Its fight week!!! Actually Tomorrow is Fight Night!!. Heading to the Weigh Ins tonight. I weighed 184 lbs this morning I typically gain a pound or two by the time I get home so If I limit my water intake and food intake today then I should be right in range.
Training has went fairly well. I never feel that I have enough cardio and always question what level I can go to. Been running, Elipitical and lots of sparring and bag work as well as transisitions from standing to ground and back again which is the most grueling thing ever.
Last night was my last night to train. I just did some shadow boxing and pushups running excersise type stuff. Hit Thai pads for about 15 minutes just working different combos with varying power levels to get the heart rate up and some sweat going. Sparred a few light rounds with a couple different guys. I feel fairly confident and focused. I know the pad holder was ready to stop because he said it was hurting him through the Thai pad:-) Can’t wait to see how this turns out and how I have grown as a martial artist.
Ok , well I lost the fight, but not really. It was a split decision. I def. got the first round, the second I could possibly say went to him. He got me down and got cross side mount. He did not really do anything with that position, no submission attempts. I could not escape really, dude was so slick and sweaty and trying to bridge just resulted in sliding across the mat. His position was way to high but little space so I could not get a sweep either.
I knew after that he would go for the takedown and i did a good job avoiding that. I was landing combos although I was a little to tentative with the guy. I should have stepped up and took it too him but I didn’t for whatever reason. I pushed him back to the cage and he turned his back so ended up with a gable grip from the side kinda deal and decided I could take him down and get mount. That however failed lol and the guy ended up in my guard. Again he just laid there for the most part. I controlled his head and posturing very good. I was also landing shots to his head and body too.
Ended up with a kimura on his right arm that was real nice and he was holding his shorts so I had to move my hips to get my foot in there and kick his grip The bell rang and the fight was over. The decision went to his favor. Oddly enough my opponent raised my hand after the fight. He and most everybody else thought I won. Im assuming he got more points for laying on top of me and catching his breath.?? Whatever, I could have done a better job so there is a boat load of room for improvement.
It happens man. A lot of MMA judges are leftover boxing judges who just think “Oh that dude is on top, he must be winning.” I think Royce or Rickson or one of those guys once said “I’d rather lose knowing that my opponent was running for his life than win knowing I was running for mine” (or something like that)
[quote]Ranzo wrote:
Ok , well I lost the fight, but not really. It was a split decision. I def. got the first round, the second I could possibly say went to him. He got me down and got cross side mount. He did not really do anything with that position, no submission attempts. I could not escape really, dude was so slick and sweaty and trying to bridge just resulted in sliding across the mat. His position was way to high but little space so I could not get a sweep either.
I knew after that he would go for the takedown and i did a good job avoiding that. I was landing combos although I was a little to tentative with the guy. I should have stepped up and took it too him but I didn’t for whatever reason. I pushed him back to the cage and he turned his back so ended up with a gable grip from the side kinda deal and decided I could take him down and get mount. That however failed lol and the guy ended up in my guard. Again he just laid there for the most part. I controlled his head and posturing very good. I was also landing shots to his head and body too.
Ended up with a kimura on his right arm that was real nice and he was holding his shorts so I had to move my hips to get my foot in there and kick his grip The bell rang and the fight was over. The decision went to his favor. Oddly enough my opponent raised my hand after the fight. He and most everybody else thought I won. Im assuming he got more points for laying on top of me and catching his breath.?? Whatever, I could have done a better job so there is a boat load of room for improvement. [/quote]
I am truely sorry the decision did not go your way.From reading your log,lack of hard work was not the reason you lost. MMA judging has along way to go, just because you are on the bottom, does’nt mean you are losing. Carlos Condit is a prime example, fights like a demon off his back and still loses the rounds.
That said, your work ethic and log are an inspiration to everyone on the forum.
[quote]Ranzo wrote:
Ok , well I lost the fight, but not really. It was a split decision. I def. got the first round, the second I could possibly say went to him. He got me down and got cross side mount. He did not really do anything with that position, no submission attempts. I could not escape really, dude was so slick and sweaty and trying to bridge just resulted in sliding across the mat. His position was way to high but little space so I could not get a sweep either.
I knew after that he would go for the takedown and i did a good job avoiding that. I was landing combos although I was a little to tentative with the guy. I should have stepped up and took it too him but I didn’t for whatever reason. I pushed him back to the cage and he turned his back so ended up with a gable grip from the side kinda deal and decided I could take him down and get mount. That however failed lol and the guy ended up in my guard. Again he just laid there for the most part. I controlled his head and posturing very good. I was also landing shots to his head and body too.
Ended up with a kimura on his right arm that was real nice and he was holding his shorts so I had to move my hips to get my foot in there and kick his grip The bell rang and the fight was over. The decision went to his favor. Oddly enough my opponent raised my hand after the fight. He and most everybody else thought I won. Im assuming he got more points for laying on top of me and catching his breath.?? Whatever, I could have done a better job so there is a boat load of room for improvement. [/quote]
I am truely sorry the decision did not go your way.From reading your log,lack of hard work was not the reason you lost. MMA judging has along way to go, just because you are on the bottom, does’nt mean you are losing. Carlos Condit is a prime example, fights like a demon off his back and still loses the rounds.
That said, your work ethic and log are an inspiration to everyone on the forum. [/quote]
Thank you for the kind words. There is so much to fighting I don’t think I will ever stop learning things. I will be turning 40 in July so I am not sure if i will take any more fights as tempting as it is and I feel I can do way better. I will still be training for sure and supporting my team.
I thank everybody on this forum who as gave me advice I feel it was all good and I am better for it and I hope I can help someone else in here as well.
Just wanted to let everyone know I have not done JACK SHIT this week:-) My ankle is still swollen from kicking dude and I have a ton of other things going on right now. Be back next week…that is all
[quote]Ranzo wrote:
Just wanted to let everyone know I have not done JACK SHIT this week:-) My ankle is still swollen from kicking dude and I have a ton of other things going on right now. Be back next week…that is all[/quote]
Enjoy the time off.
I am sorry to read that the decision didn’t go your way, I second idaho’s statement about lack of effort not being at fault.
There just isn’t any parity in MMA judging. Sometimes top position is seen as “scoring” other times it is “lay and pray”. It puts fighters in a tough spot.
I will say that I think taking another fight and going out on a win might be the best long term. Your last two fights have involved great prep, but discouraging outcomes. Actually getting the benefits of your work might be worth at least one more trip to the rodeo.
[quote]Ranzo wrote:
Just wanted to let everyone know I have not done JACK SHIT this week:-) My ankle is still swollen from kicking dude and I have a ton of other things going on right now. Be back next week…that is all[/quote]
Enjoy the time off.
I am sorry to read that the decision didn’t go your way, I second idaho’s statement about lack of effort not being at fault.
There just isn’t any parity in MMA judging. Sometimes top position is seen as “scoring” other times it is “lay and pray”. It puts fighters in a tough spot.
I will say that I think taking another fight and going out on a win might be the best long term. Your last two fights have involved great prep, but discouraging outcomes. Actually getting the benefits of your work might be worth at least one more trip to the rodeo.
Regards,
Robert A[/quote]
x2, I think this is great advice. You’re a very able fighter, and from shitty Youtube video I’d have put you at least 10 years younger. You’re also dedicated and putting in the work. If you’re hearts not in it, then quit competing. If you still fancy another fight, and you have every reason to, then I agree with Robert A, you should go for it, you’ve got nothing to worry about in terms of physical ability.
I’d go further and say it is natural to think about quitting right now.
Your last two “training camps” have been great, from what you have written.
Your last one especially.
Yet we have a last minute cancel, and a loss. Even worse because the loss isn’t purely a case of getting out fought, but because there seemed to be a disconnect between what you did in the ring and what the judges rewarded. So there has been no positive reinforcement for all that effort, no pay off for the skipped meals, TV/movies not watched, dates not went on, etc.
Getting a win puts you in a position to retire with a full heart, saying…“I trained well, I came in my best, I got the win, and I just want to do other things now.” instead of it being a “Why the fuck should I bother?” kind of deal. If you keep teaching/coaching having it set in your mind that preparation pays off is kind of important. Even if we know intellectually that it doesn’t always, we labor as though it does. Thomas Harris wrote that “technique is the religion of dangerous trades”, seeing benefit from your training and improvement is almost “re-affirming”, and damn near a religious point if you want to go from dangerous fighter to dangerous old man.
Well guys, I am not quitting that is for sure. One problem I have is that my family and the people closest to me don’t like fighting…who da thought right… Anyway I will continue to train and I feel like there might be one more in there. I also would like to do a muay thai or kickboxing match or something.
I am a little pissed at myself because I did not do what I trained to do in that cage. Fucking wierd but I sorta choked in a way. I mean this fucker did not want to exchange with me. I had him turn his back to me twice. He got the takedown in the second and layed on me. Ok he got the second round big fucking deal In the third he turned his back in fear again and I went for a takedown.
I should have worked his ass right there and put him to sleep. I do it to people all the time but for whatever reason I didn’t do it that night in the cage when it counted. I saw the takedown, one I do all the time . I went for it and he ended up in my guard. That means I fucked it up, and now according to MMA rules he has the dominant position. Even though I had him in Rubber guard and was landing shots to the body and face.
I even had a kimora locked up but the bell rang. He knows he lost I know he lost only some retard sitting at table dosen’t know. Anyway I guess the point is I could have made different decisions and won the fight easily and decisivley but I did not do it. I really wanted that takedown, land in mount and pound him out. Didn’t happen, he got his hand raised and here I am.
Ok, Next chapter. Back in the gym last night. Started real slow, but I felt good. I wanted to be careful since I do have some soft spots about my body. Started with some regular warm up excersises to get loose. Did some shadow boxing and moved into some “pitty pat” basically just super light sparring with hands only just to get a rhythm going and see some hands in your face.
We have started to have adult wrestling classes in our gym and its new a lot of people don’t know about them. We only had about 7 people in the gym last night. I like it like that because no bozo ass people fucking off or whatever. Also our Wrestling coach wants more jiu jitsu so it turned into a big exchange of information on using wrestling and jiu jitsu together. I learned a bit and got in some good excersise as well. Was a good night since I been screwing around like a civilian for a week. Felt good to train and work on stuff. My mistakes in the past are lingering in my head and I feel sorry for my partners from now on as I cannot waste time by not going for the kill all the time now.
We are in the process of moving our school to a new building right now. Wil have our cage installed as a permanent fixture in there as well. This is going to open up lots of ways to train for our fighters. Training is being hindered at the present so that we can advance in the future. There are some great things going into place right nowl with the new building and adding structure to the MMA training.
Im back on the weights with some adjustments from before and still training as much as possible with the deconstruction, moving and reconstruction goin on. Stay tuned i will post more.
Basic workout this day. The school is a wreck except for the main mats. We only have standing bags for use at the moment and I have grown to hate those things.
bag work 3 rounds working my favorite combos doing them as rolling combos with 3-4 straights leading.
Thai kicks doing pyramids. <— I can explain if needed.
did some focus mitt and Thai pad with a friend who is looking at taking a fight in a few months. I was holding the pads. Not a super workout but I feel I learn and get focused good when I hold pads.
spent the next hour working striking combos to control cage position and takedowns and takedown defense from the fence. Got in a couple of good rolls as well. Working on setting up my submissions. I feel that is certainly the next level in my ground game. I can defend and hold position all day long, now its time to pick a couple of submissions and get at least one every time.
I have had an epiphany about fighting…well maybe that is to strong a word. However, I am focused on basics right now. I have lots of combos that I can deliver in my standup, I have some submissions that work well for me etc… There are so many styles and ideas that are out there and there is always some new move or position etc. I think many guys look at learning something new as a progression or advancement and it may be if you can retain it and use it in “combat”. For myself though I am stupid and slow when it comes to those things. My focus now is on perfecting what I am already good at and what comes natural for me and to do it over and over and over. Especially when sparring I am going to be focused on controlling the fight putting myself in the position to use my tools. I don’t need a fancy takedown to hurt someone. I don’t need a flying armbar or whatever. Of course I wont stop learning new things and improving but I feel that perfecting a few basic moves and learning to impose them on my opponent is going to have a huge payoff.
"I have had an epiphany about fighting…well maybe that is to strong a word. However, I am focused on basics right now. I have lots of combos that I can deliver in my standup, I have some submissions that work well for me etc… There are so many styles and ideas that are out there and there is always some new move or position etc. I think many guys look at learning something new as a progression or advancement and it may be if you can retain it and use it in “combat”.
For myself though I am stupid and slow when it comes to those things. My focus now is on perfecting what I am already good at and what comes natural for me and to do it over and over and over. Especially when sparring I am going to be focused on controlling the fight putting myself in the position to use my tools. I don’t need a fancy takedown to hurt someone. I don’t need a flying armbar or whatever. Of course I wont stop learning new things and improving but I feel that perfecting a few basic moves and learning to impose them on my opponent is going to have a huge payoff."
This:^^^^^^^^
Everyone on this forum needs to read this twice…excellent and sound advise and, something that I have tried to teach and practice myself. I try to hammer into my troops, train hard on the basics, master the fundamentals. It doesnt matter if you are throwing a right cross or clearing a room of badguys, learn the basics and stick with them, they will serve you well. Well said, Ranzo.
[quote]idaho wrote:
"I have had an epiphany about fighting…well maybe that is to strong a word. However, I am focused on basics right now. I have lots of combos that I can deliver in my standup, I have some submissions that work well for me etc… There are so many styles and ideas that are out there and there is always some new move or position etc. I think many guys look at learning something new as a progression or advancement and it may be if you can retain it and use it in “combat”.
For myself though I am stupid and slow when it comes to those things. My focus now is on perfecting what I am already good at and what comes natural for me and to do it over and over and over. Especially when sparring I am going to be focused on controlling the fight putting myself in the position to use my tools. I don’t need a fancy takedown to hurt someone. I don’t need a flying armbar or whatever. Of course I wont stop learning new things and improving but I feel that perfecting a few basic moves and learning to impose them on my opponent is going to have a huge payoff."
This:^^^^^^^^
Everyone on this forum needs to read this twice…excellent and sound advise and, something that I have tried to teach and practice myself. I try to hammer into my troops, train hard on the basics, master the fundamentals. It doesnt matter if you are throwing a right cross or clearing a room of badguys, learn the basics and stick with them, they will serve you well. Well said, Ranzo.
[/quote]
Thanks! I really feel this is the direction I need to go with my training. In my last fight I really, really could have killed that dude. I am pissed at myself for not doing it and for letting my team down. So many times we have discussed this very aspect but not truly implemented it into training like we should have. I hope others can take from this and do something good.