I can’t recall the last time I went out of my way to watch boxing. The only people I know who are into boxing are people in my parents’ generation, or boxers themselves. Is boxing down for the count?

After watching the MMA event on CBS this weekend, it’s clear that Mixed Martial Arts — MMA — is kicking boxing’s ass. It’s doing a double-leg takedown, them submitting it via armbar. In the nineties, when someone asked if you saw “the fight” last night, that meant boxing or something involving Mike Tyson. Today, it means some kind of MMA fight, likely referring to an event by the UFC, the most popular MMA organization.

The UFC is popular because of two main reasons.

1. Accessibility

The UFC’s partnership with Spike TV has been a huge factor of its success. I was only a casual watcher a few years ago, but The Ultimate Fighter made me a fan. It made it easy to learn about fighters and gave me an appreciation that MMA is much more than human cockfighting.

Channel surfers bored on a Saturday afternoon can stumble on something UFC related, increasing the chances of people getting into the sport. When was the last time you saw a serial TV show about the lives of boxers?

With boxing, it’s all product, no personality. Their relationship with their target market has zero depth.

2. Dana White

MMA fans feel like they can have a beer with Dana. He’s radically different from other league heads like Bud Selig or David Stern. He projects authenticity and has a visible passion for the sport. Dana even posts on some MMA forums and websites.

Basically, Dana keeps it very real. No pre-written speeches or profanity-free interviews from this guy.

Generation Y and their short attention span

Mark Burnett’s The Contender tried to get people interested in boxing again, but failed miserably. It also didn’t help that the winners of the show are currently stagnating in mediocrity, while most winners from The Ultimate Fighter have gone on to compete for a UFC championship.

A huge problem that boxing has is that you only hear about it in spurts. The hype for the Mayweather-Hatton fight last December was massive — but we haven’t heard of anything noteworthy since then.

MMA events are happening monthly so it’s always around, accessible and easy to get into. With so many things competing for Millennials’ attention, you always need to be putting something out there. Maybe boxing should do like I did and get a Twitter account.

Thanks for the pic, John Griffin.