MMA is often hailed to be like Chess in nature by dudebro intellectuals. Saying there is incredible depth to it. I have an opposite opinion, I think MMA is in fact Tic-Tac-Toe, not Chess. At least modern MMA.
There is no depth to MMA, it's just an illusion, as each art nullifies the other and keeps it at a shallow bay of few techniques that work. You can't have deep technical striking because a wrestler will take you down, you can't wrestle because a BJJ guy can catch you in a sub and a BJJ guy can't exercise any depth and has to stick to a few basic techniques because a striker will surely punish them.
What you end up with is a basic 1-2, highkick, double leg and an arm bar, in modern MMA in fact BJJ has been pretty much nullified.
So, while at first there seems to be depth to MMA, soon much like with Tic-Tac-Toe you realize that there is no depth.
My argument is that individual arts are more interesting as you are truly allowed depth and to delve deep into the art. I am more drawn into watching boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, BJJ on their own. Modern MMA just bores me, I watch it out of habit and for characters only, I am interested in Jones vs Cormier not because of the fight, but because of the drama, I can't pretty much imagine what the fight will go like, there won't be anything new.
That’s the point of mma, almost every top fighter is very in depth at one aspect and then you build a style from there. Actual fighting is the top goal when it comes to physical competition against someone else, so yes you have to scrap techniques in each style because they won’t work in a fight, they are a flawed technique made to work based around rules of that sport
Baguba - That's the point of mma, almost every top fighter is very in depth at one aspect and then you build a style from there. Actual fighting is the top goal when it comes to physical competition against someone else, so yes you have to scrap techniques in each style because they won't work in a fight, they are a flawed technique made to work based around rules of that sport
Guys like Fedor, Anderson, and GSP shit all over that theory.
It might be Tic Tac To when you're looking at the lower levels, but the guys at the top have A-class abilities and use it on the regular.
No they don't.
GSP was a super athlete with an unstoppable double leg that he kept spamming the whole fight. Thus, nullifying all his opponent's striking.
There is nothing deep in that, it's basic.
Fedor and Anderson also kept to basics. The only time you saw Fedor doing high level Sambo was when he was grappling only, not in MMA.
Those are all drastic oversimplifications.
GSP didn't just have great takedowns (and TD defense), he had the best jab in MMA and regularly outstruck fighters known for their striking prowess. And his BJJ, while not among the best ever, was enough to shut down any offense from the best jiu-jitsu guys in his division.
He didn't just spam double-legs (actually, more often they were knee-taps), he knew how set them up - how to strike when his opponent wanted to grapple and grapple when his opponent wanted to strike.
And I don't know how you can even call Anderson's striking "basic." Dude is probably the best striker we've ever seen in the sport and he had a ground game solid enough to still be able to finish fights if someone could get him down.
And if anything, Fedor represents the chess factor vs tic tac toe. When you're as good as him in all dimensions of the sport, it becomes a game of what tactics you're going to use and when.
If you talk to Thai fighters or kick boxers they would say Silva was basic.
I agree with this to a certain extent. These days there are some very technical fighters with advanced skills in several areas which can lead to very technical fights. However I also see many fights which are just two guys swinging for the fences trying to get that Ko of the night bonus trying to show how much their stand up has improved over the last three months.
One giant dimension missing from modern MMA is the actual fight within the fight. The time limit being far too long plays right into making it tic tac toe and far less chess. The stall factor.
Guys like Fedor, Anderson, and GSP shit all over that theory.
It might be Tic Tac To when you're looking at the lower levels, but the guys at the top have A-class abilities and use it on the regular.
No they don't.
GSP was a super athlete with an unstoppable double leg that he kept spamming the whole fight. Thus, nullifying all his opponent's striking.
There is nothing deep in that, it's basic.
Fedor and Anderson also kept to basics. The only time you saw Fedor doing high level Sambo was when he was grappling only, not in MMA.
I don't know about everyone else but I see no comparison between MMA and chess..definitely not tic tac toe...grappling and chess for sure...but that's about as far as the comparisons go for me