MMA NOT LIKELY TO GO OLYMPIC
In the basement of a prestigious sports school for Chinese youth here Wednesday, I watched young men compete in wushu. It is a martial arts tradition that includes more acrobatic jumps and movements compared to traditional styles.
It got me thinking about Barry Meyer.
Meyer is a Las Vegas resident and amateur mixed martial arts promoter who wants MMA included as an Olympic sport. He says he has the support of the Nevada Athletic Commission to pursue the journey. It’s an interesting idea — bloody Olympians being handed their gold medals in a cage — but one with little chance of happening.
"I don’t think it ever would," said U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Jim Scheer. "We already have too many combat sports. I can’t see it."
Take 2016. One of those sports wanting inclusion then is karate, which boasts 180 national federations and 800 million participants worldwide. Meyer said his plan would have only amateurs compete for spots on MMA Olympic teams, but the small scope of global participants compared to other sports will make it a tough sell.
"I think the model for boxing has worked for decades and would really be the best way to do this," Meyer, 37, said. "We need to build up the younger generation of MMA, and competing as amateurs with a goal to make the Olympics would give them that first outlet."
