I Like MMA

I don’t even know who you are anymore.

“We practice that kick everyday with Duke Roufos at the academy” – Anthony Pettis
(post-fight Interview )

Boxing at its best (or even its most average) is still better but MMA has some entertainment value.

Could not care less. Same with boxing, FWIW.

No — but then I am way past the target demo.

Can’t say that I do…but that is one awesome kick to the dome.

That kick is even more impressive in context. That was the last round of a title fight, which was was the last match to ever occur in the WEC before it is rolled up into the UFC.

It was a fantastic card from start to finish.

You shouldn’t block with your face.

HUGE MMA fan here. Am bored to tears watching the “sweet science”, as the idea of fighting another person with just my fists is both hyper-limiting and illogical. I can understand all the backlash by boxing purists against the “lay and pray” philosophy of some MMA fighters, which makes for a slow, technical match on the ground that lack the requisite entertainment value for some. Personally, I greatly respect MMA fighters for having to be learned in multiple forms of combat just to be competitive in today’s ring/octagon/cage, and think that the well-rounded nature of the game is one of its biggest draws.

That said, Pettis’ kick on Smooth was just GROSS. Pettis’ striking made Henderson look foolish all match, and really helped neutralize Ben’s wrestling and ground game. I knew that Pettis had the fight won, but that go-for-broke Matrix kick was the ballsiest thing I’ve seen in a LONG time….

i prefer sport jiu jitsu, particularly in brazil…fun to watch.

Chong Li! Chong Li! Chong Li!

I would have kicked both of their asses in 8 seconds flat.

nok…..su….kow. nok…su…kow. nok-su-kow. noksuKOW. nokSUKOW! NOKSUKOW!!!!! NOKSUKOW!!!!! NOKSUKOW!!!!!

I’ll see your Bloodsport, and raise you a Kickboxer.

I like M&Ms.

It’s like cockfighting, with people

I like the sport ok, but I think the whole crossfit culture is a little intense for my tastes. I can only listen to Godsmack for so long during a workout.

One thing you may not notice on first viewing: Pettis uses the cage fence to actually launch his kick foot. The athleticism and timing of that to nail a retreating fighter in the head is pretty impressive.

I’m not a fan of the MMA image or audience in some respect. But I do admire the sport.

Buy tennis.

I am embarrassed that FanTake lacks a Foxy Boxing blog.

It’s pretty good when they stand up and thump or when there is some striking going on as part of the ground mixups. The whole submission game gets pretty faggoty pretty fast. Don’t get me wrong, I respect that it is a legit way to fight – it’s just boring as hell to watch.

For some reason I always thought Henry James would be the first to post an article about scantily clad, muscular, athletic men engaged in physical activities.

Meh.

No.

(I bought a T-shirt so I’m allowed one word replies)

I’m not a rabid MMA fan, but I get into it at times. That being said, that kick was f’n amazing.

Frank Dukes would wreck shit in MMA…Kumatai! Kumatai!

“Boxing at its best (or even its most average)”

Unfortunately, boxing has become a pathetic caricature of itself. Its rare to even see an average fight anymore.

Put me down for like.

Like it a lot, although I don’t go out of my way to catch the pay-per-views or anything. I love the tactical nature of the sport, and the unpredictability. I don’t think that is fair to say of Fedor though. The guy wrecked shop in Pride when it was the undisputed king of MMA promotions. Dana should talk less and pay his fighters more. He should have beat Strikeforce’s offer to Fedor.

enjoy watching the fighters that have some decent amount of boxing skill but really get annoyed by the audience/fan base at times…you go to a bar for an mma ppv event and everyone thinks they’re chuck liddell after drinking a couple of pitchers.

No.

But I have been known to wear MMA inspired t-shirts when I wish to impress the ladies.

You know, to flash the guns….

I’ve seen some good boxing matches lately. I thought that Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis put on a hell of a show like a month or two back.

I watched that match in real time and the whole fight was great. To hit that kick against a guy as elusive and skilled as Ben Henderson in the last minute of the last round of the last fight ever in the WEC was so amazing. Great point about the extreme difficulty of launching a kick from the fence.

MMA is super technical, super interesting fighting. Besides the ppv, they also show a lot of mma fights on spike and vs.

I like aspects of MMA, but it’s brutish in the extreme, sort of like Roman gladiators fighting each other while tied down in close proximity to each other, not that that is automatically wholly risible. Ex-wife used to like to yell how homosexual the whole thing was. Glad I divorced her, but she had a (minor) point.

@Bateshorn

“But I have been known to wear MMA inspired t-shirts when I wish to impress the ladies.

You know, to flash the guns…."

That’s hilarious.

Most women are far more impressed by what’s in your wallet. Obvious, but I had to repeat it.

oliphant -
 
I’d argue that boxing is far more brutal.
 
The standing eight count, bigger gloves, clinching, the fight referee’s reluctance to stop a fight even when one guy is taking a beating – you couldn’t design better brain injury strategies on a white board.
 
MMA has a lot of outs built in and its refs are very aggressive in interceding when one guy has a clear advantage – literally tackling guys before they can land the coup de grace.

boxing=yawn mma =21st century

Scipio-

Fedor at 4?

Yessir. And here’s why.

I put him at 4 only because of his loss to Fabricio Werdum last June. He would be higher. That was truly his only loss in his career. Technically, he lost back in 2000, but it was from an illegal elbow that re-opened a previous cut. The bout was part of tournament play, which means no draws or no-contests were allowed. He was unable to continue, so they gave him the loss.

Fedor is the most technical of all fighters I have ever seen. He usually doesn’t win by KO, but he rarely makes a mistake, and is never “out of the fight”. In fact he’s at his best when his back is against the wall.

He’s beaten Big Nog twice (UFC HW Champ), Andrei Arlovsky (UFC HW Champ), Cro Cop (PRIDE HW Champ), Tim Sylvia (UFC HW Champ), Heath Herring, Mark Coleman (UFC HW Champ), Kevin Randleman (UFC HW Champ). He didn’t just defeat them, but he picked them apart. Only 7 of his 35 fights have gone to the judges scorecards for a decision.

I’ll agree that he hasn’t faced the new wave of fighters that have graced MMA in the heavyweight division in recent years such as Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem or Shane Carwin, but in all honesty, I feel he would do well. He fights very well against wrestlers and strikers, which all of those are. I feel he may have some difficulty with someone who has an excellent ground game, as he did with Nogueira (both bouts went to decision). I’d love to see a rematch with Fabricio Werdum soon. I do not think the Last Emperor will make the same mistake twice.

@ SausageFest:

Agreed. Don’t get me wrong. I love the hell out of boxing. I enjoy the sweet science of timing and angles and the whatnot of boxing, but where we do agree is how dedicated MMA fighters are to learning multiple discipline in martial arts. I feel that is what puts this sport over boxing. There’s boxing, wrestling, judo, BJJ, karate, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and much more that these fighters develop in their skills. I could go on and on and on.

@ vanderlei:

Agreed, that card was outstanding.

@KB:

Alot of people think that Dana doesn’t want Fedor, which isnt the case. He doesn’t want to pay that much for Fedor. Its all about pride (the emotion, not the MMA organization) for him. And a bad decision. You hit the nail on the head.

Not my cup of tea. Too much rolling around on mats. Like watching bad heavyweight fighters clinch for 7/8 of every round.

I’m still a bigger fan of boxing than MMA, but that’s just my roots talking. I’ll make a point of catching any interesting matchup in either, and I love dissecting film of either.

This was an impressively athletic move here, though. Like a cross between parkour and kick-boxing.

I enjoyed participating in MMA when I was (much) younger, but I too quickly tired of the culture I had to be exposed to when I went to fights, let alone when I was just training (it’s kind of annoying being the nerdy lanky actuary having to prove it on the mat everyday against the dumbass roiders).

I had laid off for quite some time, and then decided to get back into it, sparred for a couple of rounds with a fellow law student, and realized that getting hit just isn’t as much fun when you’re on the wrong side of 25.

That said, even though I did actually enjoy the technical parts of fighting, the chess match on the ground (oddly enough I had started out as a striker) I hate to watch it. It’s boring to me. But I do love to watch the highlights. They are always exciting.

Joined your mailing list, fantastic website