Bill O’Rielly is a sort of newsman who appears on ultra conservative FOX. I have nothing against slanted news. I’m all for bias. The only thing I ask is that if someone is going to complain, he should know what he is complaining about. O’Rielly put the UFC in his cross hairs without, I’m certain, ever seeing an MMA bout. FOX invited Dana White and Rich Franklin on the O’Rielly Factor to talk about the UFC. Little did they know that it was sabotage. Instead of being asked about the growth of the sport and company, they were facing ludicrous questions about violence and safety.

This is not news. This piece took place in 2005. The reason for this article is because O’Rielly’s ignorance is not limited to him or one point in time. There are flocks of misguided mother hens in the past, present and future.

The intro opens with Bill O’Rielly giving his description of the UFC, a sport he knows nothing about. The visual on the right of the screen shows a pair of boxing gloves for no apparent reason since MMA fighters don’t wear boxing gloves.

O’Rielly says that the UFC is “Selling brutality. People come to see it because they want to see violence. There is no question about that. I question that. Why is it that when a man hits another who isn’t look as in gridiron or hockey it is called a sport but when the defender squares up to protect himself it is called brutality? Sorry Bill. Fighting with rules is a sport. It is a clean fight. In any case, I have discussed this in another article (Kickboxing is not a violent sport).

Dana White does his best on the spot to address the differences in between boxing and MMA. He could have been clearer, but he did suggest that increasing variety of attacks in not the same as increasing quantity of attacks. The Ali example just complicates the discussion since 15-round boxing is an extinct sport. That said, Ali is Bill’s example so we have to go with it. Forty-five (45) minutes of punches to the head is different than 25 minutes of a wider variety of attacks and targets. Every knee to the body is NOT a punch to the head. Every kick to the legs is NOT a punch to the head. Grappling is NOT a punch to the head. Less time in a match will mean that an MMA fighter will receive fewer punches to the head than a boxer. In short, more variety in attacks means that the number of attacks of one particular type (say, punches to the head) will decrease not increase. I expect everyone with common sense to figure this out. The dangers in MMA are not triple that of prizefighting, especially if we are discussing brain injuries.

O’Rielly also asks, “What’s next? Ancient rome ? Lions in the ring?” Here’s a quick history lesson. Ancient Greece practiced a sport called Pankration which was part of the ancient Olympics and the forerunner to world martial arts. When the Romans staged the gladiatorial games, the Pankrationists wore medal or leather gauntlets and ended their careers quickly. The lions then ate the remaining Pankrationists and now we believe that martial arts are eastern. When O’Rielly asks about Ancient Rome, I can’t help but interpret it as “So Dana, any plans on destroying your business?”

O’Rielly quotes the British Journal of Sports Medicine stating that MMA has more concussions that boxing. Before leaping to the results of a study like this, one must judge the relevance of the observations. This particular study was compiled using video footage. The paper had no access to medical records. Furthermore, concussions don’t result in permanent brain damage anymore than getting extremely drunk on cheap gin. The terrifying damage that gives doctors (and me) the shivers comes from repeated hits over a long period, damage that has been stacked on top of previous damage. In 15-round boxing, rounds 13 to 15 separated not only the men from the boys, but also the minds from the men. In brief, O’Rielly exaggerated the implications of a poorly compiled study.

O’Rielly states that Muhammad Ali is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s. The truth is that Ali does NOT have Parkinson’s Disease. He suffers from Parkinson’s Syndrome. Perhaps Bill has Ali confused with another boxer or perhaps Michael J. Fox. Lastly, O’Rielly indicates that Muhammad Ali says he got Parkinson’s Disease from getting punched in the head. The strength of this argument depends on an aged man with an IQ of 75 diagnosing himself without a medical degree or the necessary medical equipment (which probably won’t exist until 2050 if ever). Seeing how I like Ali, I’d rather just accuse O’Rielly of lying. As for mentioning the Quarry brothers at the end of the interview, this is another extreme example, probably worse than the Ali example. Jerry Quarry fought in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. You won’t find anyone in boxing who is against regulation to stop aging boxers from taking tragic risks.

The sad thing is that O’Rielly tried to sabotage White and Franklin with such easily refutable arguments yet left the big issues completely untouched. One question that would carry more weight is “Why do boxers have to wear gloves with attached thumbs while your fighters are free to throw punches with their thumbs free?” Still stronger is to drop comparisons to boxing entirely and compare MMA to professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling is extinct. It existed in the early 1900s but has since been replaced by fake-wrestling. The sport has gone though the fans of the fights stunts still call the spectacle pro wrestling. One of the reasons for the disappearance of the sport was that matches were extremely easy to fix and no one knew better. In no time, the number of fixed bouts outnumbered the real ones. From there, the birth of fake-wrestling took flight and today watching oversized men in costumes do fight stunts is extremely popular.

MMA is also easy to fake. A knockout does NOT mean a fighter was unable to continue. MMA does not offer 10-counts or 8-counts, so a briefly stunned or off-balance fighter will often have to walk back to the locker room the loser and unharmed. Early stoppages are accepted in real fights and can be scripted into fake ones as well.

Even easier is to allow the fight to end with a technique that every kid in judo class practices. Chokes and joint locks are brilliant techniques. They also make MMA the only professional sport where an athlete can quit without raising an eyebrow. People today still remember boxer Roberto Duran saying, “No mas!” The list of MMA fighters who have tapped out is much longer and generally unquestioned. Sparring sessions, even, can include a very large number of tapouts without any worries for safety. Scripting a fight to end with a tapout is not difficult at all.

The MMA business model also bears a striking resemblance to fake-wrestling. The titles are not from independent sanctioning organizations but from the promotional companies themselves. Even Don King on his boldest day wouldn’t dream of creating a Don King Promotions Heavyweight Title, yet that is exactly what the UFC and Pride have done. Pride has taken it one step further, they have embraced pro wrestlers. Some have competed (or performed) on shows. Some have acted as spokesmen for the company. In the early days, discussions about fixed bouts were commonplace. When asked if he had thrown the fight against Takada, Mark Coleman replied “I needed the money.” That will probably be the last careless slip of the tongue but not the last predetermined match in MMA.

I don’t know why Bill O’Rielly decided to target MMA. I can’t see why Republican voters from the American Bible Belt would take aim at a pro sport. I’m mostly surprised that Bill would take a smug stance proceed to launch weak illogical attacks. Isn’t targeting one’s best offense against an opponents worst defense common in all sports, wars and debates?

This interview can be viewed on Youtube (click here.)