This is a hard question to answer because there's so much to say on the topic. I guess I should preface my response by saying that it's rare for a guy to actually attempt to hurt another competitor during a bout. It's generally about testing your skills against another experienced fighter and seeing who comes out on top; injuries are actually fairly infrequent and hardly ever inflicted on purpose. I guess you would have to be a martial artist or combat-sport competitor to really understand the psychology behind the "warrior spirit." It's easy for an objective audience to say "that's stupid, they're just beating the **** out of each other for no reason," but the fight itself is all the reason in the world for the fighter. At the end of the day it's not about dominating your opponents and being feared and respected by your enemies, but understanding yourself and expressing yourself through the fight; the real competition is always with yourself. Look at Ryu from Street Fighter. That guy didn't begrudge anybody (except Bison, but shut up), he didn't care about trophies or glory, he was always just looking for that next fight, because even though he had beaten everybody there was to beat, he still didn't feel like he had mastered himself. A true fighter never retires. I don't fight anymore, and even I occasionally thirst for the thrill of battle even if it doesn't seem like there's anything to gain because it's not a "real" combat situation. I don't know, it's hard to describe. But that's what drives me to it. Not violence per se, although that goes with the territory, but... freedom, empowerment, and understanding.
As for the second part of your question, again, you have to have experience with combat strategy and application to really be able to appreciate solid head movement, a perfectly timed counterpunch or expert reversal on the ground. There might not be anything *flashy* about "real" combat in the kung fu movie sense, but trust me, watching a master fighter do what he does best is really a thing of beauty. Any fool with legs can learn how to do a back crescent or a tornado kick, but to watch two fighters struggle with each other and with themselves, timing, zoning, anticipating, reacting, countering... that's something really special.
I dunno. I'm a burnout, don't listen to me.
