MMA fights.

"I've seen elbows to the back of the head," he said. "I've seen kicks to the groin. (When) they get in that cage, they go crazy, man. I'd just like a little safer rules, so somebody doesn't get slaughtered."

Steve Coppler, a Bay City-based MMA promoter of Extreme Cage Combat, says that Michigan Public Acts 196 and 197 of 2007, both of which go into effect on March 27, 2008, allow for MMA fights to take place in the state and ensure that proper precautions are taken to ensure fighters' safety.

"They've made it as safe as possible while it's still a fight," Coppler said. "Everybody does this under their own free will, and the rules are followed precisely."

Coppler acknowledged that a lot of MMA fighters get cuts around the eyes and broken fingers and hands, because they wear only six-ounce gloves.

"All the fighters are covered with $50,000 worth of medical insurance. That's per an agreement with the attorney general in the state of Michigan," Coppler said.

For his part, State Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican from Midland, feels MMA is not good for society. He was one of only 14 representatives who voted against the house bill that eventually became Public Act 196. That bill passed 94-14. Moolenaar was one of only 13 representatives who voted against the bill that eventually became Public Act 197. That bill passed 93-13.

"I voted against both bills because I believe that it's important that we have standards in our culture and not debase competitive sports with bloodthirsty activities," Moolenaar said. "Whether it's gladiators in Rome or duels in Europe, we have endeavored as civilized people to move forward, and I'm concerned that we not lose ground as a society."

Chandler Blades applies the Americana armlock to his younger brother Jamey while giving instructions in grappling.

Moolenaar said that one rationale given by legislators who supported the bill, was that MMA contests would bring needed revenue into the state.

"I wasn't persuaded by that argument as to the merits of the activity," he said. "The end results could be tragic in the lives of participants, and I believe sporting activities do have a responsibility to consider the effects on participants, long term and short term."

Blades, on the other hand, feels MMA is safer than boxing. The sport -- in which various disciplines including boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be used -- is on television and in arenas around the country.

"Boxers accumulate so many punches with those gloves on," he said. "With mixed martial arts, you might get hit in the head or the face one time the whole fight. If you start taking a few hard punches and you can't defend yourself, they're going to stop (the fight)."

So what is the appeal of mixed martial arts for fans?

Arsenault, the boxing coach, likens the appeal of MMA to the way some people are drawn to look at the scene of an accident.

"When you see an accident on the side of the road, everybody looks," he said. "In the back of your mind, you think, 'I'm sad for that person, but I'm alive for one more day.'"

Taking a break from training, Chandler Blades, from left, plays with his son Noah, 2, while Marshall Teague and Jamey Blades hit heavy bags at the Midland Community Center. "To me it's the ultimate sport," Chandler said of mixed martial arts. "It's like a chess match," he said, citing the sport's need for technique and strategy.

Coppler, the MMA promoter, said the marketing of the sport plays up the violent aspects of it.

"When people see blood, some turn away," he said. "Other people want to see more. When (the fighters) are wearing six-ounce gloves and no headgear, you are going to have people get cut. That's what (fans) want to see. They want to see the guy get slammed and keep going. That's the heart of a champion."

On the other hand, the MMA fighters themselves are serious about the technical aspects of their training, Coppler said.

"There's a lot more technique and a lot more skill (involved) than what's shown (in advertising) when you're trying to put (fans) in the seats to watch it," he said.

As far as Blades is concerned, he will go as far as MMA takes him.

"I just think I've got the skills to try to pursue it a little bit and see what happens," he said. source