The Smith Brothers had a few unspoken rules when they fought, though. There was plenty of tackling, punching, pinching, pulling and twisting -- but hitting in the face was prohibited. In that respect, our altercations could be considered Ground and Pound Light.

Still, taking enough beatings from my older sibling (and dishing out a few of my own), I learned an important lesson at a tender age: I am not a fighter.

I prefer to observe fistic rage, rather than stand on the giving or receiving ends. Heck, my wife takes a cardio-kickboxing class that makes her more of an aggressor than me. Perhaps this means I’m a wuss, but I’ll accept that the same way I used to accept those behind-the-woodshed whippings from my bro.

Fighters are fascinating creatures. They make terrific subjects for writing, especially for us wussies. I’m reminded of that whenever I read depictions of MMA in mainstream media publications -- stories that aren’t generated by MMA websites and attempt to explain the sport to ignorant readers. For example, last week a co-worker left a recent copy of The Atlantic magazine on my desk. It was open to an article titled “Rampage” and included an intimidating portrait of Quinton Jackson glaring at the camera.

Having never heard of The Atlantic, I asked my fellow-writer for a description.

“It’s pretty high-brow, does a lot of long, analytical pieces,” he explained.

So, it seems even society’s upper crust feels a need to investigate the dark world of professional fighting these days. The piece, however, didn’t come off as snobbish or project a harsh light on a barbaric endeavor. Rather, the writer, David Samuels, skillfully wove details of the sport and its origins into a tale about Jackson that took readers through the preparation, incidence and aftermath of his five-round, championship loss to Forrest Griffin.

Jackson was a solid protagonist for the article. He is a character, one of the few men in MMA who actually have a sort of shtick, with his chains, snarls and wolf-like howls that define his pre-fight ritual. At the time of the article, Jackson also was king of the UFC’s light heavyweight class, arguably the most talented division in the world.

While the story was well formed and educational, Samuels had prevailing questions he touched on with nearly every source in the story: Why fight? Or, why watch fights?