MMA Questions....

Training Powerlifting
1

Got some quick questions for the MMA community we have here. I myself curently train in TKD, have also trained in aikido amd jujitsu, and okinawan karate, so I undertand the fighting aspect and technigues that are used in the ring.

What I need is some information to combat the idiocy of people I run into who have the opinion that the UFC, Pride, etc. are the human equivalent of a pit bull fight. In my opinion the UFC is only years away from having the same “legitimacy” as pro-boxing. Also MMA seems to be safer overall than boxing or as equally dangerous as any other contact sport, football, wrestling, etc.

So …

  1. Have there been any deaths in the ring in sanctioned MMA matches? I know of several boxing deaths, everyone remembers the Korean fighetr that Ray Mancini knocked out, who later died. And I mean sanctioned bouts, not a pit fight in some warehouse, the bullshit that looks good for Hollywood films.

  2. What are the differences between Pride and the UFC? I’m asking about those two because they seem to be the two big PPV fight companies.

Those are my two main questions I can think of now, sure more will come up, thanks for any information you can give me. Just want to know the facts when I’m arguing with someone.

2

I live in New Zealand and people here seem to have the same mind. People think Martial Arts is violent and Rugby is OK, while there is at least one rugby death per year on average but none from TKD, full contact Karate, Judo and Ju Jitsu. Don’t even mention MMA because it is not in mainstream yet. Only if we could have The Ulitmate Fighter on TV instead of New Zealand Idol or The Next Australian Top Model…

Back to the question,

  1. I don’t think there is any death in legit MMA fights.

  2. One main different is the use of Cage in UFC and ring in Pride. There are some difference on the rules as well.

There are some other differences but I will leave that to the more experienced MMA T-men.

3

As far as I know there have not been any deaths in a sanctioned event. I heard there was one death in a match somewhere in Russia (I think) years ago. They were not even sure if the guy died because of the fight as it may have been something to do with his heart. Compared to boxing which has had hundreds of deaths over the years, critical injuries later in life (seen Ali lately?)

Many prominent people such as John McCain have argued MMA is barbaic (he even coined the “human cockfighting” description). In my opinion this folks have not looked hard at the track record, the great job the referees do protecting the fighters and the relative safety of the sport compared to boxing. MMA fights are generally over very quickly as the ref steps in as soon as you cannot defend yourself. A boxer can take blows to the head endlessly for 45 minutes.

As noted above the ring and the cage are a biggest difference between Pride and UFC. In UFC you can use elbows, Pride you cannot. In Pride you can kick to the head and foot stomp when the man is down, UFC you can only kick to head when opponent is standing. Other such as when to stand the fight back up or restart are very subtle. UFC has more weight classes, 4 or 5 I think. Pride currently has two but is moving to three.

4

A side comment here.

What seems clear is that those who have no foot or hand in it, protest it.

To compare MMA to a pit bull fight even though protestors may have never been to one in an unbiased manner. Same goes with a cockfight. The protestors may have not put money down or raised a fighter of any kind at all, not even themselves. Yet they seem to be experts on human nature and humanity. I try not to get involved in arguments like this in the first place.

5

[quote]chubs108 wrote:
A side comment here.

What seems clear is that those who have no foot or hand in it, protest it.

To compare MMA to a pit bull fight even though protestors may have never been to one in an unbiased manner. Same goes with a cockfight. The protestors may have not put money down or raised a fighter of any kind at all, not even themselves. Yet they seem to be experts on human nature and humanity. I try not to get involved in arguments like this in the first place. [/quote]

I agree wholeheartedly that usually the least informed on a given subject are its biggest detractors. And usually I don’t get involved in pointless arguements with zealots or radical idealists. However as I said earlier I train and teach TKD, and therefore want to be able to represent the the martial arts community in a positive way. If soemone starts detracting forma particular stlye or way of fighting or school or competiton, and I know something real about it, and the detractor is talking bullshit, I’ll call them out on it.

6

Though I enjoy Pride fights much more than UFC, I am much more fond of the UFC rules, as I love thowin’ elbows.

Not that I’d fight in one. Hell, my legs hurt like a mothertrucker from bending over wrong after a day at the gym. Too many misplaced vertebrae.

But really, if you look at the technique of the MMA fighters, you don’t see the “cockfighting” garbage, you see (at least on the pro cards) excellent technicians with a mind for the game.

7

One death that I know of. It was in Russia at a sanctioned event. His name was Doug Dent, I believe. He died of head trauma.
dyoder16

8

I believe it was in Ukraine, the guy didn’t pass several medical tests for fights in the US. In Ken Shamrock’s book it describes how both he and McCain were at a boxing event where one of the fighters was killed…but McCain isn’t too fond of pro boxing either. Maybe passing a balanced budget should be a little higher on his priorities.

There are a fair number of people who think boxing is also human cockfighting and just don’t like violence in general (def not me)…I think part of the problem is that the UFC originally marketed itself as being just shy of a real fight, no gloves/minimal rules, and this perception remains, especially when some of the greatest knockouts came in early UFC’s (Gary Goodridge elbowing Paul Herrera after he was unconscious, Tank Abbott beating John Matua into a seizure and doing a little dance).

The fact is that UFC of today is far different from the Shamrock/Severn/Gracie era rules-wise, and a good number of pro MMA fighters have college degress or won national titles wrestling and sport jiujitsu before competing in MMA, or at least seriously studied another martial art for some time…but if you can’t stand blood I don’t think this matters.

9

[quote]danreeves1973 wrote:
…1. Have there been any deaths in the ring in sanctioned MMA matches? I know of several boxing deaths, everyone remembers the Korean fighetr that Ray Mancini knocked out, who later died. And I mean sanctioned bouts, not a pit fight in some warehouse, the bullshit that looks good for Hollywood films…[/quote]

There have been deaths in MMA, as there have been in almost every sport. I am quite certain there has never been a death in a major sanctioned event (Pride, UFC, KOTC, K-1, etc.).

[quote]danreeves1973 wrote:
…2. What are the differences between Pride and the UFC? I’m asking about those two because they seem to be the two big PPV fight companies…[/quote]

Striking:
*UFC allows the use of elbows while a fighter is grounded; Pride does not.

*Pride allows soccer kicks and stomps on a grounded opponent; UFC does not.

Format:
*Pride fights occur in a ring; UFC uses a cage.

*Pride is not yet lisenced for events in the U.S. The NSAC is currently working to get Pride in the States, but stomps and soccer kicks will be omitted.

*Pride uses a 10/5/5 minute per round system, with two minute breaks. UFC uses all 5 minute rounds, with one minute breaks.

Scoring:
*UFC uses a ten point must system, just like in boxing. Pride judges score the fight as a whole; winning a majority of rounds is irrelevant if the fighter is thought to have lost the fight.

*UFC judges consider a fighter on his back to be dominated. This comes into play quite heavily in grappler vs. striker matches.

Tendencies:
*Mainly due to the cage vs. ring formats, and because of judges’ tendencies to score for the fighter on top during ground work, UFC tends to have a heavier draw of ground fighters. There is more, and usually better, stand-up in Pride fights.

That’s all I’ve got. Feel free to correct or comment.

~Terumo

10

Where does King of the Cage figure into the mix? Are its rules and other features more like UFC or Pride?

11

[quote]PROSA wrote:
Where does King of the Cage figure into the mix? Are its rules and other features more like UFC or Pride?[/quote]

KOTC is more like UFC. They fight in a cage similar to UFC, elbows are legal, no kicks to head when the opponent is on the ground. KOTC has some really great matches of up and coming fighters. I caught it recently for free on HDTV through Cablevision.