Ok, now Im not going to lace this with a bunch of babble, but shoot straight from the hip. MMA is growing more and more each day. I've started to notice as the popularity of the sport rises, questions about how some fights are played out and how some fighters approach the sport have been called into question. The only thing I would call into question is the judging aspect, but I'll save that for later. Right now I want to tackle the strategy that goes into fighting. Let me say that I am not an MMA fighter. I have been following the sport since I was 14 years old when I first seen UFC V. I am however a 10 year veteran of wrestling and a 3 time state placer from my homestate of Michigan. I bring this up because wrestlers have come under intense scrutiny of how fights are scored and how they approach the game. Also, wrestling strategy is very close in contrast to MMA strategy. By this little comparison, Im implying that you sometimes have matches in wrestling where you finish the guy (pinfall) or you decision the guy (win on points scored). Some wrestlers are natural pinfall wrestlers. They're hungry and get after it. Others are finesse wrestlers who are looking for the win at all costs and will take the pin if it comes.
I was a pinfall guy, but learned to wrestle as a point guy. I quit wrestling with so much emotion as I noticed I would get caught and lose a match. I calmed down and learned to outwrestle and outwork my opponents. Let me also point out that I wrestled at a higher weight, 215lbs. and was only 5'5 tall. Why do I bring this up??? Simple. It limited me to what I could do with my opponent. For instance, I could not put my legs through for hooks like you see in some MMA fights. If I did, I would be way too high up on the back and the guy would just buck and put my shoulders to the mat. So, I had to approach my opponents with something they didn't think they would see. Hustle and basic wrestling. I wasn't out there to woo anyone. I was out there to win. Also, sometimes, I would come into a match sick or a tad tired because I had cut too much weight during the week. I tried to never let myself get much more than 5lbs over my limit.
I noticed the harder I went in practice and the more I practiced standard basic moves, it would really confuse my oppositions because they wouldn't be expecting something like an Armdrag or a Front Headlock into a Shuck. The latter move is so simple you would laugh and I won a tournament with it. Basically if a guy shoots, you sprawl on him, reach one of your arms under and across his face and grab the far elbow. Now swing the arm hard to the side, and you have a Shuck.
Now, I wrote that to try to give some insight as to how some fighters may approach what they're doing in the cage. In a lot of ways, other sports think similar. Football it's always been said that Defense wins championships. Sure, lots of ponits are pretty, but if you can't stop a team, you're not going to win. In Baseball it's said pitching wins championships. Sure, lots of runs are fancy, but the guys who keep the runs off the board are the ones with rings. Im saying this guys because remember, no matter how a fighter wins his fight, or how well rounded he may be, he's trying to win at all costs. Sure we may love to see KO's or Submissions, but decisions happen and that's how some guys approach the fight. The KO or Submission is nice, and Id take it if it came along, but Im looking to out work my opposition.
I was a pinfall guy, but learned to wrestle as a point guy. I quit wrestling with so much emotion as I noticed I would get caught and lose a match. I calmed down and learned to outwrestle and outwork my opponents. Let me also point out that I wrestled at a higher weight, 215lbs. and was only 5'5 tall. Why do I bring this up??? Simple. It limited me to what I could do with my opponent. For instance, I could not put my legs through for hooks like you see in some MMA fights. If I did, I would be way too high up on the back and the guy would just buck and put my shoulders to the mat. So, I had to approach my opponents with something they didn't think they would see. Hustle and basic wrestling. I wasn't out there to woo anyone. I was out there to win. Also, sometimes, I would come into a match sick or a tad tired because I had cut too much weight during the week. I tried to never let myself get much more than 5lbs over my limit.
I noticed the harder I went in practice and the more I practiced standard basic moves, it would really confuse my oppositions because they wouldn't be expecting something like an Armdrag or a Front Headlock into a Shuck. The latter move is so simple you would laugh and I won a tournament with it. Basically if a guy shoots, you sprawl on him, reach one of your arms under and across his face and grab the far elbow. Now swing the arm hard to the side, and you have a Shuck.
Now, I wrote that to try to give some insight as to how some fighters may approach what they're doing in the cage. In a lot of ways, other sports think similar. Football it's always been said that Defense wins championships. Sure, lots of ponits are pretty, but if you can't stop a team, you're not going to win. In Baseball it's said pitching wins championships. Sure, lots of runs are fancy, but the guys who keep the runs off the board are the ones with rings. Im saying this guys because remember, no matter how a fighter wins his fight, or how well rounded he may be, he's trying to win at all costs. Sure we may love to see KO's or Submissions, but decisions happen and that's how some guys approach the fight. The KO or Submission is nice, and Id take it if it came along, but Im looking to out work my opposition.