Search Results: body art

I'm currently a Middleweight amateur boxing with a record of 55-3(42 KO/TKOs). I've been boing since I was 10 years old and a very long time fan of the sport. As for MMA, It wasn't until I was 12-13 years old that I suddenly also became a very vig MMA fan after watching a UFC fight between Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin. I've also been watching old recorded fights of Pride Fighting Championship, which had me all pumped up watching their fights.

Recently, I made some new friends in college who have had a long-time martial arts background (Muay Thai, Wrestling and BJJ). I told them that I'm an amateur boxer who's not only a diehard boxing fan but also big MMA fan. They told me if I'm interested in enhancing my fighting background and make a career out of MMA, then I can come over to their gym.

I've thought about the two careers and analyzed the pros and cons of Boxing and MMA.

Boxing -
Pros: Much more paycheck, more globally mainstream, rich history, more press freedom (compared to UFC/MMA), slightly more respectable athletes.

Cons: More higher risk of permanent head/brain injury and in-the-ring death, being a world champion in boxing has now become meaningless with multiple alphabet world titles from multiple unnecessary sanctioning bodies, a world boxing champion can cherry-pick their contenders if they wanted to and get away with it more often.

MMA -
Pros: Very fast growing sport, slightly less shady underhand tactics than boxing regarding fights and promoting a fighter, less likely to suffer from permanent brain damage and death than boxing, no world champions are allowed to cherry-pick their opponents once they sign a contract with a promotion/organization/league (UFC, Bellator, etc.).

Cons: Less paycheck, still only popular in a few countries (even in Brazil, MMA isn't all that well-known as a sport), outlandish and exaggerated promotion of the sport.