Contrary to dour media predictions, the recent release of "Grand Theft Auto IV" hasn't made a dent in box office receipts, travel or even volume of e-mail received by Sherdog.com. (Violent crime is, however, up a disturbing 23 percent. Go figure.)

Proof: Recent editorials -- including thoughts on BET's "Iron Ring," fighter passivity and underwhelming performances -- have prompted readers to put pixilated mayhem on pause long enough to forward their comments.

‘Iron' Will

I'm a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter [and] I am also a USBA Coach Level 1…and African American. To watch what BET has done to MMA is a travesty. I have been studying and training for 15 years plus. To see people that have no experience fight is horrible. And what's more, they can be injured because they are not in [proper] physical condition.

To see fighters with no sense or knowledge defeats all true African American fighters like Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Rashad Evans (Pictures), and many others.
--Darnell Walker

I'm sure the show's producers are cognizant of two things: Upper-echelon talent is functioning elsewhere, and unpolished fighters often make for quick, vicious bouts. They lack the conditioning to last, the presence of mind to pace what energy they do have and the sense of self-preservation to fight conservatively.

It's not exactly a recipe for happy and healthy brain cells.

You forgot to mention that pretty much every episode has had someone carried off in a stretcher. Whether you attribute that to sensationalism of the show or the mere fact that there are a bunch of amateur wannabe-fighters who need to gain a lot more experience and training before entering the ring with the handful of real fighters they have on the show, there sure are a lot of guys getting hurt. It's a little scary.
--Chuck Davis

I still haven't decided whether footage of downed athletes is morbid pandering or a public service announcement. People -- particularly parrot-like adolescents -- should understand that fighting is no game, and showing the repercussions of getting dropped on one's head might be the socially responsible thing to do. It's why I'd sooner let my (hypothetical) 8-year-old watch the UFC over professional wrestling any day.

At least he'd understand that, in the words of Yogi Berra, "pain hurts."

"Iron Ring" is trash, but on your boxing comment -- get real. I know first and foremost how much work MMA is because I've fought 8 times professionally. It's tough, but I've also fought many more boxing matches and I can honestly say boxing is tougher. I've competed in over 300 amateur wrestling matches as well as various kickboxing matches and none match up to the physical conditioning of boxing. It's more of working the same muscle group over and over again that gets to you.

I hate when MMA writers insult the physical endurance of boxers. I think they get caught up in the hype of the sport and tend to realize the main point at the end of the day. An MMA fighter should beat a boxer on any given day IF they fight MMA, but if a MMA fighter steps into the ring with the highest caliber boxer, chances are HE WILL LOSE 99% of the time. Boxing at the highest level leaves no room for error and no OTHER discipline to fall back on if you get your ass kicked, not to mention the physical damage withstood in a match, and that's no disrespect to MMA fighters who work hard.
--Brandon Oliver

I don't recall blathering that boxers aren't tough. They certainly are, but Mayweather seems to think that 36 minutes of boxing is tougher than 25 minutes of fighting. That's an oversimplification. There are boxers -- and triathletes -- that would be fried by grappling. It's a different kind of muscular endurance and cardiovascular demand.

In terms of physical damage, boxing is certainly the more deeply punishing of the two, but I don't think that's anything to brag about.

You obviously were not watching the entire show as you would have noticed that profiles ARE shown of the athletes and many of them have interesting stories, that Rapper Little Jon actually knows some things about technique, and that the confrontation between Floyd Mayweather and Shonie Carter (Pictures) actually ensued as a result of Floyd's concern for the welfare of the fighter involved and his future.

Clearly you have forgotten the early days of the UFC whose core audience was comprised of about 80% Tough Man Competition beer-swilling enthusiasts. I think "Iron Ring" is a noticeable improvement. Perhaps you have not noticed that Dana White, although a great businessman, is frequently throwing out four letter words on national television.
--Gregory C. Banks, MD

So we've established that "Iron Ring" is an improvement over MMA circa 1993. Encouraging.

White's profanity-laced swagger hardly impresses anyone -- no one is going to mistake him for Ambrose Bierce anytime soon -- but I think that point has been beaten into submission already. It's not like he can't control his speech, so he must think that punctuating sentences with expletives does something for his brand. I have no idea what that could be.