MMA 101

By

‘Mr. K’

Let me start by stating the obvious, MMA fighter Frankie Edgar has a heart in him the size of a freakin’ Lion! To take that kind of punishment and then fight back to a draw, and arguably a win, amazing!

That’s right I said it… arguably a win. In the days following the fight I have heard many people talk about how Maynard won that fight, about how the judges made a mistake and got it wrong. Ummm, excuse me, were we all watching the same fight?

Maynard had an amazing first round. 10-8 definitely, 10-7, Maybe. Maynard even continued to be great in the following 4 rounds. But facts are facts, over the course of the next 4 rounds Frankie Edgar out pointed Gray all over the Octagon.

He landed more punches with superior speed and combinations, he was more effective with take down defense, and when on the ground he had more effective submission attempts, overall, he just did more.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that Edgar necessarily won the fight, I actually think a draw was fair due to how close each round was and the devastation Edgar suffered in round 1, but I absolutely don’t think Maynard won and can see exactly how Frankie got back into that fight. It amazes me how people continue to get blind sided by one good round instead of looking at the fight in it’s entirety (case & point – Rampage vs Machida UFC 123. Machida ONLY won the third round yet some people think he deserved the fight).

This consistent lack of vision displayed by some MMA ‘enthusiasts’ brings me to my next point… I am going to be blunt, can the morons of the MMA world please shutup!

At UFC 125 I had the good fortune to be placed in front of a gentleman in the audience who continued to yell at the top of his lungs ‘I want to see blood!’. After hearing him yell this, and only this for 3 straight hours, it occurred to me that maybehe was not the Harvard graduate I had first suspected.

Look, I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t enjoy a bit of blood with my MMA. It goes together like syrup and pancakes. But I certainly don’t disregard the whole fight if there is none! (Blood I mean, not syrup. Syrup in the fight would turn it into a different kind of event and that would just be weird)

This gentleman (or better put, Neanderthal) couldn’t have cared less about the skill set that was being displayed in the octagon he just wanted to see someone get messed up. It is this blood thirsty mentality that gives the sport a bad name and hinder it’s growth.

My other issue I feel the need to get off my chest is when some members of the crowd boo fighters for spending too long on the ground, or pinning an opponent against the fence. This booing ‘critique’ happens all too often.

I understand that sometimes wrestling can get stagnant and you don’t have to be a genius to recognize that it is not as explosive as an all out on your feet war, but don’t boo the fighters just because you want to see fists in face!

You have to appreciate the sport for what it is - SPORT. A chess match of skills. My Boxing beats your Karate, my Wrestling beats your Boxing, my Jiu-jitsu beats your Wrestling and so and so forth. I, like most MMA fans that truly understand the sport,appreciate all aspects of the MMA game, including watching these fighters control their opponent on the mat and fight for position.

It’s a strategic chess match where one wrong move can mean game over. I am not saying I want to watch a whole nightof fights like that! If that were the case I would go watch college wrestling, but what I am saying is it is an integral part of the sport where the athletes deserve to go on competing without the judgmental boos from particular members of the crowd. It is these ground game elements of a fight that help make the sport so diverse, so rich in texture and so unpredictable. It’s not referred to as MMA for no reason.

I know you can’t eliminate mindless morons from sport. Unfortunately you can’t eliminate them from the world either, but it would be nice if a greater education was bestowed upon these individuals.

It would be nice if they could appreciate it as a sport and not turn up to events booing true competitors for lack of punching and blood. If you turn up to an event with that mentality, you should just stay home and punch yourself in the face till you bleed to death. That would solve everyone’s problems.


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