INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?A Roman Catholic bishop wants to knock the mixed martial arts sport, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), off the airwaves, saying it is destructive and un-Christian.

Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, Bohol, said UFC is proving to be a negative influence on the youth.

?The people [are] becoming barbaric over this. It's makes us like animals,? Medroso said over the Church-run Radio Veritas.

The bishop called on the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board to consider his call to ban UFC from television, saying it promotes violence. Christianity promotes civilization and the acts being shown in the UFC program certainly do not conform with it, Medroso said.

Medroso said he was baffled why many people enjoy the sight of two men pummeling each other until they are bruised and bloodied.

?The unfortunate thing about this UFC is the way people cheer when a player is bloodied and unconscious on the floor. It's as if a person is a plaything, that it would not matter if he is hurt or died,? he said.

UFC was founded in 1993 and showcases fighters who are experts in various martial arts techniques and sports such as boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and Muay Thai.

The fights are often held inside an octagon-shaped cage.

The sport ends when a fighter submits to the other. A fighter is declared a loser when he falls on the mat or verbally announces his submission to his opponent.

A fighter can also be knocked out, when he falls from a blow or is rendered unconscious. A technical knock out happens when a fighter cannot continue anymore due to injury sustained during the fight.