Degree Name
Master of Science
Department or Program
Mass Communication and Media Arts
Advisor
Jan Thompson
Abstract
“MMA: Misunderstanding My Art,” explores the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the lives of four fighters who participate in the sport. MMA, one of the fastest growing sports in the world, continues to be ill-perceived and misunderstood because of the nature of the sport. MMA is a full contact sport in which opponents employ trained techniques in combating each other to win a competition. Fighters suffer injuries, but serious injury in the sport is not common. Like other contact sports, there are rules, regulations and safety tactics that are employed during matches, yet critics consider the sport “too dangerous,” and it has been labeled “human cockfighting”. “MMA: Misunderstanding My Art” further explores reasons negative views of the sport exist, and how such an aggressive sport has the power to change lives.