That shoulder choke Bostick used is vicious...very sneaky, and I find a lot of people don't know what it is.
Jamal Patterson has a win in the IFL with it...and I've seen a few people go to sleep in competitions. Same choke Von Flue used.
EmiratesJiuJitsu - Just a quick summary of what happened last night:
- Although the first part of the show contained some awful performances, the show picked up steam after the intermission.
- Surprisingly, the arena was not a sell out. There were many empty seats scattered around. I could understand the reasoning though as MMA is still new to the Chinese people.
I've heard from several of the guys fighting in China, that the shows are generally giving out Comp'd tickets, just so the Chinese see what MMA is first hand.
I think several of the top Chinese AOW fighters have left the promotion and are now fighting for a new show...which I'm sure hurt the "quality" of the Chinese fights.
www.umac.cc
Bao Li Gao
Zhang Tie Quan (has a win over Malik)
and
Yang Jian Ping
are no longer with AOW. Supposedly UMAC has a better TV deal than AOW, and is paying the fighters more.
I think competition is good, I'm excited to see where Chinese MMA goes..China now has 4-5 MMA promotions, not counting Taiwan.
Congrats to Ole on his win, Next time I have to leave Koh Samui Im gonna head up to Ubon for a visa run and would like to stop by his Legacy gym.
KruThailand -EmiratesJiuJitsu - Just a quick summary of what happened last night:
- Although the first part of the show contained some awful performances, the show picked up steam after the intermission.
- Surprisingly, the arena was not a sell out. There were many empty seats scattered around. I could understand the reasoning though as MMA is still new to the Chinese people.
I think several of the top Chinese AOW fighters have left the promotion and are now fighting for a new show...which I'm sure hurt the "quality" of the Chinese fights.
www.umac.cc
Bao Li Gao
Zhang Tie Quan (has a win over Malik)
and
Yang Jian Ping
are no longer with AOW. Supposedly UMAC has a better TV deal than AOW, and is paying the fighters more.
I think competition is good, I'm excited to see where Chinese MMA goes..China now has 4-5 MMA promotions, not counting Taiwan.
UMAC went out of business after one show.
Something like 90% of the fights in the events have ended in the 1st or 2nd round which suggests the no decision structure promotes action rather than induces fighters to try not to lose.
glassjawed - What does everyone think about this Art of War promotion coming out of China? Apparently they're picking up significant backing recently including the Crowned Prince of Abu Dhabi so they will likely have a lot of money to throw around in the future. Right now, their lineup isn't anywhere close to world class. However, they're backed by the Chinese government and on national tv in China so they have huge exposure there.Not to sound biased here, but I go for PROMISING.
What I really like about it is that their rules are similar to Pride in that they allow knees to a downed opponent, soccer kicks, and stomps. The thing i'm not sure about is the rounds and scoring system which is non-existent. They have a 10 minute round, followed by a 2 minute break and then a final 5 minute round like Dream. But get this, if one of the fighters isn't stopped by the end of the 5 minute round, it is considered a draw and there are no judges. What are people's opinions on this?
This is only the beginning. Expect more of the same from Art of War, plus more big-name MMA fighters competing in future cards.
Kru Thailand I'd have to agree with Tokyudo. I met with the matchmaker for UMAC and he told me the first event lost $150,000 USD. It's hard to keep promoting shows when your losing that type of cash.
Supposedly they are going to be doing "atleast 4 more shows", with the next one scheduled for mid June...I'm curious to see how it goes and might try to fly out to Beijing to watch it live. Ole Laursen went to their first show and told me the production quality was very good.
AOW has good grasp on promotion, and a strong investor. The fact that they have promoted 12 successful shows has to make them the leader in China's MMA scene.
*Do you know what type of a TV deal UMAC has?
I think the first organization to make their fights available to the American audience is going to get the most exposure, best fighters, biggest paydays. I'm not sure UMAC wants to market to anyone but China.
Andy and Konrad are two guys I think understand what they are out to achieve...they aren't taking a free ride, but paving their own roads.
Some coverage articles:
Cool Global Biz:
Part 1: http://www.coolglobalbiz.com/2009/05/mixed-martial-arts-in-china-sports-entrepreneurs-andy-conrad-pi.html
Part 2: http://www.coolglobalbiz.com/2009/06/mixed-martial-arts-in-china-sports-entertainment-entrepreneurs-andy-konrad-pi-part-2.html
Gracie Mag:
http://www.graciemag.com/news/144/ARTICLE/14359/2009-05-23.html
No Holds Barred Radio:
http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2009-05-28T10_44_06-07_00
China Sports Today:
http://chinasportstoday.com/en/blog/item/344/art_of_war_12_beijing
more than just Promising.
FIGHT! Magazine has a 7 page feature on Art of War in their upcoming July issue which features Thiago Alves on the cover.
I have personally read the feature and I want to thank Donovan Craig and the crew at FIGHT! for doing a great job.
Good to see the press.
.
Morgz - The no judges thing doesn't bother me right now. If guys start riding out the clock to avoid a loss I fully expect the fans and ultimately the promotors police that by putting FINISHERS on fight cards.That is EXACTLY what is going to happen when you get higher level fighters with CAREER concerns on their mind. It will be Ken Shamrock/Royce II all the time...
And seriously...who the fuck thinks that GSP/Fitch or Fedor/Nog were draws???????Besides that, they have the BEST RULES IN THE HISTORY OF MMA and I am VERY excited about the possibilities!!!
jobro - The no decisions rule is the most important aspect IMO. It's sad some people can't see how great that is.
I agree. With the rules in place and no judges to make mistakes, it's all in the fighter's hands.
THEY NEED DVDS!!!!!!!!!!
I want to watch this shit on my big screen!
Haulport - THEY NEED DVDS!!!!!!!!!!
I want to watch this shit on my big screen!
I second that.