Pri Month: Why are there no openly gay male MMA fighters? - BBC Sport

Contents:

• PRI MONTH: WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY MALE MMA FIGHTERS?
• ANRSON SILVA: THERE ARE A LOT OF GAYS MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
• ‘PRI FIGHTER’: SHORT FILM THE MAKG ABOUT GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST
• A GAY MAN'S JOURNEY OF DISVERY THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS
• A WORLD MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPN STRS VISIBILY AS AN OUT GAY FIGHTER
• ‘PRI FIGHTER’: SHORT FILM THE MAKG ABOUT GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST
• IS ULTIMATE FIGHTG GAY?THE HEAD OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTG CHAMPNSHIP RECENTLY BEME THE FIRST HEAD OF A MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUE TO WELE GAY ATHLET. THAD RSELL ON THE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS’ HOMOEROTIC APPEAL.THAD RSELLUPDATED JUL. 14, 2017 6:56PM EDT JON KOPALOFF / GETTY IMAG I HAD HEARD THE ACCATNS AND NUENDO. AND JT TWO MUT TO THE FIRST PRELIMARY FIGHT OF LAST WEEK'S ULTIMATE FIGHTG CHAMPNSHIP (UFC) EVENT I SAW SOMETHG THAT NFIRMED THEM. I WAS A SPORTS BAR THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, A PREDOMATELY WORKG-CLASS SUBURBAN AREA JT EAST OF LOS ANGEL THAT HAS PRODUCED A DISPROPORTNATE NUMBER OF MIXED MARTIAL-ARTS (MMA) FIGHTERS AND IS HOME TO SOME OF THE SPORT'S MOST MTED FANS. MALLS THE AREA ARE FILLED WH MEN WEARG GOTHIC-SPIRED MMA T-SHIRTS AND BASEBALL HATS, AND THE PARKG LOTS OFTEN BEE MOCK BATTLEGROUNDS FOR TEENAGE BOYS ACTG OUT THE PUNCH, KICKS, AND GRAPPLG MOV OF THE FASTT-GROWG AND WHAT MANY BELIEVE IS THE MOST MACHO SPORT THE UNED STAT.SPOKMEN FOR PROFSNAL BOXG, WHICH HAS SEEN A LARGE SHARE OF S FAN BASE GRAVATE TOWARD MMA, HAVE BEEN QUICK TO ACCE THEIR RIVALS OF PROMOTG GAY PORN. BOXG PROMOTER BOB AM SCRIBED MMA AS "GUYS ROLLG AROUND LIKE HOMOSEXUALS ON THE GROUND." BUT WHEN CHASE GORMLEY THREW STEFAN STVE TO THE MAT AND MOUNTED HIM BETWEEN HIS LEGS, A YOUNG WOMAN THE RNER OF THE BAR YELLED "THAT IS SO HOT!" A MUTE LATER, STVE TURNED THE TABL WH HIS OWN THROW AND MOUNT, THEN CLASPED GORMLEY'S HEAD, NECK, AND SHOULR BETWEEN HIS LEGS WHAT IS LLED A "TRIANGLE CHOKE HOLD." AT THIS POT THE WOMAN, WHO WAS STG WH TWO QUIET AND CREASGLY EMBARRASSED MEN, MOANED LTFULLY THEN TURNED TO HER PANNS AND TOLD THEM SHE WAS "GETTG IAS" FOR THGS TO DO WH HER BOYIEND. A MAN WEARG SKULL-AND-BON MMA GEAR STG NEAR ME SLAMMED DOWN HIS BUD LIME AND SHOUTED AT HER THAT SHE WAS "G THE FIGHT."I FOUND OUT LATER THAT THE TWO MEN STG WH THE AROED WOMEN WERE AMONG A GROWG GAY MMA FAN BASE. THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE JT AS TURNED ON BY THE ACTN AS THEIR FEMALE IEND BUT NTAED THEMSELV FOR FEAR OF RETRIBUTN OM THE "HYPER-MACHO" CROWD. "SHE SAYS WHAT WE N'T WHEN WE WATCH THE FIGHTS PUBLIC," ONE SAID. RECENTLY, GAY BLOGGERS, HOMOPHOBIC CRICS OF MMA, AND EVEN STRAIGHT FANS HAVE CLARED THAT ONE OF THE GREAT APPEALS OF THE SPORT IS S HOMOEROTICISM. THEY NOTE THE LARGE NUMBER OF GAY MEN AND STRAIGHT WOMEN WHO HAVE BEE FANS OF MMA AND ATTRIBUTE TO THE APPEAL OF THE NEARLY-NAKED HARD BODI OF THE FIGHTERS AND THE TIMATE, OFTEN PELVIC TECHNIQU OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JSU, THE FAVORED GRAPPLG DISCIPLE THE SPORT.JIM BUZSKI, THE PUBLISHER OF , A WEB SE VOTED TO GAY SPORTS FANS AND ATHLET THAT HAS UNTED NFL NETWORK AND ESPN RAD AMONG S ADVERTISERS, LLS MMA "TRSILLY HOMOEROTIC." HE CLAIMS THAT "WHILE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY NUMBERS, 'S CLEAR THAT MMA HAS A GAY FOLLOWG." THIS MONTH, ONE OF THE SE'S MOST VIEWED ARTICL WAS A LIST OF "A STRAIGHT GUY'S TOP MMA HOTTI." SPIKE TV'S "ULTIMATE FIGHTER" REALY SERI, WHICH A GROUP OF FIGHTERS LIVE TOGETHER A HOE AND PETE FOR A UFC NTRACT, IS PECIALLY POPULAR WH OUTSPORTS REARS. BUZSKI LLS "THE MOST HOMOEROTIC SHOW ON TV." MOREOVER, THE SE'S REARS "ROUTELY SEND LKS TO WHAT THEY THK ARE HOT MMA FIGHTERS, SO THEY CLEARLY PAY ATTENTN TO MORE THAN JT THEIR SKILLS. [UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPN] GE ST. PIERRE TIGHT TNKS EQUALS PAGE VIEWS."AND THEN THERE'S , A WEBSE VOTED TO "HELPG HOMOSEXUAL GRAPPLERS EXPLORE AND EXPRS THEIR FETISH A WELG ENVIRONMENT." THE SE FEATUR MOVI AND PHOTOS OF GAY JUDO AND JIU-JSU FIGHTERS PERFORMG WHAT LLS MARTIAL-ARTS "SPORNO."PERHAPS ACKNOWLEDGG MMA'S PAN-SEXUAL APPEAL, DANA WHE, THE PRINT OF THE UFC, RECENTLY BEME THE FIRST HEAD OF A MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUE TO WELE GAY ATHLET. “ANY GUY VOLVED GRAPPLG IS THE FURTHT THG OM HOMOPHOBIC THE WORLD," WHE SAID. "I HONTLY THK WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER WH NOT ONLY OUR FIGHTERS OR OUR FAN BASE. THE GUYS THE UFC, EVERYBODY IS SO OL, ’S GREAT SPORTSMANSHIP, EVERYBODY HAS RPECT FOR EACH OTHER. I HONTLY, WOULDN’T BE A BIG AL TO ME AND MOST OF THE GUYS I KNOW THIS SPORT, WOULDN’T BE A BIG AL FOR THEM EHER.”NOT SURPRISGLY, GAY-IENDLS IS FAR OM UNIVERSAL WH THE SPORT. UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPN BROCK LNAR ISSUED WHAT ESPN SCRIBED AS "A CURSE-LAN OUTBURST" AGAST HOMOSEXUALS WHEN A FEMALE FAN RMED HIM THAT HER IEND "SHAWN" THOUGHT HE WAS CUTE. "I DON'T LIKE GAYS," HE ANNOUNCED TO REPORTERS. "WRE THAT DOWN YOUR LTLE NOTEBOOK. I DON'T LIKE GAYS."DANA WHE HIMSELF WAS NOUNCED BY GAY RIGHTS GROUPS FOR SLANRG ONE OF HIS CRICS AS "A PSY AND A FUCKG FAGGOT." HE RPOND QUICKLY WH A PUBLIC APOLOGY AND THE STATEMENT OPENG THE DOOR TO GAY FIGHTERS. ACRDG TO BUZSKI, THIS WAS A WISE BS MOVE. "WHE KNOWS HIS DIENCE AND KNOWS THAT OVERT HOMOPHOBIA WON'T SELL. BY APPEALG TO AS MANY SEGMENTS OF THE MARKET AS POSSIBLE, CLUDG GAY MEN, WHE N GROW THE SPORT BEYOND S NICHE."SPOKMEN FOR PROFSNAL BOXG, WHICH HAS SEEN A LARGE SHARE OF S FAN BASE GRAVATE TOWARD MMA, HAVE BEEN QUICK TO ACCE THEIR RIVALS OF PROMOTG GAY PORN. BOXG PROMOTER BOB AM SCRIBED MMA AS "GUYS ROLLG AROUND LIKE HOMOSEXUALS ON THE GROUND." AND LEGENDARY MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPN BERNARD HOPKS LLED "GROWN MEN WH PANTI ON, SWEATG, [WH] NUTS THEIR FACE. . . . IT’S A PORNO. IT’S AN ENTERTAMENT PORNO."THE ARE NOT THE FIRST OBSERVATNS OF HOMOEROTICISM VLENT SPORTS. THE HISTORIAN ELLTT GORN FOUND THAT JOURNALISTIC ACUNTS OF BARE-KNUCKLE PRIZE FIGHTG THE 19TH CENTURY MONLY FEATURED "LOVG SCRIPTNS OF BOXERS' BODI" AND CELEBRATED THE "MANLY BETY" OF FIGHTERS. IN 1978 THE ANTHROPOLOGIST ALAN DUNS ARGUED A FAMO SCHOLARLY ARTICLE (WHICH GARNERED SEVERAL ATH THREATS) THAT AMERIN FOOTBALL REPRENTED A FORM OF HOMOSEXUAL RUAL BAT WHICH "THE WNERS FEMIZE THE LOSERS BY GETTG TO THEIR END ZONE." YET THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN OPENLY GAY MALE ATHLETE A MAJOR AMERIN SPORT.COULD BE, GIVEN DANA WHE'S APPARENT OPENNS AND THE GROWG NUMBER OF GAY MEN DRAWN TO MMA, THAT WHAT IS MONLY BELIEVED TO BE THE MANLIT OF SPORTS WILL SOON BE THE GAYT? AND IF SO, SHOULD WE BE SURPRISED?THAD RSELL HAS TGHT HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND AMERIN STUDI AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSY, BARNARD COLLEGE, EUGENE LANG COLLEGE, AND THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL REARCH. HE IS THE THOR OF JIMMY HOFFA AND THE REMAKG OF THE AMERIN WORKG CLASS (KNOPF, 2001) AND THE FORTHG A RENEGA HISTORY OF THE UNED STAT (FREE PRS/SIMON & SCHTER, 2010). THAD RSELL

PRI MONTH: WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY MALE MMA FIGHTERS?

Nick Jonas has been acced of merely givg lip service to the gay muny, but he’s clearly not aaid to put his mouth where his money is.

The seri stars Nick Jonas as a mixed martial arts fighter who happens to also be a closeted gay man. The most recent episo featur a scene that go (somewhat) above and beyond the average chaste “gay” TV kiss, as you n see here:.

There’s also an explic scene which a young man brgs him a lic, steamg bowl of porridge after a passnate night of gay lovemakg. And… then there’s another gay kiss (while Jonas holds the porridge!

ANRSON SILVA: THERE ARE A LOT OF GAYS MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

h/t: Gay Tim.

Mola's rabow-themed shorts were ma by the UFC support of Pri MonthWhy are there no openly gay male MMA fighters? "Until there's more people [like Mola] who are vol wantg to create a welg environment, there's gog to be barriers for LGBT athlet - pecially LGBT gay male athlet. "'It's crazy how much we hi who we are'Smh (left) is creded wh beg the first man to e out profsnal MMAThe ntrast between the men's and women's divisns of the MMA is stark, wh Amanda Nun, Liz Carmouche and Molly McCann three of several openly gay female McCann, who tailed her story of g out on the BBC's LGBT Sport Podst, believ gay male fighters are held back by stereotyp.

"I feel like [gay] men are nervo of the backlash they're gog to take, " McCann, 32, told BBC Sport.

‘PRI FIGHTER’: SHORT FILM THE MAKG ABOUT GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST

"To be a gay man, sometim a heterosexual male might nounce that as not very mascule and they will downplay . "I remember at my gym, there were guys who qutned themselv and 's like 'well whatever, if you are [gay] then you are, no problem', " said McCann. "I n pretty much guarantee if straight men knew there was a gay man [ the gym] this day and age that we're now, most of them wouldn't re.

Legendary UFC fighter Anrson Silva says he was bullied as a youth Brazil for takg ballet, leadg some to thk he was gay. This revelatn a Brazilian magaze Trip led to this qutn and answer about gays mixed martial arts:. Q: On prejudice towards homosexuals mixed martial arts:A: I don’t thk there’s prejudice, but there’s a lot of homosexuals mixed martial arts.

I would tra wh a gay man. The fact that guy is gay don’t mean he’s gog to acst you.

A GAY MAN'S JOURNEY OF DISVERY THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS

He n be gay, have a relatnship, live among guys who aren’t gay.

Sometim people thk I’m gay. A lot of people have asked me if I’m gay.

A WORLD MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPN STRS VISIBILY AS AN OUT GAY FIGHTER

But I’m still young, uld be that the future I’ll fd out that I’m gay. Don’t mean you’re more man or ls man, more gay or ls gay. Silva, 39 and a former UFC champn, don't say anythg more about gays the sport but I loved how he allowed that he might disver another si to his sexualy as he gets olr.

'Pri Fighter': Short film the makg about gay mixed martial artist.

‘PRI FIGHTER’: SHORT FILM THE MAKG ABOUT GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST

There is only one problem: Alex is gay. And as soon as he out wh his homosexualy, he gets discrimated agast and eventually rejected by his trag partners, leavg him wh no one to tra for his first fight and ultimately havg to ci between fightg and the love of his boyiend.

In my experience, some athlet the sport tend to be unfortable and tolerant towards gay people. This project is very tertg, bee recent studi suggt that around two percent of the male US populatn are gay. UFC print Dana Whe may have begged gay athlet his anizatn to e out, but the fear of discrimatn and reer drawbacks still seems to be higher than the potential reward of public sexual inty fulfillment.

Multiple female ach the NFL — cludg 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who beme the league’s first openly gay ach 2017 — have e out recent years. "It is what is": masculy, homosexualy, and clive disurse mixed martial arts. J Homosex.

IS ULTIMATE FIGHTG GAY?THE HEAD OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTG CHAMPNSHIP RECENTLY BEME THE FIRST HEAD OF A MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUE TO WELE GAY ATHLET. THAD RSELL ON THE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS’ HOMOEROTIC APPEAL.THAD RSELLUPDATED JUL. 14, 2017 6:56PM EDT JON KOPALOFF / GETTY IMAG I HAD HEARD THE ACCATNS AND NUENDO. AND JT TWO MUT TO THE FIRST PRELIMARY FIGHT OF LAST WEEK'S ULTIMATE FIGHTG CHAMPNSHIP (UFC) EVENT I SAW SOMETHG THAT NFIRMED THEM. I WAS A SPORTS BAR THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, A PREDOMATELY WORKG-CLASS SUBURBAN AREA JT EAST OF LOS ANGEL THAT HAS PRODUCED A DISPROPORTNATE NUMBER OF MIXED MARTIAL-ARTS (MMA) FIGHTERS AND IS HOME TO SOME OF THE SPORT'S MOST MTED FANS. MALLS THE AREA ARE FILLED WH MEN WEARG GOTHIC-SPIRED MMA T-SHIRTS AND BASEBALL HATS, AND THE PARKG LOTS OFTEN BEE MOCK BATTLEGROUNDS FOR TEENAGE BOYS ACTG OUT THE PUNCH, KICKS, AND GRAPPLG MOV OF THE FASTT-GROWG AND WHAT MANY BELIEVE IS THE MOST MACHO SPORT THE UNED STAT.SPOKMEN FOR PROFSNAL BOXG, WHICH HAS SEEN A LARGE SHARE OF S FAN BASE GRAVATE TOWARD MMA, HAVE BEEN QUICK TO ACCE THEIR RIVALS OF PROMOTG GAY PORN. BOXG PROMOTER BOB AM SCRIBED MMA AS "GUYS ROLLG AROUND LIKE HOMOSEXUALS ON THE GROUND." BUT WHEN CHASE GORMLEY THREW STEFAN STVE TO THE MAT AND MOUNTED HIM BETWEEN HIS LEGS, A YOUNG WOMAN THE RNER OF THE BAR YELLED "THAT IS SO HOT!" A MUTE LATER, STVE TURNED THE TABL WH HIS OWN THROW AND MOUNT, THEN CLASPED GORMLEY'S HEAD, NECK, AND SHOULR BETWEEN HIS LEGS WHAT IS LLED A "TRIANGLE CHOKE HOLD." AT THIS POT THE WOMAN, WHO WAS STG WH TWO QUIET AND CREASGLY EMBARRASSED MEN, MOANED LTFULLY THEN TURNED TO HER PANNS AND TOLD THEM SHE WAS "GETTG IAS" FOR THGS TO DO WH HER BOYIEND. A MAN WEARG SKULL-AND-BON MMA GEAR STG NEAR ME SLAMMED DOWN HIS BUD LIME AND SHOUTED AT HER THAT SHE WAS "G THE FIGHT."I FOUND OUT LATER THAT THE TWO MEN STG WH THE AROED WOMEN WERE AMONG A GROWG GAY MMA FAN BASE. THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE JT AS TURNED ON BY THE ACTN AS THEIR FEMALE IEND BUT NTAED THEMSELV FOR FEAR OF RETRIBUTN OM THE "HYPER-MACHO" CROWD. "SHE SAYS WHAT WE N'T WHEN WE WATCH THE FIGHTS PUBLIC," ONE SAID. RECENTLY, GAY BLOGGERS, HOMOPHOBIC CRICS OF MMA, AND EVEN STRAIGHT FANS HAVE CLARED THAT ONE OF THE GREAT APPEALS OF THE SPORT IS S HOMOEROTICISM. THEY NOTE THE LARGE NUMBER OF GAY MEN AND STRAIGHT WOMEN WHO HAVE BEE FANS OF MMA AND ATTRIBUTE TO THE APPEAL OF THE NEARLY-NAKED HARD BODI OF THE FIGHTERS AND THE TIMATE, OFTEN PELVIC TECHNIQU OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JSU, THE FAVORED GRAPPLG DISCIPLE THE SPORT.JIM BUZSKI, THE PUBLISHER OF , A WEB SE VOTED TO GAY SPORTS FANS AND ATHLET THAT HAS UNTED NFL NETWORK AND ESPN RAD AMONG S ADVERTISERS, LLS MMA "TRSILLY HOMOEROTIC." HE CLAIMS THAT "WHILE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY NUMBERS, 'S CLEAR THAT MMA HAS A GAY FOLLOWG." THIS MONTH, ONE OF THE SE'S MOST VIEWED ARTICL WAS A LIST OF "A STRAIGHT GUY'S TOP MMA HOTTI." SPIKE TV'S "ULTIMATE FIGHTER" REALY SERI, WHICH A GROUP OF FIGHTERS LIVE TOGETHER A HOE AND PETE FOR A UFC NTRACT, IS PECIALLY POPULAR WH OUTSPORTS REARS. BUZSKI LLS "THE MOST HOMOEROTIC SHOW ON TV." MOREOVER, THE SE'S REARS "ROUTELY SEND LKS TO WHAT THEY THK ARE HOT MMA FIGHTERS, SO THEY CLEARLY PAY ATTENTN TO MORE THAN JT THEIR SKILLS. [UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPN] GE ST. PIERRE TIGHT TNKS EQUALS PAGE VIEWS."AND THEN THERE'S , A WEBSE VOTED TO "HELPG HOMOSEXUAL GRAPPLERS EXPLORE AND EXPRS THEIR FETISH A WELG ENVIRONMENT." THE SE FEATUR MOVI AND PHOTOS OF GAY JUDO AND JIU-JSU FIGHTERS PERFORMG WHAT LLS MARTIAL-ARTS "SPORNO."PERHAPS ACKNOWLEDGG MMA'S PAN-SEXUAL APPEAL, DANA WHE, THE PRINT OF THE UFC, RECENTLY BEME THE FIRST HEAD OF A MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUE TO WELE GAY ATHLET. “ANY GUY VOLVED GRAPPLG IS THE FURTHT THG OM HOMOPHOBIC THE WORLD," WHE SAID. "I HONTLY THK WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER WH NOT ONLY OUR FIGHTERS OR OUR FAN BASE. THE GUYS THE UFC, EVERYBODY IS SO OL, ’S GREAT SPORTSMANSHIP, EVERYBODY HAS RPECT FOR EACH OTHER. I HONTLY, WOULDN’T BE A BIG AL TO ME AND MOST OF THE GUYS I KNOW THIS SPORT, WOULDN’T BE A BIG AL FOR THEM EHER.”NOT SURPRISGLY, GAY-IENDLS IS FAR OM UNIVERSAL WH THE SPORT. UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPN BROCK LNAR ISSUED WHAT ESPN SCRIBED AS "A CURSE-LAN OUTBURST" AGAST HOMOSEXUALS WHEN A FEMALE FAN RMED HIM THAT HER IEND "SHAWN" THOUGHT HE WAS CUTE. "I DON'T LIKE GAYS," HE ANNOUNCED TO REPORTERS. "WRE THAT DOWN YOUR LTLE NOTEBOOK. I DON'T LIKE GAYS."DANA WHE HIMSELF WAS NOUNCED BY GAY RIGHTS GROUPS FOR SLANRG ONE OF HIS CRICS AS "A PSY AND A FUCKG FAGGOT." HE RPOND QUICKLY WH A PUBLIC APOLOGY AND THE STATEMENT OPENG THE DOOR TO GAY FIGHTERS. ACRDG TO BUZSKI, THIS WAS A WISE BS MOVE. "WHE KNOWS HIS DIENCE AND KNOWS THAT OVERT HOMOPHOBIA WON'T SELL. BY APPEALG TO AS MANY SEGMENTS OF THE MARKET AS POSSIBLE, CLUDG GAY MEN, WHE N GROW THE SPORT BEYOND S NICHE."SPOKMEN FOR PROFSNAL BOXG, WHICH HAS SEEN A LARGE SHARE OF S FAN BASE GRAVATE TOWARD MMA, HAVE BEEN QUICK TO ACCE THEIR RIVALS OF PROMOTG GAY PORN. BOXG PROMOTER BOB AM SCRIBED MMA AS "GUYS ROLLG AROUND LIKE HOMOSEXUALS ON THE GROUND." AND LEGENDARY MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPN BERNARD HOPKS LLED "GROWN MEN WH PANTI ON, SWEATG, [WH] NUTS THEIR FACE. . . . IT’S A PORNO. IT’S AN ENTERTAMENT PORNO."THE ARE NOT THE FIRST OBSERVATNS OF HOMOEROTICISM VLENT SPORTS. THE HISTORIAN ELLTT GORN FOUND THAT JOURNALISTIC ACUNTS OF BARE-KNUCKLE PRIZE FIGHTG THE 19TH CENTURY MONLY FEATURED "LOVG SCRIPTNS OF BOXERS' BODI" AND CELEBRATED THE "MANLY BETY" OF FIGHTERS. IN 1978 THE ANTHROPOLOGIST ALAN DUNS ARGUED A FAMO SCHOLARLY ARTICLE (WHICH GARNERED SEVERAL ATH THREATS) THAT AMERIN FOOTBALL REPRENTED A FORM OF HOMOSEXUAL RUAL BAT WHICH "THE WNERS FEMIZE THE LOSERS BY GETTG TO THEIR END ZONE." YET THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN OPENLY GAY MALE ATHLETE A MAJOR AMERIN SPORT.COULD BE, GIVEN DANA WHE'S APPARENT OPENNS AND THE GROWG NUMBER OF GAY MEN DRAWN TO MMA, THAT WHAT IS MONLY BELIEVED TO BE THE MANLIT OF SPORTS WILL SOON BE THE GAYT? AND IF SO, SHOULD WE BE SURPRISED?THAD RSELL HAS TGHT HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND AMERIN STUDI AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSY, BARNARD COLLEGE, EUGENE LANG COLLEGE, AND THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL REARCH. HE IS THE THOR OF JIMMY HOFFA AND THE REMAKG OF THE AMERIN WORKG CLASS (KNOPF, 2001) AND THE FORTHG A RENEGA HISTORY OF THE UNED STAT (FREE PRS/SIMON & SCHTER, 2010). THAD RSELL

In this article we make e of clive masculy theory to explore onle media reprentatns of male homosexualy and masculy wh the creasgly popular bat sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Adoptg a se-study approach, we discs narrativ nstcted around one aspiratnal male MMA fighter, Dakota Cochrane, whose history of havg participated gay pornography beme a major talkg pot on a number of MMA discsn/muny Web s durg early 2012. While the narrativ attempted to discursively rcue Cochrane's supposedly threatened masculy, highlightg both his "te" heterosexualy and his prodig fightg abili, they also simultaneoly celebrated the acceptance of homosexual men wh the sport that Cochrane's se implied.

Th, we suggt that the media reprentatns of homosexualy and masculy wh MMA are ditive of clg cultural homophobia and homohysteria and an clive visn of masculy, as prevly scribed by proponents of clive masculy theory. UFC; bat sports; homophobia; cln; masculi; mixed martial arts; ography; pornography. Associatn football and the reprentatn of homosexualy by the prt media: a se study of Anton Hysén.