Art Davie: “UFC – like the WWE” and “XARM – nonstop action”
By Brandt DeLorenzo on Jan 03, 2009
In his latest blog entry, Art Davie talks about the sport of MMA and how his new arm-wrestling competition, XARM, is the new combat sport. If you haven’t heard of XARM before, take a look at this video. It should explain everything fairly effortlessly.
Now I didn’t completely disagree with everything Davie said in his article, but the end of his blog takes the cake in regards to irony. Let’s break down a few things that Davie says in his entry. This isn’t meant to mock or humiliate Davie in any way.
I was the guy who started this sport and let me say, for the record, that I love MMA. But, I’m not the only one or the first one to say that the MMA seems to have has lost its way. MMA, and specifically the UFC, have stopped delivering the kind of extreme fighting sport that fans have come to expect. Some are saying now that the UFC has de-evolved. First it was a spectacle, then it gained acceptance as a sport and now it’s back to being a spectacle.
I wouldn’t say MMA is a spectacle, but I wouldn’t completely disagree if someone said that the UFC is on its way to becoming a spectacle if they continue along their mainstream-oriented path. MMA was a spectacle during the early days of the UFC when groin shots, breaking arms, and ‘anything goes’ was the truth. Now MMA has become a true sport with rules and state sanctioning bodies to promote fighter health and safety. The only thing we’re missing is a fighters’ union.
Not too long ago the UFC really cared about putting solid fights together. Now, they seem more interested in providing a neat, corporate package like the WWE with their stable of entertainers. They’ve become a business looking to sell their groomed fighters. What does it say about the UFC when you have a pro wrestler, with a 2-1 record, beating their hall-of-fame Heavyweight Champion? And I don’t even want to get into the farce that was ProEliteXC. Some are saying that the UFC is fast becoming just like the WWE……pure entertainment and less of a SPORT.
I never agreed with putting Brock Lesnar and his 2-1 record up against a smaller and older Randy Couture. I was hoping Couture would dominate, but I wasn’t surprised when Lesnar used those fast hammer-fists to rain down a win in impressive fashion. The UFC is not even close to being pure entertainment. They are, however, moving towards that type of event when they promote guys like Brock Lesnar. But then again, look at UFC 93. The main event is Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson. Does this fight scream entertainment to you? I don’t think so.
When I created the UFC, the boxing community and martial artists, from karate to taekwondo, said it was too brutal and a freak show….a “unicorn sport”. Now some in MMA are taking shots at my new sport, XARM – saying it’s too extreme. Oh, how history repeats itself! What XARM does is take the best three minutes of any MMA fight – removes the ground game…and gives fans what they want – raw, uncensored, nonstop action!
Get off the ground and step up to the table. That’s my thought….
Peace,
Art
Now if I’m reading this correctly, the purpose behind XARM is to give the fans ‘what they want’, rght? Would that be a sport or entertainment? Is XARM a sport and could it ever really be a sport? Like the XFL, Vince McMahon’s NFL spinoff, I can’t fathom an arm-wrestling combat sport really doing anything for more than a few thousand quasi-fans who, like the early UFC fans, are just looking for a place to drink and watch people beat the crap out of each other. Of course there’s always the anticipation and excitement for something new and revolutionary, but comparing MMA and XARM and attempting to liken former to ‘WWE entertainment’ and the latter to ‘raw, uncensored, nonstop action’ may not be the most logical way to attract that anticipation. If anything, there will be a lot of angry MMA fans and a few excited meatheads.
As far as Art Davie goes, the guy deserves the respect and recognition for everything he has done for MMA. Ithink that he’s looking for another ‘new’ combat sport when the only real combat sport is already flourishing in many countries all over the world. You can’t take anything away from MMA because of the UFC and you certainly can’t replace MMA with a unconventional arm-wrestling event. We’ll see how this plays out.
Comments (8)
Get 1 Now
Get Free Gear
Art Davies can keep talking, but all he’s doing is reminding us how stupid he is.
Obviously, my article (linked in related articles) was not about this, but the points still apply.
Davies is claiming credit for creating the sport, and he clings to that delusion, along with the notion that XARM is going to be big.
This just reminds me of how lucky we are to have Dana White.
Let’s ask Fedor Emelianenko if he is as thankful to Dana White as you are. Without promoters like Davie, we wouldn’t even have the UFC. I read the blog, and I think that with some refinement and more protection for fighters, XARM will at least be worth a chance. I’m a fan of MMA, not necessarily UFC. This isn’t pure MMA, but it is exciting. Just relax and let’s see what the next phase brings.
Fedor only has an American audience for MMA because of Dana (Affliction would not exist if Dana hasn’t demonstrated the capacity for profit in MMA). Fedor may not like Dana, but anyone with a basic knowledge of the history understands how bad Davies and Meyrowitz were for the sport and how difficult it was to get sanctioned because of their promoting.
I’m not always a fan of the UFC. I have a lot of problems with how they run their organization, but I like to think I’m reasonable with my objections and my praises.
I just don’t find the prospect of XARM that interesting. I don’t particularly like the idea of tying guys together by the hands and having them go out it. It’s not realistic and it doesn’t have the same capacity for versatility. Mostly, though, I find Davies’ claim that he’s responsible for the growth of the UFC ridiculous and opportunistic.
The big problem with XARM is that it doesn’t offer any kind of historical relevance like MMA does. If you’re not in MMA because of two guys beating the crap out of each other (casual fan), there’s a good chance you like MMA because of the different fighting styles or you personally practice BJJ, Karate, Kempo, Boxing, etc.
To me, XARM is just like the XFL. It was new, it was fun for a little while, but it didn’t make a cent.
XARM = DUMB!
Brandt I am gonna disagree, XFL closely simulated the game called football. The XARM is closer to the old school trampoline basketball, except people watched that…
“What XARM does is take the best three minutes of any MMA fight – removes the ground game”
Isn’t that what boxing basically is? Without taping the guys hands together? XARM just seems like a stupid concept to me.
Did I mention…DUMB?
Art Davie seems to be basking in the sun of the past. It wasn’t his idea for ufc, he and meyrowitz just saw the cash, and jumped on it. It was the gracies that came of with the idea of mma, to spread their martial art of bjj vs. other martial arts.
PS: Xarm is retarded and it will fail, just like meyrowitz’s yamma pit fighting.