Perhaps, like me, you are in the 1.7% of the population who have seen mixed martial arts fighting in the past 12 months. I’ve never watched a full bout, probably no more than a minute at any one time, and usually less. I turn away in horror and disgust.

It occasionally pops up on my X feed and takes only a few seconds to show that it is presenting a loathsome spectacle of intense vulgarity. It celebrates some of the ugliest traits in human character — a preening, self-admiring strutting braggadocio, contempt for rivals, and merciless violence. That the fighters themselves are skilled, strong, quick, and athletic is of secondary importance and does not make up for the moral deficiency of the sport.