Outline For paper, but more to come

Alan Makar
Prof. McCormick
10 October 2010

Outline

Introduction

Argument-I will argue that the UFC is an acceptably safe sport, therefore should be legalized in the State of New York.

Premise 1- Codes of conduct and rules make a safe sport.
Premise 2- Given, the UFC has a code of conduct and rules.
Conclusion- It follows then, that the UFC is a safe sport

Brief History/ intro- In the past throughout history, our world that we have come to know has always had some sort of entertainment. We could have careless of how "violent" it really was. Rewinding to the past to ancient Greece people/citizens were put in a arena with beast twice the individual size for pure enjoyment/punishment. Did we care then? No, we just stood in suspense to see if the tables would be turned; the "man" would come out be a "warrior". As the philosopher Rousseau would say "Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves", honestly we all want to see people compete because we, ourselves are not capable of competing on that level. We sometime foolishly abide with what maybe morally right to others rather than our thoughts. Remember the term "Gladiator"? Fierce warriors who competed in arm combat to see who would be last man standing. However, nowadays we have something similar an organization called "Ultimate Fighting Championship" (UFC). Where experienced martial artists/wrestlers, compete within an octagon. To be announced the "ultimate fighter"(within their weight class). Although this has been a long time sport in our history, New York has addressed it as being illegal within New York, for its violence which referred to as “Human cock fighting” as Senator John McCain would address it. But, this is misleading notion; in this essay I will argue that the UFC is an acceptably safe sport, therefore should be legalized in the state of New York. Codes of conduct and rules make a safe sport, given; the UFC has a code of conduct and rules. It then follows that the UFC is a safe sport.

Transition Sentence- The organization currently is trying to be legalized in New York.

Position
Premise 1- Codes of conduct and rules makes a safe sport.
Evidence 1- In karate, one must follow codes of conduct. One example is the “Bushido code”, which means the warrior spirit, is followed by karate and judo practitioners. There are 7 virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. Martial artist that accept that the 7 virtues create positive behavior.(Martial Art Hall of Warrior Training)
Evidence 2- In major league baseball, if a pitcher hits a batter 3 times in a game, he is ejected from the game for safety precautions of the players.

Premise 2- The UFC has codes of conduct and rules.
Evidence 1- During every match of the UFC, there is always a “cut-man” and physician. They work hand in hand. Cut-men have the authority to address the physician with concerns regarding an injury. If the physician believes the injury is threatening to the fighter the match will come to an end. Fighters are to respect the physician’s decision and cannot dispute the decision. The cut-man is, the person that heals the fighters cuts and applies the Vaseline on the fighter. The physician evaluates the health and condition of the fighter. (Goodman)
Evidence 2- This fighting organization has many regulations, one being that fighters are to compete within their weight class. So that it may create a fair opportunity for both fighters. If a fighter decides he wants to fight a certain individual he would need to either to gain or lose weight to fight in another weight class.

Conclusion- Hence UFC is a safe sport.

Rebuttal
People may argue that the UFC does not provide a sport, just violence. This is a misconception.

Premise 1- the UFC earns a bad reputation from politicians
Evidence1- The negative perceptions of the sport is influenced by politicians such as Senator John McCain. In which He refers to the sport as “cock fighting”. This shows he does not know much about the term cock fight as well as the UFC itself.

Evidence 2- Assemblyman Bob Reilly refers to the sport as “barbaric” and would think about accepting the UFC if fighters were to wear head gear. In doing this does he realize he would change the sport? What about boxing? There have been more incidents in boxing than the UFC. Do you remember what had happen to Muhammad Ali? Boxing is a violent sport; he now suffers from Parkinson disease due to boxing. Need I remind you about the Miguel Cotto fight and Manny Pacquia fight?

Premise 2- People lack awareness of how the organization works.
Evidence 1- People are unaware that this sport has been ongoing throughout time, dating back to the Olympic games in Athens to find the best fighter in the world. Ever since then this sport has been a forever growing organization adapting as time goes on for the fighters safety.
Evidence 2-There has been no deaths within the UFC. Some people are unaware that fighters have opportunity tap out, or withdraw from the fight. Also there are 31 restricted moves, and there are weight classes for safety precautions.
Conclusion- It follows that UFC has a bad reputation due to people’s ignorance.

Conclusion
Restate Argument- UFC is an acceptably safe sport, therefore should be legalized within the State of New York.
Brief Summary/conclude- It is not a barbaric sport, the misconception of this opinion is due to how easily people are influenced by politicians and are also unaware of the inner workings of the sport.