By Chip Byteley
In a move guaranteed to either thrill audiences or make them queasy (quite possibly both), the notoriously brutal Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced a new innovation: fighters will wear GoPros, promising horrifyingly intimate first-person knockout footage.
“We want fans right there in the action!” booms UFC president Dana Damage, whose grin is equal parts enthusiasm and the glee of someone who anticipates a ratings bonanza. “They’ll feel the adrenaline rush, the blurred vision of a concussion, even taste the sweat!”
The first-person KO footage is already triggering heated debate. Supporters hail the visceral experience, the chance to feel the raw power of a well-placed punch without, you know, the brain damage. Critics are horrified: “This turns violence into a spectator sport more than ever!” rants an ethically concerned commentator. Memers are, naturally, having a field day.
The camera adds a new layer of strategy to the fight. Will a disorienting first-person view throw off the fighters? Might we see a focus on grappling, knowing the audience will miss most of the action buried in an armpit? Or, will it fuel even more aggression as fighters go for the visually dramatic, crowd-pleasing KO?
Then there’s the post-fight footage. Losing while the world witnessed your glazed eyes staring up at the lights is a new level of public humiliation. And while those concussed fighters might not remember the knockout, fans can relive it from every cringe-worthy angle, forever.
Ethically dubious? Absolutely. Disturbingly compelling? Also, absolutely. The UFC knows exactly what they’re doing by strapping cameras to their fighters’ heads. They’re banking on our morbid fascination with violence, the same kind of impulse that made us slow down for car accidents, the kind that turns real people’s pain into entertainment.
The trailers are already a nauseatingly effective mix of fight highlights and dizzying camera work. Slow-motion replays of fist-meets-face will be dissected like Zapruder film. Fighters will trade boasts about their most viral KO footage.
Whether this GoPro gimmick is a stroke of twisted genius or the final proof that we, as a society, are well past any sense of decency… well, the ratings will likely bear that out. Either way, get ready for the most brutally intimate spectator sport yet. Just try not to lose your lunch along with the fighters.