Globalization on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Paper Example

Globalization is the way people, companies, and governments in the world interact and unite among themselves (Pieterse, 1994). It influences the culture, political and economic development and the physical welfare of people in the society. For many years, remote communities have been interacting and buying and selling products to each other. Technology and new policies among governments have recently boosted migration among people. Globalization has extended farther, has been faster, less costly and gone more in-depth. Third world countries have improved economically, and the standards of living of their people have risen due to globalization (Hill and Vincent, 2006). When it comes to sports, globalization has been of a significant impact as races can share their different playing cultures.

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Sporting activities and such as football, athletics, Taekwondo, Karate, boxing, and gymnastics originated from England, European, America, and Asia but are now played worldwide due to globalization globalization (Hill and Vincent, 2006). A Brazilian combat sport called vale tudo advanced into mixed martial arts (MMA), currently seen in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events today, and has gained a lot of fans throughout the continents as a result of globalization. The fighters use different styles of fighting skills such as boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and karate. Fans and athletes around the world can watch and understand more about their ideal fighters on live-stream as the UFC has its reality TV series, Ultimate Fighter. UFC has its gyms in different regions around the world. They are also organizing to come up with world championships for the video gaming community. The primary purpose is to make the audience feel more involved in mixed martial arts. John Hopkins University in 2006 tried to compare boxing and MMA and concluded that MMA is less risky due to low focus on the head. As globalization in sports such as MMA evolves, it always comes with its challenges, and the main problem is doping (Brown, Devlin, and Billings, 2013).

Doping is the use of unlawful substances to enhance the performance of a person. Athletes illegally acquire banned drugs from fellow athletes, coaches, retail outlets, pharmacists and through many other ways. The most common drugs are stimulants and hormones. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) was the first to ban doping in the year 1928. International federations were already applying doping tests in different sporting activities by 1970s. Athletes use anabolic steroids to do more training, to recover faster or to have more muscles. Drug testing is done by use of a technique called mass spectrometry. People widely known for doping cases are Ben Johnson, a Canadian sprinter, Dwain Chambers, a British sprinter, and Justin Gatlin and Marion Jones, US sprinters.

Doping has also been a major hindrance to mixed martial arts, and UFC has tried its best to come up with policies to prevent doping cases. United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) oversees the UFC's anti-doping policy. The policy states that all athletes must notify the agency on their whereabouts to be able to test them outside competition. USADA started operating in 2000 and was allowed by UFC to control anti-doping programs of the sport fully. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has a comprehensive document containing substances that are prohibited in sports. USADA tests athletes and assists those who are clean to understand the terms and conditions of WADA (Docherty, 2008).

WADA is a global independent organization that sets and ensures global harmonization of anti-doping rules and regulations in sports. Its headquarters are in Montreal, Canada. WADA was established in the year 1999, and its main activities are scientific research, education and coming up with new measures of anti-doping. It also maintains Code, a document that has a structure of policies, rules, and regulations within a sport (Brown, Devlin, and Billings, 2013). USADA is a signatory to Code. WADA's vision is to ensure that athletes compete in doping-free environments. Non-approved substances, anabolic agents, peptide hormones, beta-2 agonists, hormone and metabolic modulators, and diuretics are among substances that are prohibited at all time. The 'green equal sign' in its logo reflects equity and fairness, and green explains the natural and healthy playing environment. The governments and the Olympic Movement authorities govern the organization. It has helped reduced anti-doping activities globally and enhanced trust and transparency. It has also helped in coming up with better anti-doping operations. Governments and private agencies have given full support to the organization in the fight against doping. The agency considers a substance prohibited if it intensifies sporting performance; it is risky to the health of an athlete or goes against the spirit of sport (Docherty, 2008).

The globalization of anti-doping policies is so logical because athletes can enjoy playing in a transparent environment. People found selling anti-doping drugs to athletes and athletes found using anti-doping drugs should be convicted for going against the policies. In 2008, for example, Cynthia Calvillo was found guilty of having gone against anti-doping rules and regulations. She tested positive for Carboxy-THC which is among the substances in the WADA prohibited list and was suspended for some years from being involved in the sport. It is never fair for an athlete to win a trophy or complete with other athletes after using anti-doping drugs (Giovannetti et al. 2008). WADA should put down more measurements that guide athletes and prohibit the use of doping drugs. Governments which allow athletes who use doping substances to compete should be banned globally by International Federations as this will help in supporting WADA in the fight against anti-doping in sport.

Though WADA has tried its best in the war against doping, there are still some loopholes that should be fixed. The anti-doping policy, to being, has some problems. The policy may lead to more people using substances in society. As days go by, more people in the community are caught using anabolic steroids to boost their performance. WADA has just concentrated on big sport and forgot about sport in schools, institutions and private entities. Athletes in some countries use corrupt ways to join others in the competition after using doping drugs (Docherty, 2008). High punitive measures should be set to those selling these substances to people. Athletes who are found guilty should not be given heavy punishments, but be shown the way to abstaining from the use of these drugs.

People using anabolic steroids find it difficult and when not followed up, they may end up using more of these drugs (Brown, Devlin, and Billings, 2013). It is suitable for an athlete to be given a follow up even after being banned from the sport because of these drugs. UFC athletes, for example, play a tough game and always need to be guided softly. Harsh policies bring no change to the athletes, but may cause more harm to them. WADA can even come up with rehabilitation centers for athletes who have been involved in doping.

Some of the substances that are prohibited by WADA are acceptable in other societies. Sport is a global event, and they should consider every region that the athletes come from. Some communities use enhancing substances on their bodies and see no problem in doing this. In some cultures also, people don't enjoy being watched while urinating. Athletes coming from such cultures feel intimidated doing this, but they can't talk themselves out because this is a policy and it should be followed.

There is no difference between the war on doping and the war on drugs as some of the recreational drugs like alcohol and marijuana are among the drugs prohibited by the agency.

The results from body specimens such as urine are not enough to show all the prohibited drugs in the body. Other ways must be implemented for better results.

WADA should also consider the social lives of the athletes. Some drugs such as sildenafil and fluoxetine have been accepted in the society for enhancement technologies (Giovannetti et al. 2008). Athletes who have used these substances have room for any sport because they have gone against the policy.

Unreliable test results are another big problem that WADA should look into. It is an issue in sports because some athletes are falsely accused of not being clean and sent home for mistakes they have not committed. Some athletes give out money so that they can be declared to be clean.

The last thing that WADA should consider is to avoid repression. The policy states that athletes should always provide their whereabouts. WADA should not focus on implementing stringent rules and regulations, but instead educate athletes on the negative impacts of using illegal substances. The athletes should know the dangers of being involved in doping and the dangers of sharing syringes, which can cause HIV and hepatitis viruses (Giovannetti et al. 2008). When guided properly, athletes can be good role models for others. Subduing athletes by force to do some things such as having regular tests and telling their whereabouts is a hard thing for them. Some athletes work very hard to compete and cannot stand being humiliated.

Conclusion

Globalization has been of an enormous impact worldwide globalization. It has improved social, political and economic status among communities. Governments have exchanged ideas, and new advancement is coming up each day. Sports such as UFC have come up and become big organizations as a result of globalization. Mixed martial arts advanced from a Brazilian combat, vale tudo, and is now seen as UFC. UFC has developed globally, and it has done its best in ensuring its athletes are not involved in doping activities. It has done this by employing USADA as its anti-doping agency. WADA was established in 1999, and it is not a testing agency. USADA is a signatory to its policy, Code. WADA has dramatically helped in prohibiting doping drugs in the sporting world. It was had much support from most governments and agencies. Its policy has been an achievement, and it just needs some slight changes. With the help of USADA and CHINADA, It has to improve when it comes to its transparency, fairness, and credibility.

Works Cited

Brown, N.A., Devlin, M.B. and Billings, A.C., 2013. Fan identification gone extreme: Sports communication variables between fans and sport in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. International Journal of Sport Communication, 6(1), pp.19-32.

Docherty, J.R., 2008. Pharmacology of stimulants prohibited by the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA). British journal of pharmacology, 154(3), pp.606-622.

Giovannetti, G.A.K.P.A., Khomyakov, P.A., Brocks, G., Karpan, V.V., Van den Brink, J. and Kelly, P.J., 2008. Doping graphene with metal contacts. Physical review letters, 101(2), p.026803.

Hill, J.S. and Vincent, J., 2006. Globalization and sports branding: the case of Manchester United. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 7(3), pp.61-78.

Pieterse, J.N., 1994. Globalisation as hybridisation. International sociology, 9(2), pp.161-184.