M-1 came off as big douchebags. Dana should sign this guy to a 1 fight deal. Who knows? This guy may be the next Machida. He'll even probably fight cheap.
I dont have a problem with them thinking he isnt good enough at this time for M1, but there is NO justification for rejecting him for not training in the specific martial arts they think work best in MMA.
We should encourage people to explore the depths of their arts and get as proficient at it as Maia is at jiujitsu and Machida is at karate. I dont know why people feel MMA fighters have to be cookie cutter mixes of boxing, muay thai, wrestling, and BJJ? I know that those are the styles that have worked the best in MMA's short history, but if Machida showed us anything it's that people can be effective in other styles as well.
People making comparisons to James Toney, Maia and Machida its ridiculous!
Maia could have rolled and tapped his partner and looked very dangerous on the ground, machida woulda smoked those thai pads, and I am sure the pad holder would have never held pads for anyone as proficient while holding for Toney!
M1 is looking at becoming a major name in MMA and for sure I think they were right to reject him based on his ability to roll, and hit the pads.
There arent any good mma fighters who wouldnt have done at least a "B" on one or two aspects of the modern day mma matrix (bjj+wrestling (grappling) and muay thai, western boxing (kickboxing)
The Tryouts were to test the MMA ability and the simplest (not necessarily the best) way is to test grappling and kickboxing attributes of the fighters and this guy miserabely failed, not only did he fail he acted like a complete prick and bitched and moaned about having trained WC for several lifetimes!!!!
That doesnt sound like the kinda of fighter that anyone would wanna have on their books, irrelevant of the fact that he failed miserably to show any decent kickboxing or grappling.
Can someone please give me an example of the high level fighter who wouldnt have impressed in them in either grappling (bjj and wrestling) or kickboxing/boxing (MT, Kyokoshin, boxing)?
I am sure there were many many much better fighters on the day than that dude. Besides he should fight a little more cos with such huge holes in his game, he will be found out pretty quickly! I and probably a few others were itching for the guy to get in there with someone and get his ass handed to him, but I think it was the right thing to do to let him bitch and go.
Also regardless of style, when you have been around class fighters for many years, you sort of get a eye for someone who can really walk the walk. You can see something about a persons movement, power, confidence and all round ability, and clearly this guy was found lacking. I find it suprising that so many people are pissed that he was rejected.
I agree that other more traditional arts can be used in MMA and there is no doubt in my mind that more people will use a TMA effectively soon enough. But they will have to work their way up the ranks, they wont be able to turn up at tryouts for major shows and beg for a chance and cry if they dont get one!
Dana give this guy a TUF 32 man slot! Just to hate on M1.
robbie380 -siouxNYC - i'm pretty sure i've been ringside for all of shawn obasi's UCL fights. when he first fought he was a ferocious striker with a glaring hole in his game (grappling). he lost to a wrestler after beating the hell out of that wrestler, and then he lost to bryan vetell before bryan went on to the IFL. then shawn took some time off and started studying bjj at fabio clemente's school, and since then he's been wrecking dudes. seriously, just cutting right through them like a hot knife through butter. he went through a couple opponent's in the UCL, beat up someone at a show in vermont, and now the dude can't get any fights.is he winning because of the wing chun striking or just because he would be a ferocious strikers no matter what form he was using?
it's a shame, too, because he's exciting and entertaining as hell. is he a little nuts? maybe, but he's a fucking wing chun TMAer who has crosstrained more than he lets on, and he can bring it in an MMA bout.
also, why isn't wing chun used or practiced for mma?
Is ALWAYS about the striker not the style when it comes to striking. Mike Tyson was born for his peekaboo style...but he could have trained his entire life as a ballerina and STILL be a world class killer. Same w/ prime Cro Cop, Ernesto Hoost, Semmy Schilt, Andy Hug, Floyd Mayweather...it's about them. They've all just happened to find the style that's best for their attributes.
who's the two trainers at M1 that were giving him sht?
their names
It was apy echteld and oleg savitsky. They're experienced, competent dudes for sure. They just didn't like what they saw from obasi. Which is a shame.
I wish I knew about the try outs ahead of time. I would've went and dressed up as Sho Nuff.
Are none of Obasi's fights sanctioned or something? What is his official record? Anybody know?
Wow, something about the girl's face that makes me want to punch her.
none of obasi's fights were sanctioned, all were underground. but they happened and they were legit (i was there for all but the one in vermont, and i saw video of that one). he's like 4-2 or so, with one of those losses coming from bryan vetell.
You say this, like it was a bad thing...
I like the part where he was begging to fight and trying to kiss their feet! lol Like there isn't a crapload of amateur or low level pro fights available for anyone who can pass the physical. If this guy thinks he's so great, why isn't he tearing up the ammy circuit and then turning pro and winning fights? But, no. Like most delusional TMA guys he feels he should be able to jump right up to a fairly large promotion. Because deep in his heart he knows he'd get completed OWNED and wants the excuse of saying he fought a "top guy".
"I'll die a Wing Chun man!" Truer words were never spoken.
What andre said
Kirkifan1 - is that k dub t? i recognize those powerful thighs anywhere
I saw a closed fist but both do like the spandex
i'm a wing chun man fan, also a practitioner, not many moves are good for MMA, what translate well would be staying in the pocket, and angles, different, surprise low kicks, perhaps. i see the spider and the truth use. other then that, wow not much more, great for street fights IMO.
I've trained with Obasi before, he used to come to Alliance NYC to train BJJ. The dude is dedicated and trains hard, but he's also a bit of a nut that has a hard time controlling his emotions.
Sean Obasi discusses his Wing Chun Challenge Matches, his upcoming UCL superfight with Peter Storm, and more.
-jk
-jk
It's always entertaining to see Obasi fight.