Violence in sport

The event's organizer, the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has come to Germany prepared to counter the "negative press, misconceptions and misunderstandings" that have arisen ahead of the event at Cologne's Lanxess Arena.

The UFC touts itself as the world's fastest growing sport, but question marks still linger in Germany over the safety of the bouts and as to whether Ultimate Fighting can even be called a sport.

The UFC says its goal is to find the "Ultimate Fighting Champion" in a tournament of athletes skilled in the various disciplines of all martial arts, from karate and jiu-jitsu to boxing and sumo.

Bouts typically last for three five-minute rounds unless a combatant wins inside time by scoring a stoppage or submission. If the contest lasts the distance, a winner is found via scorecards similar to boxing.

The sport's organizers say Ultimate Fighting has an extensive set of rules and regulations, including a list of 31 fouls, and that the "no holds barred" image of the championship is a falsehood.

Tender sensitivities

Those critical of the UFC say its brutality sends out the message to youths that violence is a justifiable means for settling disputes. They also argue that young people could seek to emulate what they see in the Ultimate Fighting cage – or, "Octagon," as it is commonly referred to.

Wings of the German media have also attacked Ultimate Fighting, consigning it to a form of lawless "cock-fighting." And the event has undoubtedly stoked tender German sensitivities still recovering from the violence of the Winnenden school massacre in March this year in which 15 students were shot dead by a classmate who then turned the weapon on himself.

"This is a very difficult theme for us," Agnes Klein, head of Cologne's youth office, told Deutsche Welle. "It's a very cruel form of fighting. There are some regulations, but if you see the films and if you see the regulations you can figure out that it's possible to hurt the other fighter."

Klein was at the forefront of a council campaign to have an age restriction placed on the upcoming event in Cologne. As a result of the council pressure, under-18s will not be allowed to view the event live.

"I don't think it's a sport - it's fighting. It's like gladiators in former times. And I think especially for younger people it's a bad example because they see and they imitate this fighting. They see that it's possible to solve their problems with fighting, and that's not the kind of training we want for them in schools and kindergartens," she said.

Fight continues

Klein warned parents against allowing their children to watch Ultimate Fighting, and said she would continue campaigning to have the sport banned in Germany.

Manfred Wolf, who heads the Cologne city sports committee and is a deputy to the lord mayor, said the age restriction "is a small step in the protection of children and young people" from the upcoming event.

"On a judicial basis, as far as I know, there is nothing we can do about this event," he told Deutsche Welle. "But we can express our public disapproval of such events. The city of Cologne has decided against applying for a full ban of the fight, but nonetheless, we do not want this in our city."

Media, political "hypocrisy"

But as controversial as the sport has become, most in Germany have launched their tirades without watching a single bout, Marek Lieberberg, co-promoter for the event in Cologne, told the Cologne press conference.

"Of course I understand that somebody can say I am anti-martial arts, I am anti-boxing," he said. "But what I oppose is unbelievable hypocrisy and double standards that have been exposed, where politicians have been given the opportunity to deflect from Cologne's problems, and the media unfortunately has picked these up.

"They have said that violence comes from the UFC, or the glorification of violence. I must say, for an event that has not happened yet, how this could have influenced violence in Germany is unclear to me.

"And as a historical reference, I must say, I think Germany has a lot of remarks to make about its own history and references to violence if I want to return with the same kind of coin," said Lieberberg, who is himself German.

Home-grown fighter

Peter Sobotta, 22, is one of two Germans fighting in Cologne on Saturday night. He told Deutsche Welle that media coverage of the Ultimate Fighting issue needed to be more objective.

"I don't have a problem with critics, but I have a problem with people who make criticisms and they don't know anything about the sport," he said.

"There are some people screaming 'it is violent, it is bad,' and never saw a fight in their life. To them I can just say watch some fights, talk with the fighters, you will see most of the fighters are the nicest guys and the sport is true and a great sport."

Sobotta moved into mixed-martial arts after having been Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion in Germany. He said Ultimate Fighting's philosophy was attractive to him as an athlete.

"You don't need anything. You just need a pair of pants and you can go to training and you can train to have the best technique. It's not about any other stuff, it's just the best technique and to prove your skills in a fight."

"Professionalism," not brutality

Rich Franklin, who is one of two main fighters to feature on Saturday night, told Deutsche Welle that Ultimate Fighting would always have its detractors, but that the "sportsmanship and amount of professionalism" involved in the sport would eventually win audiences over.

"This is a contact sport. Some people are going to love it, and some people aren't," said Franklin, who took up professional fighting after working as a high school mathematics teacher.

"I think that once the fans become educated and they see that even when an opponent is on the ground how much strategy is involved in the fight game, and it's not just two guys brawling, you develop a whole new respect for the sport."

The event's organizers expect ticket sales to reach 12,000 for Saturday's fight night, and while few German media outlets have jumped to the UFC's defense ahead of the event, organizers are hopeful the tide of opinion will tip in their favor come Sunday morning.

Author: Darren Mara
Editor: Andreas Illmer