I also don't "understand" all the titles and organizations in boxing, and what means what as far as titles (I'm not too dumb to learn them, I've just never had the interest). Knowing that the UFC is the "top" league makes it a hell of a lot easier to follow.

I think I'll put it this way. Of course they have better hand striking technique in boxing than in MMA. Thats just obvious.

I would also see better kicks in a Taekwondo tournament, better wrestling at an NCAA wrestling tournament, better jiu jitsu in a no-gi jiu jitsu grappling tournament, and better knees and elbows in a muay thai fight. In each of those cases you may see subtleties in technique that get lost in the more generalized world of MMA.

With the possible exception of muay thai, I'm just not interested in watching specialists demonstrate their mastery over a very specific, very narrow skill in the wider sport of MMA. I just want to see a fight, and thats what you get with MMA.

I'd agree that most of us are where you are. I too wrestled and (in other threads) have documented some dislike for things like riding time, because it's not "action" nor is it wrestling IMO. And it takes one hell of an imagination to differentiate it from stalling.

But to your point, I agree, MMA is more of what people want than what we grew up with watching in a boxing ring.

That being said, I've often wondered if MMA might serve itself some good by instituting a pin rule of sorts. I love some grappling, I really do, but I'd also appreciate some level of "you need to get off your back" being applied to the sport. Since that one act - getting pinned - is central to wrestling I think there should be some recognition of it in MMA too. Minimally, if not a pin, I'd love to see back points awarded at the scoring table at least. IOW, you may not win-by-pin (or a "fall" as we call it), but laying/being on your back for more than a brief second should start jeopardizing your ability to win that round. I'm sure many think it already does, but with what I've seen, and fighter's willingness to lay there feet-cocked, I'd argue it's not enough. Simply put, in wrestling, and fighting in general, being on your back is never a good thing; I think MMA should recognize that.

Sure.... if you want to eliminate an entire style of fighting.
I'm okay with letting them fight from their back.

Every wrestler in the fall, or near-fall, position agrees with you.

It's all good, I'm sure they'll never do it, but I can hope..

The UFC is in a blessed position that may not last forever. The problem with a monopoly is of course questions on fighter pay and lack of competition may allow the promoter to reap huge profits, but the benefit is that the best fight the best.

If Bellator and a 3rd promotion both rose in prominence, signed some of the best fighters, and were seen as equal to the UFC, then we'd be in the same situation as boxing, where you have multiple champions who don't fight each other, or wait till they are past their primes, and easy ways to duck fights.

And that's perfectly reasonable. There is often more action in MMA than in boxing. However, the skill level in top level MMA is vastly inferior to the skill level in top level boxing. That doesn't mean it's not entertaining...I'm often more entertained by watching UFC than boxing. It just means that the sport still has a LONG way to go before it's fully matured.

It isn't just about the fighters, either. It's about the trainers. It's about the fans who grow up watching the sport and taking it up their entire lives. It's about the prize money being large enough to lure top level talent away from other sports.

I've mentioned before that Matt Mitrione was a friend of mine. He didn't take up the sport until after he had retired from the NFL, got bored of the corporate gig, and decided to take up fighting. Next thing you know, he's one of the top fighters in the sport. He's a great dude, and that's awesome for him, but let's be honest. If he had decided to box instead, he wouldn't be ready to line up against Klitchko any time soon.

It's probably the same thing, though, with college sports.
I love the NFL, and it's #1 for me, but college football is right behind. Because of their lack of skill, there are things they can do that NFLers cant. I like college basketball far more than the NBA, and the same thing applies (although that gap has closed).

The skill level in MMA has improved massively in the men's non-heavyweight divisions in just the last few years. The new athletes in the UFC are almost all guys who almost exclusively trained MMA. He would not do well today. The top male non-heavyweight boxers would get taken down and thrashed by the wrestlers and jiu-jitsu submission grapplers if they tried to switch without a hell of a lot of training.

Heck no. The sport already slanted towards wrestlers enough as it is.

I don't understand? If it were at all slanted towards wrestling there would be a lot more value placed on the person on their back losing because, well, they were on their backs.

I get the notion that if you're going up against a wrestler, like a person savvy in Judo, you're well-advised to keep them at a distance, but I don't see anything that slants it towards wrestling because nothing from folkstyle, freestyle, or greco seem to garner any wins based on their scoring methods.

And I'm a little conflicted, but only a little, I realize there's some value in certain martial arts having a "fight from your back" (Up Kicks) component, and there have been some recorded KOs using the Up Kick, but I'm just not seeing what I've seen as very exciting.

If fighting from your back is such a disadvantage, then fighters shouldn't need points for getting their opponent into that position. They should just beat the crap out of their opponent once they get him on his back.

What next? Do you give points out for throwing punches that get blocked?

You're an idiot!

How well do you follow the sport? For years there has been controversy in judging where fighters working from their back have lost decisions to wrestlers who did very little with top position. This was because judges didn't know what they were watching and assumed the guy on his back was losing, simply because he was on his back most of the fight.

Wrestling is a great base for mma. Wrestlers are usually strong, understand body positioning and momentum, and most have the time have great endurance. They can usually survive their first few fights using simply their wrestling knowledge, while the train up other aspects of their game.

That being said though, a lot of the way the survive is safe, top control. The rules allow them to hold top position without doing much damage, as long as they appear 'active.' Adding more rules to help wrestlers will promote the practice even more, and in turn make the sport more boring. **** that in general.

And Saul touches on the problem. Judges already give hypothetical points for a takedown, regardless of whether the fighter does anything with it once he has his opponent on the ground. It's the reason you'll see a stand up battle going on, and if it's a close round, one guy will shoot in for a takedown close to the end of the round in order to score 'points' with the judges to steal the round.

Exactly. Like I have said MMA is like a cake. You combine all the ingredients from various disciplines and have the ultimate fighter. Not the ultimate boxer, the ultimate karate fighter, or the ultimate wrestler.

You make some solid points. I guess I just can't stand seeing a guy lay there with his legs coiled-up and the other guy dancing around him. It's just boring to me.

And I'm a wrestler, so it's in my DNA that losers count lights.

It's all good, and even with the flaws I percieve there to be, it's x100000 better than traditional boxing. Neither is easy, anybody who thinks that is silly, but for 95% of the world who "want to see a fight," MMA is by far a better product.

If you boxing fan boys are looking for a guy to hang your hat on that would have been Kermit Clinton. Elite boxer and also had a full ride wrestling scholarship to OSU. He would have been nasty in MMA with a year or two of training.

Who is ready for Mcgregor/Aldo?

Can't ****ing wait.

I have not been more excited for a fight in a while.

Should be fun. I think Aldos brutal kicks are the difference

DUDE! I can't ****ing wait even MORE THAN YOU! ROFL

Mendez...with VERY short notice...stepped in and beat his ass for 1.99 rounds. yeah then he gassed out...but he BEAT THAT BITCHES ASS! if he gets a rematch....with a FULL training camp......oh my damn.
I absolutely cannot WAIT to see this punk lose. is there a bigger prick in all of professional sports? no idea how Faber maintains his composure with this lippy bitch running his mouth all the time.

I think Aldo will destroy him.....that is my hope.

I agree that it's a more complete fight.

Also, it's natural to watch a fight and assume the guy on bottom is losing. However, in MMA, the guy on the bottom can be doing a ton more work, and as someone mentioned above, some fighter even prefer fighting from their backs.

A lot of the problems in MMA stem from the judging. The problem us that the sport is so young, that the judges really have no idea what they're watching. As the sport matures, that will as well, I assume. My hope is that eventually, former mixed martial artists and trainers start making their way to the judging tables. Once people who understand the sport are the ones judging the sport, things will get better quickly.

Some of the most egregiously bad judges who don't know a damn thing about grappling and submissions are slowly being weeded out, but its still at a point where you really need to finish your fight.

Who believes Mcgregor will take it?

Do you mean Kermit Cintron? I was a big fan of his and thought he had good skills and power to do something, then ran into Margarito. Still had a good career, but not as dominate as I hoped he would be. Thinking back now, with the accusations against Margarito and his gloves, makes you wonder.

Pride had it right. They need to eliminate the round by round scoring. GSP/Hendricks and Bones/Gus are 2 examples of where a guy win 3 of the 5 battles but lost the war.

Yeah..lol. auto correct. A few years learning BJJ and kicks he is a top MMA guy.

He could, his hands are heavy enough, but man people are really selling Aldo short in a big way right now.

He has a much better chance at beating Aldo than Edgar imo.

I dont think he has a shot to beat Frankie.

Random Joe Rogan quote of the day:

"Houston Alexander is for real!"

Jon Jones will fight DC on April 23rd. Current plan is Madison Square Garden. Backup plan is Anaheim if they can't get the court or the legislature to OK MMA in NY.

YASSSSSSS!

I can't wait for him to destroy DC again.

Conor spend about $450K on two cars this week. At the rate he's burning through money, he'd better beat Aldo.

Has he made that much in the UFC?

I'm sure he's qualified for PPV bonuses. The UFC is obviously opaque on what they pay their fighters in "locker room bonuses" and what the PPV points deal may be for headliners, but Conor has made at least a few million dollars.

But just a few, I don't think he's made 8 figures. (Ronda probably has)

Free card tomorrow is nice, last 3 fights are all interesting. Its.... kinda shallow below that though, so unless you are a huge UFC fan, just turn it to FS1 at 10:30pm for the last 3 fights.

I'm a fan of Neil Magny and his philosophy of always being in shape and ready to take short notice fights, but this short notice fight he agreed to is against a beast.

Yeah, but he prob has sponsorships, commercials etc

Google search for his net worth says $2 million..I'm guessing that might include sponsor money

Melvin Manhoef pretty much killed a guy with one punch earlier tonight.

Cool video up of Winkeljohn giving Ariel Helwani a tour of the new Jackson Wink gym in ABQ. (He has been Holly Holm's coach for years, Jon Jones and Cowboy also train here)

Those coaches and facilities are so much better than the crap Ronda has been relying on its ridiculous.

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As expected, every fight before the final 3 kinda sucked. Interesting fights beginning soon.

48-47 Gastelum.

Close fight, the scores could be anywhere, especially with these crazy judges.

Well, it wasn't a robbery. I don't agree, but the 3rd round was close enough that I won't complain. It was clear all along the judges tonight were weird.

Magny is an awesome fighter, beat Gastelum on 2 weeks notice.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...pskcrobur2.png

Neil Magny now has the most wins of any UFC fighter since 2013.

Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort II will headline UFC 197 in Rio, March 5th

Didnt Silva test dirty?

His suspension ends on January 31st. He was popped under the old pre-USADA rules, if he was positive now it would have been more than 1 year

I thought Magny took the third round. I don't wanna say easily....but it seemed pretty clear to me that he deserved it. I was pretty sure he'd win if he survived the last two...and he almost didn't! good fight.

Jon Jones had a cool 1 hour video interview with Ariel Helwani. They pretty much got into everything, for the future Jon Jones wants to get his LHW title back, then fight Anthony Johnson at least 1 time. After that, he'll think about moving up to heavyweight.

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Klitschko just lost to Tyson Fury in what looks like one of the most boring bouts in boxing history.

I'm not sure if anyone else was crazy enough to get up bright and early Friday morning to watch Benson Henderson's fight. (crazy for two reasons, one wanting to watch a fight in the morning, and two having a fightpass subscription)

That Korean card was fantastic, I only caught the last 3 fights but there were apparently crazy fights throughout, including a rare slam KO.

Benson took off his gloves in the ring (which is significant in MMA, means either retirement or last fight for a promotion) and had a weird vague callout at the end after his win, but the internet quickly caught on. Henderson just fought his last fight under his current UFC contract, and he basically told the UFC in front of the crowd that he wants to be paid and he'll see what other promotions offer.

12 more days

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVHUFFIU8AEbYPy.png:large

So I'm guessing he's going to Bellator?

I'm as giddy as a school girl.

As if the fights alone weren't compelling enough, I've also got a lot of money on the main event.

By the way, as I expected the odds have tightened a bit. I got in at Aldo +150, its now at +130. I think the odds will tighten further when people take a good hard look at the fight and think "hey, the funny Irish dude is good and has a wicked left, but this is Jose F'ing Aldo he's fighting, the #1 PFP fighter in the UFC. Why in the holy hell is Aldo the underdog?"

http://i.imgur.com/iULpnsp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4gtUO0o.jpg

Herb Dean will work the Weidman fight, John McCarthy will work Aldo/McGregor

I dunno if I can wait 11 more days.

11 days.

I've never wanted to see a Brazilian fighter win more than this.

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I still can't believe Jose F'ing Aldo is the underdog.

I got in with $200 when he was +150, the odds have since tightened a bit, but he's still +130. Yes, he CAN lose, Conor has a deadly left, but ****ing christ, this is scarface we're talking about, he hasn't lost a fight in over 10 God Damned years, so why do people think he is more likely to lose?

Yeah man, I owe you some beers for cluing me in on that line, win or lose

An Asian fight promotion based in South Korea (Road FC) is jumping into the bidding for Benson Henderson. They stated publicly that they would pay him $200,000 per fight. He was making 48/48 (plus $15,000 from Reebok) with the UFC.

He's really not even making 200k per fight? That's crazy.

lol, Conor said that after he KO's Aldo (in the first round), he wants to fight the winner of RDA/Cowboy to become the champion of two weight classes.

The winner of McGregor vs Aldo will be on the cover of next year's EA UFC game

The UFC talked business with Ronda this week (they usually wait a few weeks to let fighters mentally recover), and Dana confirmed today that Rousey will have an immediate rematch with Holly Holm. Date is not yet known, but I'd bet a decent amount of money that it'll be UFC 200.

As if we needed any more hype:

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Normally, I can't stand cocky assholes. For some reason though, I can't get enough of this crazy bastard. :D

Even though it would hurt me financially if he takes down Aldo, I don't think I can lose either way because Oh My God would this story become amazing if he takes down Aldo. There is no one in all of professional sport who is a better shit-talker than McGregor.

edit: I think the Irish accent helps his likability a lot. If he had some tough-guy New York demeanor people might not like it as much, but we can't get enough of this angry confident Irish dude.

On the outside he does look to be getting into Aldo's head. Some of the shit Aldo lets him get away with without even a response is questionable.

Aldo is now at +115! At this rate, the fight will be a toss-up by the time John McCarthy yells "let's get it on!".

Feeling real good about jumping in big when Aldo was at +150. Again, yes, McGregor can win he's a very special and unique striker, but it looks like a lot of smart money has been flowing to Aldo lately.

Some of Ronda Rousey's teeth were knocked loose in her fight, and she says she may need 6 months to heal.

This reminds me of Silva after the Weidman fight. You could tell Silva just didn't want to fight him again, and I don't think Rousey wants Holm for the second time either.

I don't follow MMA As much as I'd like to, and don't have a dog in the fight, but that McGregor chap looks like a crazy mother****er. Lol.

I don't think he will win this fight, but the sky's the limit for how much money the UFC can make off him if he knocks out Aldo. No one in MMA talks shit better than Conor.

Obviously different times and weight classes but a McGregor/ Sonnen press conference would have been PPV worthy.

5 days till Aldo breaks Conor's legs

edit: wow, that embed code autoplays? Not cool, UFC. Here's a link to the UFC's ~18-minute hype video.

http://www.ufc.com/media/ufc-194-emb...-aldo-mcgregor

wish I wasn't broke as **** right now, I'd probably order the fight (which I rarely do).

of course.....I'm sure that's exactly why/how they promote this so people like me who are on the fence - but with a little extra income in their pocket - will order the fight.

I gotta say though, that McGregor guy talking shit is worth the price of admission lol.

I'm really hyped for the Aldo/Connor fight, but Weidman/Rockhold would sell a shit ton of PPv buys on it's own. This is going to be an awesome co main