RealGM

I was thinking today how most MMA fighters use a combination of Boxing, Jujitsu, and Greco-Roman specialties. Some, of course, might use more or less.

But Boxing is so popular. People watch it on Pay-Per-View, Cable, or even Network channels when it's on. Stadiums and Arenas get filled. Same with MMA. Why is there not televised Greco-Roman competitions?

With as many participants Greco-Roman has, from childhood school age, up to high school, college, and even Olympic events, the interest -and tradition- is there.

I think if networks were to find talented Wrestlers, and put together a quality program - (minus the costumes, fake blood, and tables and chairs,) people would watch it.

(Jujitso maybe, too. But it lacks the tradition that I see in Greco-Roman Wrestling.)

Far more American fighters (can't speak for every country) have a background in folkstlye. College wrestling is folkstyle for instance. Folkstyle is fairly similar to freestyle, which along with Greco-Roman are the Olympic types.

For whatever reason wrestling has never been very popular as a TV product. Doesn't seem to be any reason to expect that to change.

Wrestling has the same thing that BJJ has, the vast majority of the spectators are people who participate in the sport.

So if you dont really know the sport, you dont really know what you're watching. So if you haven't wrestled, most wont pickup on all the small parts of the sport. And when it comes to the elite level of wrestling, its the small aspects of the sport which can win a match. BJJ runs into the same thing, if you have never participated in BJJ, there is a good chance you wont pickup on all the small aspects of a match. So with both sports a casual fan will most of the time just see two people lying on each other.

BJJ has the advantage of submissions. There are so many different ways to submit someone and seeing someone tap, even a casual fan can recognize that.

But I think both sports will struggle ever getting an audience that is beyond mostly just the participants of the sport.

I just think it is interesting that MMA, which is kind of a 3-way hybrid of disciplines is so popular and only 1 of those traditional disciplines is popular by itself.

Flo has made US college and international wrestling very compelling imo. Great retrospectives and hype videos make events connect. I have never wrestled a second, watch a fair bit on YouTube.