The Official MMA thread

[Teacher]

Originally Posted by millionaire75

Any thoughts on GSP trying out for the olympics for wrestling? You think this would reflect negatively on MMA if he can't make the team (according to casual observers at least)?

I hadn't thought of its reflecting poorly on MMA. Maybe, but I can't see it doing anything to curtail the growing interest in MMA.

Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser

The problem with UFC judging is that it asks the judges to take into account "aggression" and "Octagon control," but not "attempts to end the fight" (as PRIDE did). If the last element was added to judging, and judges were trained in identifying submissions, the judging would become more evenhanded.

Ah, stated far better than I had done.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

My biggest pet peeve about MMA judging is the 10-point must system, which works well for a 12-round boxing match, not so well for a three-round MMA fight. Consider the following scenario. Fighter A repeatedly takes fighter B down for the first two rounds, and mounts minimal offense from the top position but enough to win both rounds by a 10-9 score. Fighter B comes back in the third round, knocks fighter A down twice and has him in all sorts of trouble, and wins the round 10-9. Most people would say fighter B won the fight, and under PRIDE judging rules, he would have. Under the ten-point must system, however, fighter A wins, 29-28. I'm not sure the best way to fix this situation, as I think judges should be held accountable for round-by-round scoring rather than scoring the fight as a whole, which introduces the possibility of corruption. Perhaps one small step is to give greater leeway for judges to score 10-10 and 10-8 rounds and even a 10-7 round for total domination.

 

[Brian SD]

Perhaps one small step is to give greater leeway for judges to score 10-10 and 10-8 rounds and even a 10-7 round for total domination.

That's the proposed solution that I think would be the best way to go, at least as a first initiative.

The dynamics of the fights in Pride are so different from the UFC, and in general I think a lot more exciting. Aggression is encouraged and stagnancy is penalized. Yellow cards can be hard on a fighter, but they're treated like absolute rock stars in Japan. Wandy/CroCop/Fedor/Shogun are like gods.

It's of course a combination of things that causes this, not just the scoring system but the commission's rules. The real bummer is that there hasn't been a word that hints at re-working either of the two.

 

[Teacher]

They already score 10-8 rounds, don't they? Are they handcuffed in that respect?

 

[Brian SD]

They do, but they're extremely rare.

 

[Teacher]

I know they're rare, but I'm asking if anybody knows if there's some scoring guideline that makes it that rare, or if it's just more or less "tradition" (for lack of a better word).

 

[Largo]

Wooooo, more questions from 'Speculation Theater'.

Okay, so in response to a tirade online from a wildly different forum, the good ole "Jiujiutsu rules" argument came up, and I ended up rehashing the old "Gracies vs. everyone else" reel. Which inevitably lended itself to a bunch of videos of Kazushi Sakuraba in his "Gracy Hunting" period, but that bit of ridiculousness notwithstanding, I noticed he fights a lot like Lyoto does in a striking game. Conservative, moving back and waiting for striking opportunities instead of the wild close and flail that I saw tonight in the politely provided UFC 105 videos. Granted it's grasping at straws, but is this a trend from UFC vs Pride I overlooked, or just indicative of these two fighters?

 

[Oxnard]

*****SPOILERS*****









Poor Mike Brown, I really wanted him to win last night. Aldo seriously just kicked his ass hard, I could see Aldo holding that title for quite some time, he has been supremely dominating in every fight he has had so far. Mike Brown got caught in the exact same position that happened to Urijah Faber in their first fight, which is he was huddled into a ball on the ground until the fight was stopped.

 

[Teacher]

Brown definitely didn't bring his "A" game, but Aldo did. Brown did pretty well in the first round, but I just thought he looked lackluster in the second, and Aldo pounced HARD. I was rooting for Brown too, but I can't feel bad for him.

 

[Brian SD]

Here's the fight if you guys want to re-watch it or haven't seen it yet: http://mmaglory.blogspot.com/2009/11...ike-brown.html Brown has looked better before, but I'm not sure even on his better days that he could compete with someone as explosive and accurate as Aldo. Du lands some major power punches and hard kicks at incredible speed. And his takedown defense was unbreakable. Serious potential in that guy. Is there anyone who thinks if he gained 15 pounds he couldn't dominate the entire LW class in the UFC?

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

I thought Brown's size and fundamentals would overcome Aldo's speed and explosiveness, but I was wrong. Aldo looks like a featherweight Shogun, back when Shogun was young and hyper-aggressive. I would like to see Aldo fight Faber. If Faber can't beat Aldo, Aldo might need to move up to LW to get better competition.

 

[allreds]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

http://mmaglory.blogspot.com/2009/11...ike-brown.html
Thanks for that. It's probably the first stop by Mazzagatti that no one will question.

 

[Teacher]

I think Brown CAN beat Aldo. He beat Faber twice, and while Faber fights with a very different style, he's just as fast and explosive as Aldo, and I'm guessing he's more diverse. I think the problem is that Brown started adjusting his game plan in the second and it bit him **********. He needs to stick to that gritty, powerful, pounding fight that has worked for him in the past and not try to get too cute. Aldo's an excellent fighter, I just don't think he's unstoppable.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Is anyone at all excited about UFC 106? I think the Koscheck-Johnson fight has the potential for fireworks, but I'm a bit meh about the main event. I might skip this one.

 

[baseball_guy]

Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser

Is anyone at all excited about UFC 106? I think the Koscheck-Johnson fight has the potential for fireworks, but I'm a bit meh about the main event. I might skip this one.

I have not been excited about a UFC fight since UFC 101. The UFC should have signed Fedor and Arlovski. That would be two big names that can generate interest.

Strikeforce has the better fighters right now, plus they have Gina Carano and Cristiane Santos to add a little more interest to their fight cards.