Dave Bagler

I have noticed that on many mixed martial arts (MMA) related forums that fans generally and American fans specifically are at a loss to explain why MMA is so popular in Canada. This confusion has persisted in part due to week explanations from Canadian fans and a general lack of knowledge regarding sports culture in both countries. First I should point out that I am not an expert but I think I may have noticed some trends that help explain why MMA has become such a popular sport in Canada.

The growth of a sport creates a feedback loop where initial interest serves to drive greater and greater growth. This initial interest in MMA can perhaps be explained by the other popular sports in the country.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that in Canada hockey is king. In the US football is the most popular sport in terms of viewership followed by baseball. While these are three very different sports we can separate them into to two categories.

The first category is continuous action sports. Hockey falls into this first category. The second category contains sports identified by a series of stand alone moments. Both football and baseball fit nicely into the second category. I think this is best illustrated by a conversation between West Wing characters Sam Seaborn and John Hoynes:

HOYNES
I heard you had Caps tickets.

SAM
Yes, sir.

HOYNES
How was the game?

SAM
Not very good.

HOYNES
Have you ever seen a good hockey game?

SAM
No.

HOYNES
Me neither. I love sports, I just can't get next to hockey. See, I think Americans like to savour situations. One down, bottom of the ninth, one run game, first and third, left handed batter, right hand reliever, infield at double play depth, here's the pitch. But scoring in hockey seems to come out of nowhere. The play-by-play guy is always shocked. LePeiter passes to Huckenchuck who skates past the blue line. Huckenchuck, of course, was traded from Winnipeg for a case of Labatts after sitting out last season with... Oh my God, he scores!

So Americans (or at least American viewing habits suggest that Americans) enjoy the set up, the calm before the storm whereas Canadians prefer the fast pace of hockey and are willing to sacrifice the tension of the set up.

I think I should point out that I'm in no way trying to make a value judgment here. I don't think that preferring the dolled out action of football is any better or worse than preferring the flow of action in hockey.

MMA falls into the first category described above and is therefore fundamentally more similar to hockey than to football or baseball. However there are some moments of suspense in both sports but they serve to outline further similarities. In hockey you have the moments before the puck drops to start the period, in MMA you have the moments when the fighters move towards the middle of the ring/cage at the begging of the round. In hockey you have the tense moments before a face-off, late in the game. This is similar to the pauses between exchanges late in the last round where both fighters are tired but don't want leave the fight in the judges hands.

Addition to the similarities above hockey includes fighting. While fighting falls outside the rules it is still a frequent occurrence and a crowd-pleaser. These similarities help ease the transition into the new sport. In other words, all things being equal, it is easier for a hockey fan to pick up MMA than a baseball fan.

This easy transition and pre-primed interest has created the initial spark that has set the MMA snowball in motion.

This interest has grown over time due in no small part to the two largest sports television networks in Canada. TSN (the Canadian equivalent to ESPN) provides us with regular MMA highlights along with other sport news as well as broadcasting all the WEC content. While I can't seem to find the statistics I'm sure that a larger proportion of Canadians have access to TSN than Americans have access to Versus (who provides the WEC content in the US).

Also in Canada we are not limited to watching the UFC on Spike. Rogers Sportsnet (the Canadian equivalent to Fox Sports Net) presents the UFC content both in standard and high definition. In addition to watching TUF or UFN on Sportsnet when there is an overseas event (such as UFC 105 in the UK) we can watch it live instead of waiting until the taped broadcast on Spike. MMA is regularly featured during sports news and highlights on Sportsnet right along side the NHL, NFL and MLB.

In addition to television coverage the National Post (a nation wide newspaper in Canada) regularly features articles about MMA in it's sports section. Their website features a blog from MMA athlete and Fight Network personality Robin Black. Speaking of the Fight Network this channel not only provides a 24 hour news ticker of fight news but also provides smaller MMA promotions and amateur MMA athletes with a national audience.

This exposure has made MMA a mainstream sport in Canada. A recent example would be the Sportsnet Athlete of the Year award. This award recognizes the best Canadian athlete of the year as voted on by Sportsnet viewers. Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns won the award in 2005 and 2006. Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the award in 2007. Who won the award in both 2008 and 2009? None other than UFC Welterweight Champion George St-Pierre.

From similarities between sports like hockey and mainstream media coverage, MMA has been absorbed in to the Canadian sports culture. This trend will no doubt continue as young Canadians in large and growing numbers head to the dojo instead of (or in addition to) the rink.