MMA is a sport as well, as you pointed out earlier.
Sports have rules.
It is more difficult to defend yourself in MMA because you and your opponent have the freedom to win in many different ways.
A knockout can come from a punch, a kick, a knee, an elbow, or even a slam.
Or a combination of multiples of them.
A submission can happen standing, with the other guy on top of you, or underneath you.
Compared to that, boxing is just boring.
Especially when guys can just clinch over and over again and drag the thing out forever.
Dude, it's so much more fun to box because of the rules.
I don't enjoy hugging another dude.
I probably would eat raw garlic before a match and try to out disgust my opponent with bad breath and farting. James toney (bum) should've tried that. Or at least try tickling Randy or sum thin it was a waste of time.
I respect mma fighters and trained with the inoye brothers. Randy couture got submitted by the younger brother in a UFC fight. They're tuff tuff tuff dudes but they can't punch out of a paper bag. I do think that the mma training is harder and more grueling on the body.
MMA just isn't quite at the place where it needs to be hand skill wise for me to pay attention. Prolly another ten years. They need to take a great fighter like the Cal Kid and teach him how to Pacman his way thru other phenomenal wrestlers. Because he can't do that, he keeps losing to his nemesis'. Don't take it personal. I'm not saying I can beat up an mma guy. I am sharing what I've seen and experienced with them as friends.
I can walk into an mma gym and see guys working the heavy bags and turn heads at my age 48 with a broken back and a rod in my leg.
Poppin off 5-10-12 punch combos soundin like gun shots son! Haha k calming down. It took me years to be able to develop good punching techniques. mma fighters don't have the luxury of years of hand training.