On the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter we saw Frank Mir throw a bit of a temper tantrum anytime Ryan Bader had Eliot Marshall on the ground. Frank Mir actually echoed the remarks of Junie earlier in the season when Junie was upset about the wrestling match he felt Efrain had put on. Mir also commented following Bader’s fight that he had seen a great wrestling match, but it was boring.
Here is the thing that frustrates me; it’s a sport that was originally created to put combat disciplines against one another to see which would prevail. The sport has evolved like crazy, fighters are now well rounded, but it is still a sport made up of a few base disciplines. Guess what? Wrestling is one of them
If a strong wrestler can hold you down and control you, it may not be entertaining, but he is controlling the fight in a dominant position. Most people like to cry foul and state that it is a strategy to not lose, but they are not attempting to win the fight. I disagree; I believe that by completely nullifying the skills and abilities of their opponent they are earning their victory. It is up to their opponent to sweep, pull a submission from their back or scramble for a better position a la the UFC’s resident Jack-in-the-box, Chuck Liddell.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan can be heard in various fights, even as recent as Wednesday’s Fight for the Troops event, pleading that fighters be allowed to fight. I couldn’t agree more, I’m grateful that Pride’s yellow card system hasn’t been adopted in North American MMA because it penalizes a fighter for executing a smart game plan.
So am I an advocate for a card full of one-sided matches controlled by superior wrestling? No, I’m an advocate of fighters coming into a fight prepared for any situation, and not crying if they can’t work themselves off their back. Don’t call your opponent one-dimensional just because you wanted to sprawl and brawl (I’m looking at you Heath Herring).
Many people say that PrideFC’s soccer kicks and head stomps should be brought to North America because it makes MMA a more realistic fight situation. Well I doubt that a wrestler in a real fight would choose to stand and bang because the crowd doesn’t understand the technical chess match that is a ground fight. And no, it isn’t only a chess match when it is between two Jiu-Jitsu black belts. It takes real wrestling skill, not just heavy hips, to hold down a competent mixed martial artist.
Tomorrow night I’m interested to see if Vinny will show that a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one way to avoid being pinned for 3 rounds.
So do you agree? Disagree? Let’s hear it.
I remember the Heath Herring fight, he got owned and all he did was bitch afterwards.
If you don’t make room for someone’s wrestling ability when you’re preparing for a fight, you shouldn’t be able to bitch afterwards when you lose
^^Herring got owned because he had an MCL injury and his mobility was impaired, not because O’Brien is a better fighter on any night but that one.
The issue is fighting to finish a fight. If you have someone who peppers an opponent with jabs and slips clinches, but never really does any damage, it’s going to be a boring fight as well, and they’re going to get criticized.
I’d also point out that there is a disparity with the scoring system, in that takedowns are often scored the same as a knockdown, when they’re easier to achieve. I’d score a slam as strongly as a knockdown, but a single or double would be scored the same as a stuffed takedown…it would count, but not for much.
The other factor to consider is that the cage–where the bulk of casual fans see MMA occurring–gives a huge advantage to grapplers, while the ring gives advantages to strikers.