BELLATOR QUOTABLES: Sean Wheelock believes MMA and soccer are similar in mainstream coverage

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"It's a lot of the same battles I had in soccer [with mainstream media coverage]. It's like, 'Why don't you cover this sport?' It's because they're not [knowledgeable] in this sport. 'Let's just do something we know. Let's ignore that.'

Take boxing. I'd say anyone who's under 45 or 50 (years old), they probably prefer mixed martial arts. ... I don't want to call it laziness. Maybe it's just a reluctance to cover something new that's out of their comfort zone...

There are a few of us out there who love MMA and soccer. What I will say is that for MMA and soccer, at least in the U.S. and Canada, there are hardcore fans... like no other sport."

-Bellator play-by-play broadcaster Sean Wheelock talks to MMAJunkie.com about the similarities he sees in the mainstream coverage of soccer and mixed martial arts.

Penick's Analysis: I think that's a fairly apt comparison in terms of the coverage both sports seem to receive from the mainstream, but with soccer's much longer history and wider reach across the globe that sport is at a much higher level of coverage than is MMA. But it's a valid point in that most mainstream sports coverage is geared towards what is familiar and what is the norm, and these are outlying sports with diehard fanbases. Neither sport is for everyone, but for those that love each sport it's a passion that is sometimes not comparable from some of the other major sports.

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