# Plexiglass vs fence



## MMA-Matt (Mar 20, 2010)

I was watchung UFC 113 with a friend of mine whom brought up the question: why doesn't the UFC (or other organizations) use plexiglass instead of a cage? 

I figured he raised a decent point. It's certainly strong enough. I haven't been to a live event so im not sure about visibility but I suspect it would have to improve right? And since fighters can't grab the fence they wouldn't be affected, in fact grabbing would be totally eliminated since there's nothing to hold on to. Maybe even the reputation of "cage fighting" would improve a little? 

I fail to see any negatives over having plexiglass, unless I'm missing something. Not that I have a problem with the fences at all.

Maybe I'm just sick enough that I want to see blood smeared on the glass, and not just the canvas.

Thoughts.....


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## Hammerlock2.0 (Jun 17, 2009)

Plexiglass isn't exactly soft. Imagine someone accidently punching or kicking the plexiglass. That's gotta hurt...


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## Emericanaddict (Dec 31, 2006)

It would get all grimey between fights and be hard to maintain. Also while a small sheet of plexiglass may be strong when stretched to the size needed to replace the fence i could see it coming loose especially when guys Brock's size are pushed up against it.

It would also impact the image of the octagon. They call it a cage for a reason. It ust wouldnt be as awesome looking. the Chain link fence is part of the image and yeah. I just don't see plexiglass being a good alternative when the fence works just fine.


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## Couchwarrior (Jul 13, 2007)

I've thought of the same thing before, but as Hammerlock said, I think it's too hard, people would get rocked or maybe even KO'd just from getting thrown against the wall. Also, although I believe plexi has a lower friction than real glass, I still imagine the friction against a sweaty body could be enough to change the game, making takedowns against the wall harder and causing friction burns.


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## Budhisten (Apr 11, 2010)

Add the problem with reflection to the list... This would be a problem for all parties involved, cameracrew, fighters and the audience...

BTW, I would rather watch two lions in a cage than two fish in a tank


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## Life B Ez (Jan 23, 2010)

I've seen threads like this already. It would be impossible to keep clean and could cause a lot of injuries.


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## box (Oct 15, 2006)

And if you need to grab the cage in the first place, you're usually losing anyway.


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## gex (May 31, 2010)

*Plexi has a lower friction than real glass*


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## Redrum (Jan 30, 2008)

Plexi glass, much like real glass, will run. This means that it can break with very sharp edges just like real glass. Also, in large sheets without structural supports, which would obscure the view, it is very weak. I am fairly certain that it does not come any thicker than 1/4", otherwise it would be exceedingly difficult to cut with a plexi glass cutter.

They would need to use Lexan instead, which is commonly used as bullet proof glass. Usually a number of thick sheets are laminated together making it very thick. Lexan cannot be cut with a cutter, it has to be cut with a saw, and it is much more resilient than plexi. Its drawback is that it becomes cloudy quickly, especially if exposed to sun light, and I expect that it would make each section of the cage considerably heavier, because more than one sheet would need to be used per window so that fighters smashing into them wouldn't just push the entire sheet out of its stops and onto the floor.


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## A Random Person (Oct 15, 2009)

It would be awesome to see the blood smeared shattared glass after a PPV.

Hockey boards take a lot of punishment, rarely break (pucks have more momentum and less surface area making a higher PSI) and cover a large area. when the fighers get sweaty there is little need to worry about friction, plus you get to see the fight better.

But you know what would be awesome, electrified barbed wire fencing with spikes and a wall of flames surrounding the ring.


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## Hammerlock2.0 (Jun 17, 2009)

You know what would be even better than some sort of cage structure? Just build a 20 feet deep pit around the fighting area with lots of snakes and scorpions and shit.


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## chinwaggler (Jun 7, 2009)

There's not much wrong with a fence and plexiglass doesn't have any obvious advantages so why change?


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