Call me curmudgeonly, but I've never found magic charming. Inevitably, you're either too keen for the illusion, or worse, you're beguiled and then forced to dedicate time and energy to figuring out just how exactly you were hoodwinked. Worst of all, it never matters what the outcome is because "magic" doesn't exist. It is mechanical fiction, deceit of the highest order. Undiscovered quantum capabilities notwithstanding, there is nothing in this world we can make truly disappear.With my distaste for hocus pocus declared, count me among the many who are vexed by Zuffa's ongoing Copperfieldian treatment of serious KO casualties. These concussive knockouts are screamingly celebrated and instantly primed for future highlight reels, with victims reduced to mangled heaps of human on the mat. Then, within nanoseconds of the notion of potential injury, downed fighters become mere illusions and apparitions, never to be seen or mentioned again.The latest unfortunate phantom is Mark Munoz. Following a brutal head kick from Matt Hamill (and also an unconscious knee to his own face as his body collapsed on itself) Saturday night at UFC 96, abracadabra: Munoz disappeared. This after the ever-excited Joe Rogan informed the viewing public he was still unconscious and the camera caught the influx of medical personnel into the cage to tend to him before the boys in the truck heard the incantation.Opting to ignore the circumstance resulted in a bit of macabre amusement, as all the parties in the Octagon continuously stared off to their right, or trotted off to the camera left, where Munoz was being invisibly checked out. It seemed like the beginning of a morbid Monty Python sketch, where every human being in the universe (perhaps animals, cartoon characters and religious figures, as well) would eventually enter the cage, stare to their right and disappear to the camera left. Perhaps Munoz himself would enter the Octagon as the climax of the scene.Munoz's trapdoor escape was the second in less than a week in a Zuffa cage. Last Sunday, at WEC 39, Damacio Page's marvelous 18-second melting of Marcos Galvao was met with similar mysticism. While Galvao was convulsing off camera, the show rolled on. The only mention of the spindly Brazilian came in Page's postfight interview, as he wished his compromised foe well.Ultimately, Munoz left the cage under his own power, wearing a neck brace. Galvao was taken to hospital, but his CAT scan and subsequent MRI checked out clean. Of course, I know these facts because this sport is my professional currency; the UFC 96 bar-watcher or WEC 39 channel-surfer likely isn't quite as informed. There is no reason for potential fighter injury to be cloaked from casual viewers.Before I continue, I should express that unlike many other topics I've dedicated column inches to in past weeks, this is in some ways more trivial. This is not an intrinsic discourse in the sport, such as shoddy refereeing practices (which would be a suitable topic for UFC 96 too, but that would be overkill on my officiating ombudsman role), but rather a production flaw. Comparatively, it may seem like small potatoes, but there are some salient issues in play.It is, of course, part and parcel of responsible broadcast journalism. It would be a media meltdown if an NFL or NHL game featured a seemingly brutal on-field or on-ice injury, the broadcasting network showed several replays, cut to commercial and the game quietly resumed upon return with no follow-up.This area has never been a strong suit for Zuffa. It's been nearly four years since UFC 54, where Tim Sylvia's crushing head kick on Tra Telligman and James Irvin's brutal flying knee on Terry Martin both ended with the victims leaving on stretchers. Telligman's condition was never mentioned, only momentarily visualized as Sylvia wished him well as he was silently hauled out of the cage. Martin's exit was cut all together after copious shots of him struggling to regain consciousness and accepting an oxygen mask.However, since Zuffa is slicking up its production with new on-screen imaging for HD, why not correct this senseless oversight as well? (And maybe "Face the Pain," while we're at it.)I will not bother to critique the fact that Zuffa maintains an autocratic rule over all of its production; it is not going to change any time soon, so we must deal with it (nonetheless, props to Tamdan McCrory for speaking out against Dana White as a walk-in music despot, which is a column for another event). Even if Zuffa wants to maintain full control over its product rather than use independent commentators and the like, there's no reason for viewers not to see Munoz exit the cage on his own two feet instead of cutting to a continuity-breaking pre-taped interview with Frank Mir. Likewise, a simple update on Marcos Galvao being taken to the hospital would suffice. Nothing long or drawn out; Todd Harris just reads out two sentences, the viewing public is informed, journalistic responsibility is observed and the MMA world is better for it.The only remotely rational reason to withhold this sort of information is an antiquated sense of MMA protectionism. The UFC, and MMA by extension, is legitimized and culturally embedded to a point now where acknowledging the fact that concussions and hospital trips do in fact happen is not going to jeopardize the sport in any way. The cultural war on MMA, at least in North America, is long over.Furthermore, by skirting these KO scenarios, Zuffa actually does the product a disservice by coming across as either deficient or duplicitous as broadcasters. MMA's athletic practices may now be culturally legitimized and accepted, but if this sport is to be taken seriously, it should follow that the world's most powerful promoter adheres to the most basic tenets of on-air reporting. No one is calling for boxing's head when Jim Lampley alerts viewers that Fighter X has been taken to the hospital for observation, nor would Mike Goldberg's info update be met with attack.Likewise, the on-air mentioning of non-Zuffa contracted fighters will not lead to every casual viewer flying to Google and donating their savings to other MMA promotions. A frank and honest acknowledgement of the personal and legal problems that have recently faced fighters such as Quinton Jackson and Josh Neer will not result in viewers thinking MMA is full of unsavory, lawless heathens. MMA and its constituents need no longer live in fear that any revelation will bring about misfortune. The explicit glossing over of these issues comes at the expense of legitimacy and responsibility. While it may just seem like trivial production preferences, these sorts of issues are what create discourses about honesty and integrity in sports. And while the UFC and WEC will continue to stage fantastic events, even with this lamentable brand of "magic," it would be an enormous step toward the sort of athletic authenticity that should be expected from a product that claims to be "as real as it gets."Pictured above is Tra Telligman after his knockout loss to Tim Sylvia in August 2005 at UFC 54.
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