For years now, whenever the term “mainstream acceptance” was spoken, I would shudder with terror. It’s not that I’m not enjoying all the free fights that the FOX deal has given us. That’s 18 events in 2012: four on FOX, eight on FX, and six on FUEL. That’s pretty damn great. The part of “mainstream acceptance” I wasn’t too keen on though, is the athletes themselves. Big deals bring big money which turns big men into big bleeding vaginas, and while I certainly do not begrudge a man a nice payday, I just never wanted to see our athletes become the spoiled cry-babies that the stick-and-ball sports have.

In this video from MMA Elite, we see Rampage Jackson and King Mo talking about a myriad of topics, but centering, naturally, on how they’re not paid enough. That’s fine. Shit, everyone I know talks about how they’re not paid enough. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t complain about money. But the most nauseating aspect of the video is when Rampage talks about fighter pay in relation to what the promotion takes in, and how the fighters are the ones “putting their lives on the line.” Let’s get a fucking grip here, ok.

Of course getting into a cage with another man skilled in the art of whoop ass is a dangerous profession. That’s obvious. But so is soldiering. So is policing in a dangerous city. So is being a hooker. So is construction, logging, and mining – you never hear about 100 fighters trapped in a mine, do you? The most dangerous job, according to CNN, is fishing – which has a medium annual salary of a little better than $27k. The point is that lots of people do lots of jobs a hell of a lot more dangerous than fighting for a hell of a lot less money.

I’m not trying to say fighting is a safe job. It’s not. While the threat of death may not be that great, injuries are commonplace, and the long-term effects of concussion are known but have yet to be seen in MMA. Not to mention the psychological trauma of having ears that look like the shrimp dumplings from Chan’s Wok. But let’s try to maintain perspective here. You never hear a fisherman bitch and complain about their pay, do you?