An Open Letter to Jeff "The Snowman" Monson

Jeff,

I've always had a prodigious amount of respect for you. As someone who has been engaged in Martial Arts for about half my life, I know how utterly militaristic and nationalistic the world of martial arts, especially MMA, can be. I was always so glad when I had the chance to see you fight, the chance to see someone representing political and economic ideals more similar to mine, and not just spewing nonsense, the sort of ideological hegemony that dominates much of the MMA world. You merged politics and sport in a way that was fascinating to me, and you gave me hope (as well as many others from the socialist/anarchist/leftist/radical tradition) that we did not have to reject things like MMA because it was often home to the most reactionary elements in our society.

When someone would ask who my favorite fighter was, there was never a doubt in my mind. I would, without hesitation, tell them the Snowman, simply because I felt like you represented so well what Pablo Picasso articulated many decades ago:

What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only his eyes if he is a painter, or his ears if he is a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if he is a poet, or, if he is merely a boxer, only his muscle? On the contrary, he is at the same time a political being, constantly alert to the heartrending, burning, or happy events in the world, molding himself in their likeness.

Your activism, your articulate and well-thought out critiques of capitalist society, your confronting the police at the mainstream political conventions, your handing out of anti-war leaflets at fights, all of it was so inspiring.

That is why I was so utterly disappointed and discouraged to hear that you openly broke with the Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment Movement against Israel to fight at the Israel FC event in November of last year. The BDS movement rightly targets Israel for their dehumanizing and devastating occupation of Palestine, for their relentless strangle hold on Gaza, their apartheid style treatment of Palestinian Arabs, for the hostile and colonial-settler nature of the Israeli state.

As a fighter who is more than socially aware, you must have known about the massacres of Palestinians in 2008, about the flotilla raid in 2010, about the never ending encroachment and settlement upon Palestinian land. You must have also known that artists from around the world, whether they be musicians or writers, professors or activists, have participated in and helped expand the BDS movement against what is, at its core, a fundamentally unjust state, a state which, as an anarchist, you must know in your heart should be opposed. Everyone from the Pixies and Gil Scott-Heron, to Carlos Santana and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, to the famous Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano and the world-renowned Desmond Tuto the anti-apartheid activist, have signed their names to the list of BDS supporters.

You mentioned in the interview how “nice” everyone in Israel was. You almost seem to use this as a justification for Israeli state actions, implying that the misery and suffering of the Palestinian people is chocked up to “derogatory things” that really do not exist because you did not see them. I assume, from your short time there, you did not visit Palestine. I assume, as well, that you did not visit a Palestinian ghetto, you did not speak with Palestinian activists, you did not see their homes being bulldozed, the massive separation walls, the checkpoints, the dehumanizing searches, the lack of water for Palestinians to drink while Israeli homes sport beautiful green lawns. I suppose you did not speak with the mother or father whose son who has been detained, tortured, beaten, or killed by the Israeli IDF.

You are absolutely right to point out that this is not a religious “conflict,” itself a euphemistic term that conceals the nature of the aggressor and victim, citing the fact that you saw “Arab kids walking alongside Jewish kids next to a Christian church.” Again, your political dispositions should allow you, better than many, to understand the nature of this is not religious. The nature, instead, is one of state violence, of state-terrorism, of the forceful removal of Palestinians, a form of “slow genocide,” that secures what is, at its core, an essential and strategic centerpiece for US imperial policy in the Arab world. How can one separate Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Libya, from Isreal and Palestine? They are not separate issues, they are dynamically interwoven.

What is done is done, and the past cannot be changed. You took the fight, and you broke the BDS campaign in doing so. The question I and many other fans of yours have is why? Why would you break with a campaign, a strategy which has its roots in the anti-apartheid struggle against the old racist South African state? Why would a self-proclaimed anarchist, fighting to stomp out authoritarian hierarchy, economic injustice and inequality, and vicious and dehumanizing imperial wars, break with a campaign which holds similar aspirations for social justice and human dignity?

I can only hope in the future you join the BDS movement. Join with those of us across the world fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people and help put an end to one of the gravest of injustices occurring in our lifetime.

In solidarity,

Derek

Cain Velasquez and the Hypocrisy of the UFC

“Todos Latinos, we did it, eh?”

Those were the words of the new heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) this Saturday after his historic upset over the favored ex-champ Brock Lesnar. Lesnar had been the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world by Sherdog and MMA Weekly prior to be pounded out with one minute left in the first round by the 30 pound smaller Velasquez.

Needless to say, thousands and thousands of Latino and non-Latino supporters erupted in applause at the spectacular win. Mexican flags and pro-Velasquez banners were commonplace among the 14,000 plus fans that packed Anaheim’s Honda Center.

The media pitch for this event, spearheaded by the UFC’s head figure Dana White, was the story of Velasquez, “Brown Pride” tattooed across his chest, trying to defeat the purportedly unstoppable force that was Brock Lesnar to become the first Mexican-American heavyweight champion.

Prior to the fight at a press conference, one reporter tried to get the fighters to respond to a question regarding their stance on the anti-immigrant SB1070 passed in Arizona recently.

Lesnar, known for keeping his personal life private but also understood to harbor rather right-wing political views, as exemplified in his conservative views on healthcare and President Obama, declined to comment and simply stated he was “for legal immigration” and didn’t “have time to talk about [his] nationality.”

Like the editors at Cage Potato explain, this was probably the best response he could have given, “especially since dudes like Lesnar usually can’t pass up an opportunity to talk about their nationality, or put stickers about their nationality on their enormous 4X4s.”

Velasquez, on the other hand, remained true to his “Brown Pride” tattoo and explained that he was “against, definitely. Both my parents came into the United States from Mexico." He went on to explain his choice of music when he enters the ring, "It's a story about a man crossing the border and all the hardships…”

Undoubtedly those hardships must have shaped Velasquez, and those of us anti-racists in the MMA community can only thank him for speaking out when some other athletes would have chosen not to.

Interestingly, this was one of the first times that nationality was used so explicitly and overtly to sell a UFC event. Despite past attempts with fighters like Roger Huerta to break into the Latino market, every UFC commercial and blog mentioned the fact that Velasquez could be the “first Mexican-American heavyweight” ever.

Steven Marracco of MMA Junkie outlines the media campaign:

“The promotion's "UFC Primetime" series deeply delved into his ethnic roots and portrayed his father, a migrant lettuce farmer, as a pivotal character in his push to become champion.”

All too often issues of nationality and race simply slip by the radar and are ignored by the MMA community. For instance, Cheal Sonnen, an MMA fighter and lackluster Republican politician, before losing to Anderson Silva, who is from Brazil, got away with a host of bigoted comments. At one point he basically explained that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was only for gays and told Silva’s manager that he should “pray to whatever Demon effigy you prance and dance in front of that I decide not to CRUCIFY you.”

So, for the UFC to highlight Velasquez’s Mexican-American heritage seems like a progressive leap within the world of MMA.

“The guy's Mexican. His parents came here from Mexico (and) came over the border. ... Do you think we had him tattoo 'Brown Pride' on his chest? What the [expletive]?" Dana White so eloquently told reporters after the fight.

Some, of course, criticized the media blitz for using his nationality to sell the UFC to Latinos.

White did not reject this idea. He admitted that Velasquez could provide a serious opening for the UFC to enter the Latino community, adding that this fight as a “big deal” and could be a watershed moment.

Doesn’t sound like a bad thing, right? Think again.

White’s comments are a classic example of a CEO talking out of both sides of his mouth. While he is attempting to break into the Latino market and paint himself as a crusader for the Mexican-American fighter, he is also moving to get MMA shows for the first time in Arizona, the very state where the most racist and vile form of bigotry is alive and well in the form of SB1070.

The utter hypocrisy on display could not be more obvious.

Arizona's SB1070 is a law that will authorize officers to pull over, question, and detain anyone they have a "reasonable suspicion," including skin color, to believe is in this country without proper documentation. This is a law meant to legalize racial profiling and increase the harassment of Arizona residents and anybody who visits the state, including MMA fighters, their families and fans.

MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, with a wide array of Latino and Latino-American fighters. White is trying, with one already in the works for December 2010, to bring large-scale events to Arizona which could bring millions of dollars in revenue to a racist state. 

Meanwhile, he’s selling his brand to Latinos in hopes that they will not smell the rottenness of the deal they are getting sold. White could care less about discrimination or racism against Latinos, he only cares about how much of their money he can strip from their wallet. 

This, of course, is the essence of capitalism. Due what is best for the bottom line, not what is best for human beings, even if these human beings are some of the most important people in your business.

Every anti-racist should celebrate the victory of Velasquez, in the same way that anti-racists would celebrate the whooping of James Jeffries by Jack Johnson. We should not, however, be duped into thinking that Dana White gives a damn about Latinos.

A Quick Update, What's to Come, and a Petition (Please Sign!)

Hey, everyone. I know this has been inactive for almost a year. I have been involved in field placements and methods courses for my education degree and will be completing my student teaching in the spring. Even during the summer I was packed with strenuous six-week courses that consumed the majority of my time. However, I still receive the occasional e-mail about an article (usually the hip-hop one) that reinvigorates my desire to get new material out. I've done a lot of research and written some things on wide variety of topics since my last post, including the Japanese left in the pre-Wold War II (something Western leftists I think are relatively unaware of) era and the Great Starvation in Ireland among other things. Still, the amount of material I've been able to produce under the stress of these past couple semesters has been limited. I hope in the coming weeks to touch things up and make them available here. I have also collected an enormous amount of information, almost every possible piece I could find, on the Toledo Auto-Lite Strike of 1934, which I hope to explore more thoroughly as time allows.

In lieu of any new material, I hope that I can point people in the direction of a recently opened petition. In the grand scheme of things, it is a small effort towards social justice, but I hope that it helps do a small part in both legitimizing Mixed Martial Arts as a tool in the fight for equality and stopping the creeping quasi-fascist racism manifested in SB1070. We currently only have a little over 40 signatures, but if we are going to stop the event in December we will need a LOT more! Please, sign the petition here.

Here is the full write-up that gives a bit of background:

Dana White has expressed for the past couple of years his desire to get both UFC and WEC events in Arizona. In August of 2010 he announced that the WEC would hosting an event there in December:

“It’s funny, people have been terrorizing me for a long time to get either a UFC or WEC event to Arizona," he said, "it’s finally going to happen now.”

White has chosen to do this at one of the most irresponsible times, when Arizona's SB1070 law is set to hit the streets and begin terrorizing the latino and immigrant communities in that state.This is a vile and racist law that forces police to racially profile and harass Latino communities, a serious violation of both the American constitution and international human rights standards.

The UFC and WEC have contracts with a significant number of Latino and Latino-American fighters, including but not limited to the Gracies, Thiago Alvez, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, the Nogueira brothers, Roger Huerta, Cain Velasquez, Efrain Escudero, etc.

Any of these fighters, outside of the octagon and on Arizona's streets, could be targeted for the color of their skin. SB1070 is a law meant to legalize racial profiling and harassment of Arizona residents and anybody who visits the state, including MMA fighters, their families and fans.

There is an international movement that is calling for an economic boycott of Arizona until it repeals the racist law.

We, devoted mixed martial arts fans, demand that Dana White refuse to host any event in Arizona as long as the racist SB1070 remains on the books. We are taking a page from the activists who are calling on Bug Selig, the commissioner of major league baseball, to move the 2011 All-Star game from Arizona.

When Arizona refused to honor Martin Luther King Jr. as a national holiday, the Superbowl was moved. The NCAA refused to host postseason games in states that flew the confederate flag. Sports players and fans have a long history of resisting racist laws. It's time the MMA world joins that legacy!

To Dana White: We say NO UFC or WEC event in Arizona until SB1070 is OFF the books!

SIGN THE PETITION, tell Dana White NO UFC/WEC in Arizona!

Rampage: "I'm done fighting" and What It Says About the UFC

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson told the world on Tuesday that he's "done fighting."

Hate him or love him,  the news of Rampage's declaration that he will no longer fight hits many of us fans quite hard.  Rampage is, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting, skilled fighters to grace the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. From his often humorous interviews and coaching on the Ultimate Fighter reality show to his emotional and legal journeys that we sympathetically followed him on, Rampage has grown a significant fan base in the sport. On one hand, his decision is a percussive blow to those of us who love watching him in all his glory; his percussive punching power and his unique, vibrant fighting style always prove a thrilling watch. On the other, he stipulates a laundry list of rather convincing reasons for his choice. He mentions his repeated injuries and his desire to pursue an acting career an ancillary motives in his decision. However, what he clearly articulates, if not in these words, is that he is fed up with the authoritarian, corporate structure of the world's dominant fighting organization, the UFC, and it's figurehead Dana White.

Rampage cites a variety of problems he has encountered with the management of the UFC. His first line says it all: "The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them." From there, he airs out all the crap he's been put through to fight in the UFC, from being pushed into fights he claims he was not ready for and having to compete with serious jaw injuries, to fighting matches which he says "wasn't even worth it to me financially," and being snubbed for a rematch after he lost the 205 pound belt due to a controversial decision against Forrest Griffon.

On top of this, Dana White's shady deals are intricately woven all throughout the drama. After promising Rampage that he could fight for the belt after hosting The Ultimate Fighter reality show season 10:

"After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad [Evans]& even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida [205-belt holder]. After all that I still never complained & I did it all."

Perhaps the most humanizing section of his entire entry is when he explains why he simply requested that the UFC administration push his fight with Rashad Evans back a month or two:

"Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting."

It was that piece, perhaps, that was most heart-wrenching of all. Quinton Jackson is, like each and every one of us, a human-being with emotions, feelings, hopes, and desires. He is not simply a caged animal for us to enjoy. Unfortunately, the corporate, profit-driven framework in which Dana White and the UFC management function promotes the dehumanization of the fighters within the organization.

Dana White, and the Fertita brothers who own the majority of the UFC, ought to be ashamed of themselves. Often we forget that it is not the promoters, not the owners of the fighting organizations who have to actually go out and get punched, kicked, submitted, slammed, and what have you for them to make their enormous profits. Regardless of all the hyped-up discourse around White "really bringing MMA to the mainstream," he has done little more than monopolize the sport and push away good fighters or seriously strain the lives of the ones who put up with him.

Dana White has thoroughly discredited himself as a decent human-being multiple times. Replying to a female MMA journalist who wrote about managers and agents losing backstage passes in an "to separate fighters from their business representatives," White responded with a "disgraceful diatribe" in which he "calls Hunt a “f—ing bitch” and refers to a source of Hunt’s as a lying, “f—ing faggot.” Afterwords, he gave a half-hearted apology to the gay community yet refused to apologize to the author, Loretta Hunt. This disgusting debacle is just a drop in the bucket.

White has consistently proven he is the epitome of the vicious leech which lives off the labor of others while pretending that he is helping them. Freelance writer Jake Eman lays out a pretty good list of reasons why Dana White is a threat to the fighters and fans of mixed martial arts. While I think it is important to point out that White is, more or less, a figurehead for a profit-hungry organization and his replacement would mean very little in terms of restructuring how the UFC operates, Eman's criticisms are well taken. He cites the fact that the UFC repeatedly attempts to discourage competition, disrespects the sport and plays favorites in order to stimulate particular markets, and hypocritically criticizes boxing while committing many of the same sins boxing promoters are notorious for. Perhaps his most powerful arguement concerns pay:

"Dana White underpays the fighters in the UFC by an insane margin. The fighters don't even come close to sniffing the money that they are solely responsible for generating. For example, for UFC 100, billed as the "biggest night in the history UFC", the UFC paid a total of approximately $2.2 million to all of the fighters on the card that night, which includes $400,000 of special bonuses.

Lesnar is reported to make about $3 million including his share of the pay-per-view sales, which is an extra $2.6 million from his salary. Georges St. Pierre is also set to receive a share of the PPV, so let's just assume that totals out to another $2.6 million for him as well, because it certainly wouldn't be more. The result is $7.4 million paid to UFC fighters for the UFC 100 event, about $6 million of which went to 2 fighters, leaving the other 18 fighters to divvy up the remains.

The live attendance gate for the fight was $5.1 million. Dana White said he'd be thrilled with 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, so let's just underestimate that at a cool 1 million buys, which the UFC has done before, at $45 a pop. That's a total of $50 million generated not including foreign rights, closed circuit distribution and other earnings. That means, even tweaking the figures in his favor, Dana White and the UFC paid 15% of the money they earned that night to all of the fighters combined. Outrageous."

Outrageous is right, but we cannot assume that simply replacing Dana White would actually change much. Let's face it, the UFC is the largest, wealthiest fighting organization out there. They're goal is not, as some may suggest, to simply provide entertainment or to promote the welfare of their fighters; they're ultimate motivation is to make money. They function, as with all any other private institution in our society, to pursue profits. We can learn something here from Andrew Carnegie who maintained that he was "not in the business of making steel but in making a profit."

Sportswriter Dave Zirin spoke out wonderfully in a recent piece on boxing. Replace the word boxing with MMA and the passage transfers over seamlessly:

"We need to confront everything that's rotten in boxing. Right now there is no commissioner and no governing authority. There are no unions, and there is no collective bargaining on behalf of fighters. There is no health care, no mental health treatment and no one watching out for those who suffer from the debilitating effects of brain damage and its conjoined twin, depression."

For those of us who hate to see Rampage go, we should at least know where to direct the blame. It is not his fault, and we should stand behind him in his decision.

Should Socialists Accept Mixed Martial Arts?

What do American Trotskyist James P. Cannon, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, and Republican John McCain all have in common? They despise Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). To be fair, the first two spoke primarily about boxing, as MMA is a much more recent sports phenomenon. The connection, however, is apparent.

As commentator Donald Walter explains: “Since the sport of mixed martial arts was first introduced to the United States in 1993, it has been the subject of much heated political debate. The opponents of mixed martial arts have leveled numerous arguments against the sport, and under the leadership of Arizona Senator John McCain, they even succeeded in forcing the sport from national pay-per-view carriers, and convinced several states to ban the sport.”

For four years, from 1997 to 2001, MMA was on a dangerous precipice, until the UFC, with new regulations and under new ownership, came onto the scene. Still, representatives of various political tendencies, in the past and today, maintain a vehement stance against competitive fighting.

Perhaps most unfortunate was the stance of radical socialist James Cannon, who, commenting on the accidental death of a boxer, proclaimed:

“It is a commentary on the times and the social environment out of which the boxing business rises like a poisonous flower from the dunghill… Cock-fighting is illegal… But our civilization…has not yet advanced to the point where law and public opinion forbid men, who have nothing against each other, to fight for money and the amusement of paying spectators. Such spectacles are part of our highly touted way of life”.

In his Green Book, Qaddafi rides the same horse: “Boxing and wrestling are evidence that mankind has not rid itself of all savage behavior. Inevitably it will come to an end when humanity ascends the ladder of civilization.”

And, finally, “maverick” Republican, ex-presidential candidate John McCain, who ironically even claimed to box previously in the Naval Academy, followed Cannon’s comparison and in the 1990’s declared that MMA was “human cock-fighting” and “appeals to the lowest common denominator in our society.”

Aside from the sheer elitism on display, this is the same POW who advocates torture for prisoners and horrifically violent wars that have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Since then, however, attempts in various states to pass bills outlawing MMA have been made. Although mostly unsuccessful, this assault on the world’s fastest growing sport should ring an alarm for anyone who respects the right for people to control their own lives and bodies.

Competitive MMA should be recognized as a legitimate sport, regardless of the rhetoric surrounding opportunistic attacks on it. Aside from the fact that it is, in comparison with other sports, relatively safe (one would be hard pressed to find deaths in relation to sanctioned and regulated MMA competition), the training required to participate in MMA has gotten millions across the country who emulate the professionals to not only better their own physical shape, but learn valuable self-defense skills while they are at it.

This does not mean that the business of MMA is not to be criticized. UFC is synonymous with MMA, like the NFL to football. Shady contracts, low pay, lack of control over fight decisions, complete ownership of the fighter’s image, and rigid hierarchical control over the competitive lives of fighters by the owners of UFC, and the figurehead Dana White, are unfortunate aspects of the game, to say the least. Various fighters have already found themselves at odds with the near monopoly UFC has become in the past few years.

Another important aspect of MMA is the cross-section of fans that partake in it; Black and White, young and old, male and female. It is a worldwide phenomenon, one which millions of people in countries ranging from the U.S. to Russia, Brazil to Japan, eagerly and enthusiastically partake in.

Heroes arise from places where utter poverty and deprivation is common. While individualistic solutions to collective problems provide no serious answer or model for society to follow, MMA can provide outlets for kids who may otherwise be involved in self-destructive activity. And, to a select few, it provides the opportunity to rise out of poverty completely.

Such is the case of the well known Anderson Silva, from Curatiba, Brazil. Silva, who is now recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, holds the Middleweight title belt and has made a huge incursion into the Light Heavyweight division, and holds the record for most consecutive UFC victories (ten) was once an office manager working at McDonald’s. Obviously, it would be credulous to think this model can be followed by everyone, or even a significant portion of the hopeful MMA fighters.

Still, one should not forget that Muhammad Ali, shaped by the political and economic realities of the 1960’s, captivated American cultural life and was an icon of resistance against American imperialism and racial inequalities. A “violent” sport such as boxing produced one of America’s greatest critics and influential figures in the Black Liberation movement.

One can see the seeds of resistance in some MMA fighters already. Jeff “The Snowman” Monson, an ex-UFC fighter, is a staunch advocate of anarchism and his interviews consistently denounce capitalism, rightfully, as a system of exploitation. Canadian fighter Kalib Starnes, not to pretend he has much potential left as a fighter, lists Noam Chomsky as one of his heroes. Heavy-hitting Houston Alexander, an Omaha, Nebraska native, was a hip-hop pioneer in the area and helped run progressive youth organizations. And the well-known Rashad Evans entered one of his most famous fights, against Chuck Liddell, to the tune "Point of No Return" by the revolutionary, politically charged hip-hop artist Immortal Technique.

This is not to say that there are not problems with how the sport is currently organized. Health problems, injuries, etc. are obviously a possibility in the sport. UFC, for instance, purchases insurance policies for fighters to cover medical costs occurred during the fight (notably not during training, however). As was the case with Tito Ortiz, if a fighter cannot prove without a doubt the injury happened within their fifteen minutes in the cage, they are not covered. This points not necessarily to the dangers of the sport, but instead only strengthens the argument that quality health care should be a right for everyone, including those involved in sports. Until private, profit-seeking insurance companies are replaced by a universal, single-payer system, this will remain a problem.

Other problems, such as the exclusion of women from mainstream MMA organizations (UFC in particular), and the extremely sexist and homophobic culture that penetrates certain elements of the sport exist as well. Yet, these issues are more a reflection of a sexist and homophobic society than anything specific to the sport. Therefore, socially conscious fighters and fans must take this issue up within the sport. However, this cannot be done by simply preaching about its shortcomings from outside.

As far as critiques from the right, these are easy to explain. McCain and his pals in congress use MMA as a PR tool; looking tough on what you pejoratively label “violent” or “unrespectable” behavior apparently boosts moral character within conservative circles. It is an attack on not only youth, who are increasingly attracted to the sport, but to working class people in general, “the lowest common denominator,” who enjoy watching, training, and participating in MMA.

For those on the left, like Cannon, the explanation is harder. While it is easy to understand his sentiments, that men (or women) are put into a cage or ring to inflict pain on one another for the profit of a select few seems despicable, we should not forget that everything that functions under the profit motive appears in a similiar way. Exploitation of labor is the basis upon which the system functions. It is disgusting the way immigrant workers are forced into low-wage, high-risk meat packing plants, how teachers are being forced to work on merit pay or teach to standardized tests. This does not mean there is fundamentally anything wrong with packing meat for consumption or teaching children. Instead, the blame should not be on the shadow, but the system.

Anyone who believes at all in human dignity would agree that the people who go out and get punched in the face should get the money they generate with their labor, rather than the person who simply happens to own the company they fight for. As it stands right now, MMA fighters are some of the lowest paid in the sporting community, despite enormous growth in profits over the past decade. Yes, this is exploitation. Yes, fighters deserve a much greater share of the money coming in.

Exploitation of fighters is a result of the way the sport is set up, and one should not assume this is the way it will always remain. Two people who enter into a mutual contract, knowing the risks, having properly prepared and trained for the task, in competitive sportsmanship, should have every right to engage each other in a bout. Nothing, fundamentally, is wrong with this. MMA is not cock-fighting or dog-fighting, humans consciously make the decision to compete.

Socialists and leftists who promote the idea that human-beings should be able to control our own bodies and lives should find no qualm with the sport, despite the shortcomings of how the establishment is currently structured.

EDIT: Not long after I wrote this, a piece was written on boxing by perhaps the best political sports writer around. Although it deals with boxing deaths (and almost universally it is agreed boxing is more dangerous than MMA), the fundamental principles which he explicates are the same and are easily applied to the world of Mixed Martial Arts:

We need to confront everything that's rotten in boxing. Right now there is no commissioner and no governing authority. There are no unions, and there is no collective bargaining on behalf of fighters. There is no health care, no mental health treatment and no one watching out for those who suffer from the debilitating effects of brain damage and its conjoined twin, depression.

Read more here: Boxing's Month from Hell