THE LATE REVIEW on TV3 hosted a live debate about the sport of mixed martial arts last night, with journalist Eoghan Corry and John Kavanagh — coach to Conor McGregor and several more of Ireland’s top MMA athletes — in opposite corners.
From the early stages of the debate it seemed clear that Kavanagh was being double-teamed by both the opposer and the presenter, Tom McGurk, who claimed that “there don’t seem to be any rules” in the sport.
McGurk stated that the sport is banned “in certain states in the United States of America” before Kavanagh added that that’s the case in just one state — New York: “If you look a little bit deeper into that it’s more of a political issue with the owners of the UFC rather than for any safety reasons,” Kavanagh said.
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Not happy how I did there but got caught a bit off guard. Thought I was debating Eoghan not him and the presenter haha. Learn and move on :)
McGurk also questioned the use of the cage, which Kavanagh explained is in place for the safety of the competitors, while the presenter also seemed aghast that “there’s kicking, kicking people’s heads!”
Kavanagh said: “It’s a combination of a few Olympic sports. In taekowndo you have kicks to the head in the Olympics. In boxing you’ve obviously got punches to the head. In wrestling you have throws and in judo you have submissions. The name explains what it is. Mixed martial arts.
“I think it’s highly competitive. I wouldn’t use the word violent. I would concede that this sport played at the level Conor McGregor does it is dangerous. There’s dangers, as there is with all sports played at a professional level, whether it’s rugby or boxing and so on. But is it more dangerous than them? Factually speaking, no.”
Fair play to John Kavanagh on his spirited defence on #Latereview tonight in face of my point that MMA is ephemeral & inconsequential
Concussion also came up for discussion; an issue Tom McGurk is obviously quite familiar with as a regular rugby presenter.
While Kavanagh and Corry had differing views on the sport, the former sports writer did express his opinions in quite a measured manner… despite his false claim that eye-gouging had once been a part of MMA, something Kavanagh was quick to point out was never the case.
Corry said: “It [MMA] is ephemeral and inconsequential. It’s not a sport that’s here to stay. It’s something that has arisen out of the debris that was the collapse of professional boxing into all its constituent parts.”
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zpfpb_laterevie_animals
Irrespective of your own personal stance on the sport, there’s no doubt that, in John Kavanagh, mixed martial arts has an exemplary ambassador.
John Kavanagh defended the legitimacy of MMA during a live TV3 debate
THE LATE REVIEW on TV3 hosted a live debate about the sport of mixed martial arts last night, with journalist Eoghan Corry and John Kavanagh — coach to Conor McGregor and several more of Ireland’s top MMA athletes — in opposite corners.
From the early stages of the debate it seemed clear that Kavanagh was being double-teamed by both the opposer and the presenter, Tom McGurk, who claimed that “there don’t seem to be any rules” in the sport.
McGurk stated that the sport is banned “in certain states in the United States of America” before Kavanagh added that that’s the case in just one state — New York: “If you look a little bit deeper into that it’s more of a political issue with the owners of the UFC rather than for any safety reasons,” Kavanagh said.
McGurk also questioned the use of the cage, which Kavanagh explained is in place for the safety of the competitors, while the presenter also seemed aghast that “there’s kicking, kicking people’s heads!”
Kavanagh said: “It’s a combination of a few Olympic sports. In taekowndo you have kicks to the head in the Olympics. In boxing you’ve obviously got punches to the head. In wrestling you have throws and in judo you have submissions. The name explains what it is. Mixed martial arts.
“I think it’s highly competitive. I wouldn’t use the word violent. I would concede that this sport played at the level Conor McGregor does it is dangerous. There’s dangers, as there is with all sports played at a professional level, whether it’s rugby or boxing and so on. But is it more dangerous than them? Factually speaking, no.”
Concussion also came up for discussion; an issue Tom McGurk is obviously quite familiar with as a regular rugby presenter.
While Kavanagh and Corry had differing views on the sport, the former sports writer did express his opinions in quite a measured manner… despite his false claim that eye-gouging had once been a part of MMA, something Kavanagh was quick to point out was never the case.
Corry said: “It [MMA] is ephemeral and inconsequential. It’s not a sport that’s here to stay. It’s something that has arisen out of the debris that was the collapse of professional boxing into all its constituent parts.”
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zpfpb_laterevie_animals
Irrespective of your own personal stance on the sport, there’s no doubt that, in John Kavanagh, mixed martial arts has an exemplary ambassador.
H/T: SevereMMA.com
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