by Russell Snow

Created on: February 10, 2010

Is Mixed Martial Arts human cockfighting?  The simple answer is, of course, no.  People are not poultry.  Despite PETA’s claims to the contrary, human beings are not at the same level as chickens either organically or intellectually.

That being said, in a broader sense, the essence of each sport is indeed much the same: a fight to the finish between two evenly matched opponents.  Some may say that the only difference between the two is that while an MMA or a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) match is not intended to bring about the death of one of the combatants, a cockfight frequently does end with one, or sometimes both, of the birds dead.  An MMA fight concludes with the knockout or voluntary submission of one of the fighters, whereas a gamecock will usually continue the combat until his opponent is dead or he himself can fight no more.  There are, however, occasions where one bird will refuse to fight and will run from the other.  In this case, the cowardly bird is immediately declared the loser and the battle ends without bloodshed.  The similarity between the two contests is not so much in their brutality, but the fact that both only end when one party can or will no longer continue.

This concept of a violent one-on-one contest, viewed for the purpose of entertainment, is as old as mankind himself.  The connection between human contests and cockfighting goes back almost as far.

Cockfighting, according to archeological evidence, began over 4500 years ago, in the area of the Indus River Valley, in what is now Pakistan. In both ancient Greece and ancient Rome wrestling matches commonly held at the same occasions as cockfights.  During these matches it was not uncommon for arms, legs and even necks to be broken. For all intents and purposes, they were the MMA of the ancient world.  And many cases the very same pits that were constructed for wrestling were also used for cockfights as well. 

The parallel between human contests and cockfights certainly does not end there.  Indeed, the infamous gladiatorial blood sports of the Romans frequently ended with the death of one or more of the participants. Other human activities that equally express the same spirit, if not the intensity, of the cockfight include: Sumo wrestling, prize fighting and even, to some degree, pro wrestling.  All of these things share a common thread with cockfighting, and for that matter, with Mixed Martial Arts.

This brings us back to the original question.  Is an MMA just a cockfight, substituting people for chickens?  Given the intertwined history of human and avian combat, respectively, it would appear that, except for the physiology of the fighters, many forms of competition – including Mixed Martial Arts – share a commonality with the cockfight.

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