‘iCarly’ Movie ‘iFight Shelby Marx’ Makes MMA Into Child’s Play

By Germain Lussier on August 12th, 2009

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ABOVE - Shelby Marx (Victoria Justice) delivers a kick at Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) in "iFight Shelby Marx"

The world’s most violent, male centric sport has found its way onto Nickelodeon. And while your first reaction might be to hide the kids, it actually might not be a bad idea to check it out. In the end, it might be better for your kids than simply watching TV.

Obviously, Nickelodeon is a kids network with shows rated TV-G. Well, on the latest episode of the hit show “iCarly” the theme was the decidedly not TV-G sport of mixed martial arts, or MMA for short. That’s the sport that has become popular in the last few years thanks to organizations like the UFC (which is short for Ultimate Fighting Championship). Men (or women) fight each other in all disciplines of martial arts and the best fighters are the ones who know several. Jujitsu, kickboxing, muau thai, boxing and others are just some of the crafts these fighters are highly trained in and they’re encouraged to use them all. Years and years of hard work goes into just one fight.

So there’s that, and then there’s “iCarly,” a wildly popular show about a young girl (Miranda Cosgrove) who has her own wildly popular Internet show. In the latest episode, a short movie called “iFight Shelby Marx,” Carly and her friend spent $100 to get a pay per view of fight featuring 15 year old champion Shelby Marx (played by “Zoey 101″ star Victoria Justice, which consequently is a must better fighter name).

After watching the fight, which Marx wins by arm lock submission, Carly jokingly calls her out on her show. That footage is then edited to make it look like a real challenge, giving Marx’s manager the great idea of pitting the rising fighter against the web personality in a mutually beneficial charity fight. Things then get all messed up, as they tend to do in 45 minute kids movies, and when the fight happens, it’s for real.

Though the episode was almost totally fictional, it was actually a fair representation of mixed martial arts. Here is a list of what was true and what wasn’t so parents can answer any questions.

TRUE – Women do fight in mixed martial arts, but not in the biggest organization, the UFC. In fact, Strike Force is only major MMA organization in the United States with a women’s division. That’s where Gina Carano fights. She’s probably the inspiration for Shelby Marx.
FALSE – There aren’t any professional fighters under the age of 18. State athletic commissions wouldn’t allow it. However, that’s not to say people don’t fight before they are 18. Just not professionally.
TRUE – Most MMA fights are available on Pay Per View.
FALSE – They do not cost $80-$100. They’re half that.
TRUE – During fights, fighters wear small padded gloves and no shoes.
FALSE – The rings are not as small, or padded, as they are on “iCarly.”
TRUE – Many organizations have cages in the shape of an octagon.
FALSE – Rounds are never three minutes, they’re mostly five.
TRUE – Many MMA fighters, because it’s such a young sport, use the Internet to talk with their fans.
FALSE – Fighters are not allowed to call timeouts in the middle of a match.
TRUE – Press conferences often erupt into elaborate screaming matches and/or stare downs.
FALSE – Fighters don’t often bring their grandmas.
TRUE – MMA fighters train extremely hard for their sport, as we see Shelby Marx doing.
FALSE – A person who has never gotten into an octagon would NEVER be allowed to compete with a professional fighter.

Also, in the final fight, after Shelby punches Carly in the face, Carly jumps to the ground and grabs Shelby’s leg. “Is she allowed to do this?” Shelby asks the ref. “I don’t know,” he says back.

In reality, that was actually the best possible strategy for Carly. Throughout the episode we see Shelby delivering huge kicks and punches. But this is mixed martial arts, not kickboxing, so there’s an entire component that is spent grappling on the ground. If Carly didn’t think she could contend with Shelby’s striking, going to the ground was the perfect idea. And yes, it’s allowed. ALMOST everything is allowed.

That’s another misconception people have about MMA, which “iCarly” failed to mention. When the UFC began in the 1990s the big catch phrase was, “The only rule is there are no rules.” In 2009, that’s decidedly not the case. MMA has become a legal, sanctioned sport almost everywhere because it is highly regulated. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that despite its bad reputation and ultra violence, MMA is one of the safest sports out there right now. The instant a fighter is hurt, the fight is stopped. There’s no standing 8 count like in boxing. If you are unable to defend yourself, the fight is stopped.

Then again, maybe “iCarly’s” producers felt people knew that. If not, why choose to center an episode of their show around a sport that is so controversial? That’s not to say MMA is exactly “appropriate” for kids, but it is as regulated as football or baseball, probably safer than both, and encourages self-respect, incredible discipline and physical health.

You certainly can’t say that about watching television or sitting in front of a computer, now can you?

“iCarly’s iFight Shelby Marx” might have seemed like an odd pairing on paper. But if one truly knows about the sport that’s on display, learning about it is certainly a better – and healthier – option for today’s youth than watching TV.