The Savage Truth: Keep MMA Out of the Olympics

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media. I’ve seen all the cute Olympic mixed martial arts stories over the past week or two and I have to tell you, I’m not a fan at all. I know there is a certain type of validation the sport might receive if somehow it ended up being an official Olympic event but to be honest, I don’t think I could handle watching whatever bastardized version of this sport was palatable for the International Olympic Committee. I’ve talked about this topic many times in the past and like clockwork, it comes up again every four years, as another country sinks millions upon millions of dollars into the sinkhole that comes with being the host of an Olympiad. Every time the narrative goes something like this: “Man, wouldn’t it be great if MMA was in the Olympics? Just think how great it would be for all the athletes who would get to represent their country.” My reply? Hell no. I don’t want to see fighters who belong at their local hillbilly hoedown show in a saloon or some casino somewhere wearing Old Glory like they’re the be all and all of American MMA. I know “MMA in the Olympics” sounds special and grand, but let’s not forget that in all likelihood, we’re not going to be getting a Conor McGregor-Jose Aldo rematch for the 145-pound gold medal; the UFC isn’t going to give its athletes away to the Olympics every four years. Your gold medal contestants are going to be American kids from an amateur show you’ve never heard of, fighting Brazilian kids from a favela that you also haven’t heard of. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got my fill of unwatchable, unspectacular MMA to watch already and I don’t need anyone to tell me the guy who just won a gold medal is going to be the next big thing when he couldn’t even get on the 387th season of “The …

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