CBS in talks with Ultimate Fighting

CBS has evidently decided that anything goes when it comes to strike programming.

The network is in negotiations with Ultimate Fighting Championship, an organization that sponsors controversial mixed martial-arts bouts, about producing one or more prime-time specials, according to a person close to the talks.

CBS hopes that UFC specials could provide a hedge against the writers strike, which might leave many programming gaps as familiar series run out of fresh episodes.

A CBS spokesman declined to comment.

The network may be courting serious controversy, though, especially on the eve of an election year. UFC, based on the Brazilian sport of vale tudo ("anything goes") fighting, has attracted fierce critics who say the matchups are brutal and dangerous. Sen. John McCain called the sport "human cockfighting," and many states have banned "no-holds-barred" fighting.

The sport has tried to clean up its image in recent years, and bouts have appeared on Spike TV, the Viacom-owned cable network that targets young men. It's unclear what the CBS deal, if consummated, might mean for any future Spike matchups on "The Ultimate Fighter" and "UFC Unleashed."   

More news on the strike

-- Scott Collins

Comments

[Professor McGlennon]

Why is everyone still living in the early 90s? No Holds Barred is NOT MMA. No holds barred was a bloody, no rules version that was held by SEG production company. It was illegal almost everywhere, and had to be held on indian reservations. Zuffa productions bought the UFC, cleaned it up, and now it has PAGES of rules, has a better safety record than both Boxing and Football, and is shown on cable TV. MMA is only illegal in a couple states, and mainly the ones that haven't made the great leap into the 21st century, and differentiated NHB from MMA. Comparing NHB with MMA is like comparing Football to Football-with-knives.

[Brian Miller]

The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) isn't really very controversial at all if you are familiar with it. It's simply sold that way to make news stories more interesting. Most of the misconceptions about MMA have been perpetuated by individuals with alterior motives. For example, politicians who get money from businesses that sponsor boxing, which is showing a marked decline in popularity as MMA becomes more accpeted.

People can sell the sport however they see fit. Just as easily as it can be potrayed as "brutal and dangerous" it could also be considered a combination of several Olympic events (including boxing, judo, tae kwondo, Greco-Roman, and freestyle wrestling) all combined into a single sport. Top MMArtists generally have a background in another combat sport and crossover into MMA and then begin training all other aspects extensively. It's extremely rare for anybody to come in off the street and reach the upper echelons of the sport.

MMA is a legitimate sport that has experienced very few major injuries and absolutely no fatalities since being sanctioned in the US. Concussions are much rarer in MMA than in boxing because the fighter must be able to intelligently defend himself at all times. They are not allowed take an 8 count and stand back up to take more abuse after being knocked down. Plus, the focus of the stirkes in MMA is different than in boxing. You'd be just as likely to get kicked in the leg as punched in the head. The accumulation of punches is the real danger which is only a fraction of what it is in boxing. Broken limbs are possible but rare. Generally speaking, when it happens it is the person's own fault for not "submitting" to their opponent.

As far as serious injury and even fatality, MMA is no worse than a number of other mainstream sports. If you would really like to discuss a dangerous sport how about comparing statistics of sanctioned MMA to that of competitive cheerleading.

[Jorsh]

In response to "Professor McGlennon" in the first comment, the UFC had rules and sanctioning long before Zuffa bought them. New Jersey was the first state to actually sanction MMA in the US, in part thanks to SEG.