Erina: Hi, Mike. I was wondering the difference between MMA and boxing? What are the differences?

Mike: Well, there's a lot of differences actually. MMA stands for mixed martial arts so I guess by the name you can tell that there are a lot of different variations of MMA. It's usually a combination of stand up fighting and ground fighting. So in contrast with boxing, boxing is only stand up, you never fight on the ground and with MMA there are many different styles and different tournaments, different kinds of rules. There's fighting standing up and there's fighting going to the ground which would also include submission and so right off the bat that's quite a big difference there.

Erina: Oh, I see. Do you like MMA better or kick boxing better because I know you used to box, right?

Mike: Yeah, I mean kick boxing is definitely, you know, heading towards MMA whereas boxing is quite a strict discipline and the rules are a lot more basic whereas MMA has different variations and stuff. It's very difficult to choose which one I like better. I really enjoy watching both and I don't compare them as if one is better than the other but they're just very different sports.

Erina: Oh, I see, I see. So you know in Japan pride and kaewan are, you know, very famous here.

Mike: Right.

Erina: What about in Canada? Is MMA big?

Mike: Well, recently in Canada as well but, you know, in America, in North America now MMA is really big. It's much bigger than boxing is now and UFC, Ultimate Fighter Championship, is the league which is by far the biggest MMA league in the world and it's been growing in popularity ever since it started and I think the reason that MMA is becoming so much bigger than boxing is because it's so much more versatile. You have people from so many different disciplines in martial arts and recently it's not enough to be just disciplined in boxing or taekwando or judo or jujitsu, you have to be disciplined in various disciplines because the guys that are the best in the UFC league they can do it all. So they can do stand up fighting, punches, kicks, they can do ground fighting so some people would say it's more interesting to watch and you get a lot more people from different places and different styles so I think the doors to MMA are open a lot wider than they are to boxing.

Erina: Wow. I would love to go watch MMA tournaments one day.

Mike: Yeah, absolutely. They're a lot of fun so please check them out.

Erina: Yeah, I will.

重点词汇：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

variations

There are a lot of different variations of MMA.

When there are 'variations' between similar things, there are small, but significant, differences between the different types. Notice the following:

This is a variation of a soup my grandmother used to make.

Many people play this card game around the world, so there are lots of different variations.

submission

There's fighting going to the ground, which would also include submission.

Here, 'submission' refers to the act of one opponent giving up during a wrestling match. Notice the following:

The match ended with submission less than a minute into the first round.

Most of his matches end with his opponent submitting.

off the bat

Right off the bat, that's quite a big difference.

'Right off the bat' is another way to say 'to start with.' Here, Mike is using the phrase to talk about one big difference the two sports. Notice the following:

So predictable. I get a new white shirt and then spill something on it right off the bat.

I think she knew right off the bat that they were going to get married.

versatile

MMA is becoming much bigger than boxing, because it's so versatile.

A 'versatile' fighter would be able to use a large variety of methods very well and easily switch back and forth between them. Notice the following:

My favorite thing about these shoes is that they are so versatile. They're comfortable too.

He's one of the best players on the team, because he's very versatile.

check them out

They're a lot of fun, so please check them out.

You tell someone to 'check something out' when you want him to see or experience it. You 'check out' things that you haven't seen or done before. Notice the following:

There's a new movie that I would like to check out.

Did you get a chance to check out anything interesting on your business trip?