Article

Frame-Changing the
Game: Examining the
Media Framing of
the Mixed Martial Arts
Discourse in Ontario

Communication & Sport

2014, Vol. 2(2) 186-199
The Author(s) 2013
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2167479513479349
com.sagepub.com

Michael L. Naraine1 and Jess C. Dixon1

Abstract
This article extends research on media framing and the concept of framechanging by examining the sanctioning of professional mixed martial arts (MMA)
events in Ontario, Canada. After initially indicating that sanctioning MMA was
unimportant, the Ontario government shifted its policy and announced it would
sanction professional MMA events. A content analysis was conducted on newsprint articles published between 2009 and 2010 that were related to the sanctioning of MMA events in Ontario. After removing syndicated reports, 18
newsprint articles derived from six major Canadian dailies served as the focus for
this study. Using open and axial coding techniques, these articles identified that the
media produced two frames for the discourse related to the sanctioning of MMA
(i.e., legal/ethical and economic), which changed throughout the discourse. This
study serves to examine how mainstream media frames the sport in jurisdictions
yet to develop a MMA policy.
Keywords
media framing, frame-changing, mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship,
Ontario

Department of Kinesiology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Corresponding Author:
Michael L. Naraine, Department of Kinesiology, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N9B 3P4.
Email: narainem@uwindsor.ca

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Given the proliferation of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on cable television (Cheever,
2009; Walton & Potvin, 2009) and the growth of MMA clubs and dojos in Canada
(Shimo, 2008), legalizing MMA in Canadas largest province seemed to be a logical
proposition. However, despite the strong support for the sport from promoters, lobbyists, and other politicians, the government of Ontario did not initially endorse a
MMA policy. Premier Dalton McGuinty, the head of the Ontario government, even
went so far as to say that sanctioning the sport was just not a priority (Campbell,
2010a, { 3) for the government. The MMA debate in Ontario would eventually conclude with a drastic shift in the governments position, culminating with the
announcement on Saturday August 14, 2010, that confirmed professional MMA
events would be sanctioned in the province as of January 1, 2011 (Campbell, 2010c).
With the change in the governments position on MMA, print media began to
speculate as to why such a shift in political perspective occurred. One article
suggested that Premier McGuinty was exposed to the economic advantages of the
sport and attempted to gain more support with an impeding provincial election
(Daubs, 2010). Another article cited that the shift was primarily the result of a need
to maintain fighter safety, but that money was also apparently a motive for the
reversal (Leslie & Davidson, 2010, { 8). However, omitted from the discussion
was the potential impact that the media themselves may have had on the Ontario policy makers. As Cook et al. (1983) explained, news reports can influence government
decisions. This is particularly true in instances where increased coverage of a topic
generates high salience among the public (Chyi & McCombs, 2004). Thus, it is plausible that the media, through its reporting of the issue, may have impacted how the
government of Ontario viewed MMA resulting in this shift in policy.
The purpose of this article is to examine the manner in which the MMA discourse
was framed within the pages of Canadian daily newspapers. A frame, in the context
of the media, assigns meaning to a story and determines what is highlighted,
emphasized, ignored, or marginalized (Messner & Solomon, 1993, p. 120). Within
the scholarship on media framing, there exists the notion of frame-changing,
whereby news media often reframe the event by emphasizing different attributes
of the event (Chyi & McCombs, 2004, p. 22). Indeed, by utilizing the framechanging mechanism, the media have the ability to increase the salience of a news
story over the storys life span and potentially influence the public (Valkenburg,
Semetko, & de Vreese, 1999) and policy makers (Cook et al., 1983). To this end,
we explored how media framed the MMA discourse in Ontario and whether the process of frame-changing was employed to increase the salience of the discourse. The
subsequent section will provide a contextual overview of MMA in North America
and discuss the existing literature on media framing and frame changing.

The Manifestation of the MMA in Ontario Discourse

In the fall of 1993, American business executives Art Davie and Robert Meyrowitz
staged and promoted a tournament in Denver, Colorado, that highlighted multiple

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fighting disciplines (Maher, 2010; van Bottenburg & Heilbron, 2006). The tournament, which was the first of its kind in United States, was coined the Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) and featured minimal rules and prohibitions; eight
fighters of various physiques and fighting backgrounds were pitted against each
other for a chance to win a $50,000 grand prize (Maher, 2010). For Meyrowitz, a
tournament of this nature would be incredibly lucrative for his upstart entertainment
company. The Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) created what it believed to be
a winning formula of sensational marketing and top martial artists in an attempt to
lure viewers and sponsors away from mainstream sports such as boxing and professional wrestling (Downey, 2007; van Bottenburg & Heilbron, 2006). Indeed, the formation of UFC events proved to be the tipping point in the emergence of MMA in
the United States, as combatants from various fighting disciplines finally had a
forum to demonstrate their talents.
SEG continued to build followers to its UFC events, but was limited in where it
could operate events. The challenge facing the organization at the time was that state
legislators were reluctant to sanction events without a formal, universal code of rules
and regulations. Many U.S. states had athletic commissions that governed based on
the uniform rules of boxing (Reel, 2001), but there was little precedent for an event
of the UFCs nature. In response, SEG carried out all of its events in states that did
not have athletic commissions, essentially granting carte blanche for combat sports
and their respective promotional firms. The solution was to stage events where a
strong fan base existed or adjacent to markets where it was trying to attract new fans.
As a means of trying to attract fans from California, Florida, New York, and Texas,
events were held in states such as Colorado, Alabama, Wyoming, North Carolina,
and Louisiana. The primary goal was to grow the UFC brand and gain recognition
within the United States. Because of the difficulties in staging events in certain markets and with the goal of growing the sport, SEG relied heavily upon pay-per-view
(PPV) programming, which had generated millions of dollars in revenue for other
combat sport promotions like professional wrestling (Reynolds & Baer, 2003).
Despite the UFC attracting more than 10,000 people per event, the negative feedback from politicians and some media outlets caused numerous setbacks for the
organization.
By 1996, only 3 years since the inception of the first UFC event, SEG began to
face heavy criticism from key political figures. Perhaps, the most notable figure was
the Republican Senator from Arizona, John McCain. Senator McCain openly advocated against UFC competitions, citing that the events were essentially a human
cockfight (Bledsoe, Hsu, Grabowski, Brill, & Li, 2006; Cheever, 2009; Walton
& Potvin, 2009). The senator was incredibly determined in his efforts, writing letters
to state governors in hopes that they would outright ban UFC and similar MMA
events. This sentiment seemed to generate curiosity among the public to the point
where the negative publicity began to hinder the UFC promotion. Moreover,
McCains movement led to 40 states banning the SEG from staging UFC events
in their jurisdictions (Garcia & Malcolm, 2010), and the removal of UFC event

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broadcasts from cable networks in 1997. This caused a significant negative impact,
limiting the amount of revenue SEG was able to generate through its UFC brand
(van Bottenburg & Heilbron, 2006).
With support for the promotion at an extreme low point, the UFC staged events in
Brazil and Japan. However, the move abroad was inherently problematic as this was
an American promotion which carried a poor following internationally, and could
not satisfy its American audience in light of the cable ban on UFC broadcasts.
Between 1997 and 2000, the UFC would not hold events as frequently as it previously had and its parent company, SEG, was on the brink of bankruptcy.
As the end of the UFC in the United States seemed imminent, the sport received
some positive news. In September 2000, the New Jersey State Athletic Control
Boardthe state regulator of combat sporting eventstook the unprecedented step
of developing a universal code for MMA events. The Mixed Martial Arts Unified
Rules of Conduct essentially enabled promoters to stage events in the state of New
Jersey following with strict adherence to established rules and regulatory standards (Ngai, Levy, & Hsu, 2008, p. 686). The UFC seized upon the opportunity
to host its 28th event in New Jersey at the Trump Taj Mahal venue in November
2000, just 2 months after the Control Board rendered its decision. Although the UFC
would go back to Japan one more time, the decision by the state of New Jersey gave
the UFC some much-needed legitimacy within the United States.
Although the state of New Jersey had embraced the sport of MMA, the model used
by SEG for promoting the UFC no longer seemed relevant, particularly following this
extended period of marginalization by political pundits. As a result, SEG sold the UFC
to another group of investors, the Zuffa LLC group, after its 29th event in January
2001. Later that same year, the Nevada State Athletic Commission followed its New
Jersey counterpart by sanctioning MMA in its jurisdiction. With new stipulations on
weight classes, stricter rules on strikes (e.g., elbows to the head on a downed opponent), and a plethora of safety regulations, the UFC brand (now under new ownership)
held its first event in Las Vegas in 2001 (Bledsoe et al., 2006). This represented a significant victory for the growth of the sport (and the UFC by extension), as Las Vegas
had a reputation for staging high-profile boxing events and remained a prime locale to
deliver combat sporting events. For this UFC event, the 33rd in the firms history, the
paid attendance at the Mandalay Bay venue was 7,238 and the gross sales taken from
this September 2001 gate was an estimated $816,000 (Nevada Athletic Commission,
2011). In November 2002, the UFC held its 40th event in Las Vegas, nearly doubling
its attendance and gross sales figures in just 1 year after being able to host events in
Nevada. These results were pleasing for the UFC and its new ownership group and
served to solidify its presence in the lucrative Vegas market.
By adopting a standard, universal code, the UFC could begin to foster new relationships with the media, especially cable television. As Kim, Andrew, and Greenwell
(2009) noted, the UFC in conjunction with the Spike TV cable network developed new
cable programs to supplement its PPV content. By 2005, three new cable programs
began to air: The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed, and UFC Fight Night. These shows

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generated a high degree of popularity and connected with viewers more frequently than
the UFC had previously (Cheever, 2009). It had become evident that the direction of the
UFC under the Zuffa regime silenced the ill effects of the campaign spearheaded by
Senator McCain almost a decade prior as professional MMA events were being sanctioned throughout the United States and into parts of Canada (Parry, 2009).
With MMA gaining recognition as a legitimate sport through the content and programming offered by the UFC, the focus shifted towards targeting key jurisdictions
for sanctioning. While there were never formal talks or a planned strategy to capitalize on the Canadian market, Dana White, part owner and President of the UFC,
had long praised the support of Canadian MMA fans (Davidson, 2010). But the UFC
offered an opportunity to host events in Canada that were close in proximity to New
York and Massachusetts, two jurisdictions who had yet to formally sanction MMA
contests. The logical choice was Montreal; Canadas third largest city was not a far
distance from these targeted U.S. markets. Moreover, Quebecers had followed the
MMA craze for quite some time. Back in 1996, an aboriginal reserve near Montreal
staged a MMA event with some success (Lundberg, 1996). The UFC proceeded and
held its 83rd PPV event in Montreals Bell Centre to a crowd of over 21,000 in April
2008. In April 2009, the UFC staged its second Canadian PPV event in Montreal,
UFC 97. The second event was equally successful and began to shift the mind-set
of UFC officials towards opening up the Canadian market, recognizing the considerable revenue opportunities. The success of these events prompted the UFC to pursue Canadas most populous provincial jurisdiction: Ontario.
With the focus on Ontario, the UFC concentrated a considerable amount of resources
directed towards lobbying government officials to sanction MMA. White appointed former Canadian Football League commissioner Tom Wright, as head of the newly established UFC Canadian office (Campbell, 2010b). Wright, a well-known Canadian sports
figure, gave the UFC credibility in a market that was still uncertain about the sport and
the organization promoting it. The UFC then added Noble Chummar, legal counsel at
Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP, to their Ontario lobby roster. Chummar had previous
experience in lobbying and he indirectly had a lead into the McGuinty administration
through his friend and colleague David Peterson. The former Premier of Ontario, Peterson worked in the same law firm as Chummar and was a good friend of McGuinty
(Daubs, 2010). With Wright and Chummar in place, the Zuffa group felt it had the necessary formula to change McGuintys mind. Indeed, while McGuinty did not initially
consider a MMA policy, his position quickly changed and the Ontario government took
the necessary steps to sanction MMA in its jurisdiction.

Media Framing
Scheufele and Tewksbury (2007) offer two theoretical models for media message
construction: agenda setting and media framing. Research on agenda setting has
revealed a link between the importance of social realities and the amount of news
coverage said reality receives (Denham, 2004; McCombs & Shaw, 1972; Stromback

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& Kiousis, 2010; Wanta, Golan, & Lee, 2004). Conversely, media framing illustrates how presentation shapes understanding (Wachs, Cooky, Messner, & Dworkin, 2012, p. 422). While the literature has discussed the two models separately,
Wanta, Golan, and Lee (2004) and McCombs and Ghanem (2001) contend that
agenda setting and media framing have converged. Indeed, agenda setting has
evolved from what the message should be to how the message is presented
(McCombs & Ghanem, 2001). In this respect, media framing can be conceived as
a refined version of the agenda-setting model (McCombs, 2004). As such, this study
is rooted in the media framing paradigm, given that media framing can also reveal
how certain aspects of news stories are constructed and dispersed among the public.
Framing theory, as advanced by Entman (1993), has revealed a systematic process
by which problems are identified, diagnosed, judged, and remedied in the media (see
also Scheufele, 1999). Once the media decide on the agenda for a particular discourse
(McCombs & Shaw, 1972), the focus shifts to what attributes to highlight and exclude
(Tsfati, 2003; Wanta et al., 2004). Constructing a frame focuses on the journalist and
the media organization itself, along with ideologies and attitudes that govern both parties. In this respect, a news story can be framed in a variety of ways. However, media
framing is grounded in the notion of eliciting a reaction from the audience to increase
the salience of a particular news story (Delgado, 2003; Nelson, Clawson, & Oxley,
1997; Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). While media organizations have the ability
to choose a frame, stories often utilize social, political, and/or economic frames in
an attempt to engage their audiences (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). For instance,
news outlets such as BBC World and CNN International routinely focus on framing
human interest stories during their reporting of conflict and war (Hackett, 2006).
This particular frame intends to invoke feelings of sadness and sympathy and engage
audiences by addressing the social welfare of people in the midst of a conflict. As
media organizations anticipate audience reaction, generic frames (notably the three
mentioned previously) are often selected and utilized in the construction of a news
story (Scheufele, 1999). Despite the consolidation of media framing to generic frames
(Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000), the media wield a considerable amount of influence
and control in the construction and presentation of news stories.
In the context of sport, utilizing media framing as a theoretical framework is not a
new process. One of the initial forays into the intersection of media framing and
sport was the research produced by Messner and Solomon (1993) on professional
boxer Sugar Ray Leonard. In this instance, it was revealed that the salience of the
story was generated primarily through revelations about Leonards drug abuse
(Messner & Solomon, 1993). However, scholarship on media framing and sport is
not limited to athletes and deviant behaviour. Wachs and Dworkin (1997) examined
the media framing of HIV-positive athletes, while Wachs et al. (2012) examined
media framing and sport within the context of Don Imus and the Rutgers University
womens basketball program discourse. While these articles demonstrate the diversity of articles within the sphere of media framing and sport, they do not contribute
much to our understanding of media framing and the politicization of sport.

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With respect to the intersection of politics and sport, Delgado (2003) and Denham
(2004) offer significant contributions that underscore the notion of media framing.
Through an examination of an IranU.S. soccer match in 1998, Delgado (2003) presented the idea that a sporting event, when framed politically, becomes an important
story and will extend to a greater audience. The investigation of the 1998 World Cup
match also yields pertinent information regarding how media organizations will
frame a story over the course of its life span. As Delgado contended, the challenge
for print media is not frame building, but the difficulty they have in using one frame
to present a story. Denhams (2004) research suggested that a news story, specifically in the context of professional sport and government, will gain salience and can
influence policy when a prominent media outlet advances the issue and a wellknown figure is attached to the story.

Frame-Changing
Given the nature of frames are such that they focus on some aspects of a news story
and neglect others, they have the ability to be reframed. Chyi and McCombs (2004)
conceptualized this practice as frame-changing (p. 22), though others have
referred to it as reframing (Castello & Montagut, 2011; Marchi, 2005). While
research has suggested that dramatic shifts in framing are unlikely (Bennett & Lawrence, 1995), the media have difficulty presenting information using just one frame
(see Delgado, 2003). Thus, there are seemingly three predominant reasons in which
frame-changing is likely to occur: (1) the initial frame used did not generate high
salience, (2) the initial frame experienced diminished salience over time, and/or
(3) a new frame will extend the life span of a news story. Irrespective of how it transpires, frame-changing can potentially influence the amount of coverage a particular
story receives (Chyi & McCombs, 2004). Given its impact, changing frames has
often been employed in circumstances where politicians and political figures are
involved (Castello & Montagut, 2011). While not fully developed in the literature,
frame-changing provides an additional dimension to the media framing literature
and may enhance scholarship on journalistic practice in the mass media.
Despite the existing literature on media framing and the growing sociological
research on MMA (Garcia & Malcolm, 2010; van Bottenburg & Heilbron, 2006),
there is a notable absence of literature examining the intersection between media framing and MMA. Thus, the aim of this research is to examine framing in the context of
MMA, thereby extending the scope of media framing to modern combat sport. The
remainder of this article is dedicated to providing the methodological approach,
results, a discussion of the key findings, and implications for future research.

Method
To illustrate how media framed the MMA discourse in Ontario, a content analysis of
media produced reports was undertaken. Specifically, newsprint articles published

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during the 2009 and 2010 calendar years that related to the broad topic of sanctioning
MMA in the province of Ontario were retrieved from major Canadian media outlets.
This delimited time frame represents the period within which media reports on the
issue were most prevalent, leading up until the date that MMA events received formal
sanctioning in the province. Newsprint articles were identified using Canadian Newstand, an electronic database containing complete full-text articles from nearly 300
newspapers from across Canada, and the following combinations of search terms and
phrases: Ontario, MMA, mixed martial arts, UFC, Ultimate Fighting
Championship, Ontario Athletics Commission, prize fighting, and sanctioning. Once collected, repeated instances of syndicated articles (e.g., those circulated
by the Associated Press and Canadian Press that appeared in multiple news outlets)
were eliminated to avoid redundancy. The remaining articles were then manually
assessed by the primary author and coded using open and axial investigative techniques (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). When necessary, uncertainties regarding interpretations of the data were resolved with the input of the secondary author.
Once the articles had been selected and coded, consistent themes and messages
were organized into two tables: (1) arguments cited in favour of sanctioning MMA
in Ontario and (2) arguments cited against the sanctioning of MMA in Ontario. It
was through this placement that the authors were able to identify the types of media
frames that were utilized. Specific attention was paid to interviews with politicians
and other public figures who previously denounced the sport and then shifted
towards a more lenient stance.

Results
Our initial search yielded 30 articles with some connection to the MMA discourse
within the province of Ontario. However, upon closer examination, 12 of these articles were of a syndicated nature and thus, redundant for the purposes of our analysis.
In sum, 18 newsprint articles derived from six major Canadian dailies served as the
focus for this study (see Table 1). Of the newsprint sources, three are nationally
recognized publications with headquarters in the Greater Toronto Area. Furthermore, only 3 of the 18 articles published during this time frame originated from outside of the Province of Ontario. As Table 1 suggests, there is also a pattern of
repeated authorship, as newspapers will often assign journalists to follow a story
as it develops over its life span.
As outlined in the methodology, the data collected were placed into two tables,
reflecting arguments for and against the sanctioning of MMA events in Ontario.
After placing arguments into each of the aforementioned tables, we assessed them
in an effort to identify the type of frame employed. This manual assessment of the
articles revealed two media frames that were employed from late 2009 to the middle
of 2010: a legal/ethical frame and an economic frame.
The legal/ethical frame identified several common arguments that emitted negative connotations with respect to sanctioning MMA in Ontario (see Table 2). One of

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Table 1. Newsprint Articles Containing Information on the Sanctioning of Mixed Martial Arts
(MMA) in Ontario.
Date of Publication

Newsprint Source

Author

July 18, 2009

November 21, 2009
December 19, 2009
December 23, 2009
February 18, 2010
March 24, 2010
March 25, 2010
May 9, 2010
May 21, 2010
May 21, 2010
May 26, 2010
May 26, 2010
May 26, 2010
August 15, 2010
August 15, 2010
December 7, 2010
December 8, 2010
December 8, 2010

Globe and Mail

Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Globe and Mail
Ottawa Citizen
Edmonton Journal
Globe and Mail
National Post
Toronto Star
Globe and Mail
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Telegraph-Journal

Stephen Brunt
Sandro Contenta
Morgan Campbell
Robert Benzie
Morgan Campbell
Sandro Contenta
Stephen Brunt
Dave Deibert
Dave Deibert
James Christie
Joe OConnor
Morgan Campbell
Stephen Brunt
Morgan Campbell
Katie Daubs
Morgan Campbell
Morgan Campbell
Dave Deibert

the more prominent arguments within this frame was the idea that MMA violated the
Criminal Code of Canada. As one article indicated, under the Criminal Code, staging
fights other than those contested under traditional boxing standards is illegal (Brunt,
2009, { 7). Another article expressed a similar notion stating, mixed martial arts violates section 83 of the Criminal Code (Campbell, 2009, { 10). Other sentiments
within the legal/ethical frame reintroduced the backlash MMA received in the mid1990s from Senator McCain. One commentary noted that McCains assertion was
appropriate given that MMA was seen as a scourge unfit for public consumption
(OConnor, 2010, { 17). In this vein, the legal/ethical frame posited MMA as a barbaric activity that promoted excessive violence and posed a serious concern for athlete safety. It should also be noted that many of the articles within this media frame
were constructed early on in the debate.
A second media frame used in the construction of articles written about sanctioning MMA in Ontario utilized economic arguments. Articles using these arguments
carried what seemed to be positive endorsements for the sport and provided specific
monetary amounts for readers to view (see Table 3). In one instance, a news article
produced in 2010 noted that, a large event could generate up to $6 million in economic activity (Campbell, 2010c, { 15) for the provinces hospitality and tourism
sectors. Other articles made specific reference to the money that would be directly
generated from ticket sales at a professional MMA event in Ontario, indicating that
the result of sanctioning would potentially net the government more than $211,000

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Table 2. Arguments Used in Media Reports Refuting the Sanctioning of Mixed Martial Arts
(MMA) Events in Ontario.
Media Frame Used: Ethical/Legal
Athlete and fan safety
Fights seen as barbaric, bloodthirsty
Promotes excessive violence
Human cockfighting
Violates s.83(1) of Canadian Criminal Code
Not a priority for the government

Table 3. Arguments Used in Media Reports Supporting the Sanctioning of MMA Events in
Ontario.
Media Frame Used: Economic
Projections to set attendance and gate revenue records
Estimated $23 million to be spent to help a faltering economy
Estimated $6 million in new jobs created; $4 million in tax revenue
Ontario is the Mecca for MMA
Limits unsupervised, underground fights from occurring
Citizens have an affinity for the sport; adrenaline rush
Note. MMA mixed martial arts.

in gate receipts (Campbell, 2010d, { 10) from one event alone. Notwithstanding
the presentation of specific monetary values, the economic frame also suggested that
Ontarios large MMA fan base would generate revenue for the local economy if professional events were to be sanctioned. Dana White would refer to Ontario as the
Mecca of MMA on several occasions, albeit without empirical evidence, in an
attempt to support the claim that professional MMA events would stimulate economic activity. This frame also indicated that the government would save on health
care costs as a result of unattended, injured athletes fighting in unsanctioned events.
In this respect, sanctioning MMA would have tremendous safety advantages
(Daubs, 2010, { 9) and help alleviate some of the strain on the health care system.
It is also noteworthy that this frame utilized several interviews with high-ranking
UFC officials and lobbyists and was present in articles written from March 2010
onward. Nevertheless, the economic frame demonstrated inherent (economic)
advantages of sanctioning MMA in Ontario.
While there is evidence of two media frames being used to document the MMA
discourse, there was no discernible shift in frames, chronologically speaking. That is
to say, there is no one point in the discourse where articles began to converge into
just one frame. However, as indicated previously, the legal/ethical frame tended to
stand out in articles produced at the beginning of the discourse while the economic
frame was prominent in articles written in middle to later stages.

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Discussion
The findings produced are similar in nature to previous scholarship. The results
suggest that the print media did not produce reports with just one frame, supporting
Delgados (2003) assertion that the media will produce more than one frame for any
given story. As was the case in Denhams (2004) research, the MMA discourse was
advanced by major Canadian dailies and, in many of the reports, was focused on
reactions from Premier McGuinty and UFC president Dana White, key figures
within the debate. When considering the types of frames utilized by the media, evidence suggests that generic frames were employed (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000),
with the legal/ethical frame offering undertones from a generic political frame.
Within media framing research, the case of MMA in Ontario may ultimately extend
how scholars understand the concept of frame-changing, specifically in a case study
on sport.
The results indicate that a shift in media framing is likely to occur if said shift is
likely to produce greater salience to the story. In this case, reports that highlighted
the economic benefits seemingly generated more salience than the legal/ethical
arguments as judged by the flurry of reporting produced in early May 2010 onwards.
This increase in coverage is consistent with Chyi and McCombs (2004) view that
frame-changing will yield greater salience for a story. Moreover, as was the case
with the findings in Denham (2004), the outcome of this frame change was such that
it captured the attention of policy makers and resulted in a significant shift in sport
policy. Though the change in government policy cannot be wholly attributed to the
change in media reporting, its potential influence cannot be refuted either. It is also
difficult to assess whether, in the absence of a frame change, the MMA discourse
would have yielded the salience that it did. Nevertheless, this case provides new
insight into understanding frame-changing, specifically in the context of sport.
As MMA gains in popularity throughout Canada and the United States, it is
imperative that scholarship continues to explore media framing in the context of
MMA discourses. While many jurisdictions in both countries have policies allowing
for professional MMA events, there are notable exceptions, particularly in the states
of New York and Connecticut.
There is likely to be much more reporting in an elongated period such as the discourses
taking place in the aforementioned states. Given that this research was rooted in the Canadian discourse of MMA, future scholarship within the scope of media framing may look at
cross-jurisdiction sentiments (e.g., Ontario and British Columbia), identifying differences
and similarities in frames based on the cultural dynamic and political climate in each
locale. Thus, the research at hand illuminates future possibilities for scholars and calls for
more research to be conducted on MMA discourses with a media-framing lens.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

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