Most of the time I watch MMA I'm loaded and have an attention span of about 20 seconds so yeah, grappling isn't the most exciting thing on the planet...

This example and the arguments in this thread for/about grappling are the exact same argument that people use to support art, e-sports, theater, some of the more esoteric musical genres, and just about every hobby on the planet. If something needs specialized knowledge to enjoy then most people aren't going to enjoy it. That doesn't mean you can't defend it but shit, this video is boring. The announcers do a great job of explaining everything and the fighters obviously know what they are doing but it isn't dynamic it is nuanced.

I love art and I'm fucking fed up with seeing people post shit that takes a ton of technical skill and saying it is better than any painting they have ever seen in a museum even though it's just some bullshit a guy copied from a photograph. I love ultimate frisbee and soccer but most people don't have the patience to enjoy either of those sports. They see a bunch of grownups playing with a child's toy and a game with low scoring and write it off. I also enjoy antique furniture for all the interesting hardware, joinery, the unique veneers and finishes but the piece of furniture in my last apartment that got the most fucking comments was a shitty IKEA thing I used their software to put together. It wasn't a completely bland useless floor piece, it was tailored to fit what I needed it to be, but no one gave a shit about the wardrobe from the 1890's that comes apart into 5 different pieces that my wife and I scoured every antique dealer in six zip codes to find so we had something that fit into our shitty postage stamp NYC apartment with no goddamn closets.

If it takes specialized knowledge to recognize something's value most people aren't going to give a shit.