not happy with new trend in mma

Underground
1

I want to start off by saying hello to everyone. I have been a fan of the sport since 1994. And I must say, I don't think the sport as we know it will be around much longer.

Their is a current trend in the UFC of fights needing to be exciting at all costs, even if it means losing. None of that "pussy" wrestling. We want to see swinging for the fenses. Give us Bonnar v Griffin every damn fight.

They are taking the sport of it and making it entertainment first and foremost. Competition be damned. Wins or Loses, who cares? Make it so the average drunken hick is amused or get off the stage.

Mike Swick said after his last fight that he is going to strike because that is what the fans want. What fans Mike? The WWE fans that forgot to change the channel.

Joe Riggs said after his lose to Salavary, "I can't get any of these guys to trade with me." Well shit Joe, there is this sport called boxing where I think you would find plenty of dudes willing to "trade" with you. You did know it was a MMA fight right?

Griffin freaking apologised after his latest win over Mahood because he finished him on the ground. Beautiful ground and pound victory Forrest, you have nothing to be sorry for.

Last night we saw Kenny, a BJJ black belt stand and trade with a known slugger. It worked, but was it the smartest strategy he could have used? I think he felt he had to do it in order to be invited back.

And I can think of many more examples that have MMA turning into nothing more than a tough man contest with smaller gloves.

I say the hell with that. I would prefer a technical ground battle over sloppy ass striking any day. Don't get me wrong I like good striking, but the wild haymakers just don't do it for me.

This sport is at least 50% grappling. If you don't like it; find another sport. There were people calling Kosh v Spratt boring. WTF. Perfect takedown, decent ground and pound, finish with a submission. I'm sorry but if you couldn't appreciate that then this probably isn't your game.

I hope I'm wrong, but I just see more and more stand ups, fewer grapplers being signed, and more focus on the wild sloppy striking. But hey as long as it is exciting right?

2

those people probably just don't like Koscheck, that's the way it is with this sport, if they don't like the fighter they'll find something to complain about one way or another. The thing with Koscheck is, yeah great takedown, but against a better opponent that choke wouldn't have worked, he didn't even have the choke sunk, he had it one arm in, either he's the strongest arm in the world and can choke with only one arm, which we know is not the case.

3

great post TTT

4

The ground is not good in the ufc because they are not allowed to knee.

5

The crowd...they got queens rules on the brain.

6

We need more fighters like Denis Kang in there,old school is better than no school,etc.Good that he held out on TUF/UFC/SPIKE,etc.Not that I dislike watching,but it's kinda Bush League-ish,as far as intensity goes.Keep trying,though,as it's a start.Still,has gentrification written all over it,at this point at least.Meh...

...not that I'm a toughie,or anything.

7

It's MMA, not boxing.  MMA. MMA. MMA. MMA.

The beauty of our sport is that it takes skill to fight in it.  Even if it's "boring" to some and slow paced at times, there's a lot of skill being used.  If all people want is KO's then they should stick to watching K-1, or toughman, or boxing. 

People complain about intensity.  Those are likely the people who've never grappled with someone who's trying to submit them or GnP them.  It may not be as exciting as a KO but it is intense. 

Take a good wrestler for example who's fighting a solid Muay Thai guy.  Is the wrestler going to stand and trade with the MT guy?  NO!  Why would he?  He's going to use his skill set and get the fight on the ground and take advantage.  If it's boring to watch him get position and fight for not getting KO'd, then so be it.  Learn to appreciate the ability of the wrestler to get the striker to the ground and to control his fight.  This is why it's called Mixed Martial Arts.  As soon as people respect it more for what it is overall, the sooner there will be less ignorance about our sport.       

8

Totaly agree,
Although I would like to go one further, No stand up rule, 1 x 20 or 30 min round, its a fight after all if you want to stand up after hitting the floor you have to fight for it, if you stall on feet or on floor, you get money deducted and yellow card etc. strikers have an easier time these days.

9

Not only best first post ever, the best I've seen on here so far, period. Thanks for contributing original mmafan

10

What seems to be happening also. Is that many of the fighters now seem to be weary of trying stuff in the guard. You never see sweep attempts, except in rare cases, and submission attempts from the guard are a lot less now then they were before. When someone is in the guard they just hold on and don't try anything.

I know there is the arguement that their getting hit, but they can train movement and attacks in training while getting hit. If other comptetitors can do it, I don't see why a lot of other fighters can't have an active guard. That is usually the most boring part to most new fans of the sport, and that situation obviously comes up a lot.

11

It's a simple fact that not everyone will be satisfied no matter how the sport evolves. You don't believe me, just think about it:

On this forum, we get guys who long for the days when the UFC was all about seeing which style was was superior, others are happy that the fighters are well rounded nowadays. Some of us love the cage, others won't be satisfied until it's replaced with a boxing ring. Some guys hate the round system, while others would like to see even more standups. Some guys still want headbutts to make a comeback while others say the sport is better off without them. Some fans hate ground & pound, others complain that the sport is turning into some sort of Toughman contest.

One thing's for certain: the sport will continue to evolve, and some people will complain about the new direction. Its inevitable.

12

excellent post

13

I like the ground wars the best thats why I even watch the Damn sport. If it turns into a satnd up battle at every fight I will quit watching.

14

You're right, but it's a business to generate earnings and ratings. The average person wants to see exciting fights including slam and GnP fights, or submissions, but not holding someone in a closed guard for 15 mins.

15

If every fight turns into a stand up battle they should change the name from mma to "dirty boxing"

16

Agree,great first post. I love a good technical match on the ground,as well as standing up. They want flashy fights for those who don't care to learn about the ground game which is much more interesting to me than the standup game.

17

"If the KKM who made this thread was right, then we would see no more Lindland and no more Randy in the UFC, but since KKM is always wrong we'll see both Lindland and Randy stink out the joint in future UFCs, ala Randy/Vitor 3, what a terrible fight."

I didn't say it would be overnight. That's why it is called a 'trend'. Who do you think the UFC was rooting for in Randy v Chuck?

18

""Griffin freaking apologised after his latest win over Mahood because he finished him on the ground. Beautiful ground and pound victory Forrest, you have nothing to be sorry for"

It was a RNC."

Oops. You're right. But he still apologised.

19

I don't understand why people don't get that rule changes are an effort
to eliminate stalling, and lay and pray victories. That's the way it would
be with many of the rule suggestions on this thread!

Sitting in guard is not exciting, not technical, and not athletic.
Whatching Royce try to put Severn, Shamrock, whoever, in a fucking
Ezekial choke for 30 minutes is not a fight, and it isn't technical, and
YES i would say that to Royce's face, because its the truth, AND it's the
nature of the beast when you use rules like that. I am a BJJ fighter, and
i think that nothing is finer than technical ground work. I could watch
Abu Dhabi tapes all day long. But the rules suggested here would make
for suckfests, plain and simple.

"Is that many of the fighters now seem to be weary of trying stuff in the
guard."

Sounds like maybe you are watching UFC the rules of which do not
favor guard fighters. Try switching to Pride.

-doug-

20

PS. To the best of my knowledge, the first post is #0 so this would be
originalmmafan's second post to start this thread. FYI.

-doug-