I Leave You Alone for Five Minutes and You're Drinking

Drunk. .... I'm drunk. Time for a fanpost! (Before you comment on it, the title lulz was not originally intentional, but I caught it before posting so it's close enough to intentional. Suck on that. I also struggled with the idea of fitting in a pun involving New Edition somehow. Brain no work good enough. Alcohol fight too hard. Jams too smooth.)

via MMA52TimesAnnualy.com

On this Saturn's Day Eve we'll see a contest for the ages (well, maybe a "Machida era" age at most). Michael "the Count" Bisping will take on Jason "Mayhem" Miller. One of these fighters is hiding a nefarious secret. (Surprisingly, it's not that Bisping likes to kick puppies in his spare time.)

Mr. Miller has a nickname that seemingly belies his penchant for hijinks and chaos. Yet the word "mayhem" has a much darker origin, a second meaning that is becoming increasingly archaic but is still used in some legal cases.

Have you ever heard of someone being charged with "criminal mayhem?" That's because mayhem's original meaning was - "the intentional and wanton removal or destruction of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in combat" (source=that place). Basically; blind a guy? Mayhem. Cripple a leg permanently? Mayhem. Cut off an arm? Mayhem. Burn the flesh of a man so as to leave multiple scars? Not mayhem. The word mayhem shares a common root with maim- there are a couple etymological arguments over where exactly it came from but it was definitely Middle-English and probably has a Germanic origin (just like that skeezer my friend tried to hook-up with tonight).

So will Jason Miller try to permanently disfigure or disable Michael Bisping so that he is no longer able to fight? Probably not just based on a nickname, but if it does happen at least you can say you were forewarned. (It's even a little much for me to wish upon him. I only hope he loses to Miller. Then in his frustration Bisping startles a rindside Hendo, who H-bombs him again (we got your back, mang. He totally had it coming. It was self-defense. The follow up punch too.))

(re-posted from 9 hours ago on BE. Sorry, I promise to try and remembers to start simulposting and stop giving GG2MMA my sloppy seconds.)

Ye olde mayhem, also Let's Mutherfukers->

I Leave You Alone for Five Minutes and You're Drinking

Drunk. .... I'm drunk. Time for a fanpost! (Before you comment on it, the title lulz was not originally intentional, but I caught it before posting so it's close enough to intentional. Suck on that. I also struggled with the idea of fitting in a pun involving New Edition somehow. Brain no work good enough. Alcohol fight too hard. Jams too smooth.)

via MMA52TimesAnnualy.com

On this Saturn's Day Eve we'll see a contest for the ages (well, maybe a "Machida era" age at most). Michael "the Count" Bisping will take on Jason "Mayhem" Miller. One of these fighters is hiding a nefarious secret. (Surprisingly, it's not that Bisping likes to kick puppies in his spare time.)

Mr. Miller has a nickname that seemingly belies his penchant for hijinks and chaos. Yet the word "mayhem" has a much darker origin, a second meaning that is becoming increasingly archaic but is still used in some legal cases.

Have you ever heard of someone being charged with "criminal mayhem?" That's because mayhem's original meaning was - "the intentional and wanton removal or destruction of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in combat" (source=that place). Basically; blind a guy? Mayhem. Cripple a leg permanently? Mayhem. Cut off an arm? Mayhem. Burn the flesh of a man so as to leave multiple scars? Not mayhem. The word mayhem shares a common root with maim- there are a couple etymological arguments over where exactly it came from but it was definitely Middle-English and probably has a Germanic origin (just like that skeezer my friend tried to hook-up with tonight).

So will Jason Miller try to permanently disfigure or disable Michael Bisping so that he is no longer able to fight? Probably not just based on a nickname, but if it does happen at least you can say you were forewarned. (It's even a little much for me to wish upon him. I only hope he loses to Miller. Then in his frustration Bisping startles a rindside Hendo, who H-bombs him again (we got your back, mang. He totally had it coming. It was self-defense. The follow up punch too.))

Ye olde mayhem, also Let's Mutherfukers->

(Re-posted from BE cause Rollo told me to)

For those that need a quick catch-up, on the last Strikeforce Challengers card Ronda Rousey defeated Julia Budd by armbar, dislocating Budd's arm in the process. Rousey improved to a professional record of 4-0, with all of her victories coming by armbar within the first minute of action. After the fight, Ronda said she was planning on moving down to 135 and wanted to fight Miesha Tate for the title (Rousey clarified that she'd be willing to fight Sarah Kaufman for number one contendership, but her main goal was taking the title from Tate.)

A number of female fighters under the Strikeforce banner voiced their opinions on twitter, making accusations that she was ducking Cris "Cyborg" Santos, as well as criticizing Ronda for asking for a title shot at a weight she has never previously fought at. (Gal's Guide to MMA covered them here and here.)

Ronda had stated before her fight with Sarah D'Alelio that she would not move down to 135, saying:

"I can’t go any lower than 145. That’s the lowest weight I can healthily make. I might consider taking a catch-weight fight at 140 someday, but not unless I was very persuaded."

However, a much more recent interview with USA Today showed Ronda leaning towards a new position:

Given the difficulty of finding quality 145-pounders, how concerned are you that the division might not be viable?

Even if it wasn't, I think I definitely do have the capacity to move down. I have to do it in a very professional way. Get a nutritionist and have a structure to do it the right way.

But if Strikeforce decides to get rid of 145 and only keep the '35, or put them together into a 140, I'll be able to deal with the situation fine.

(from November 14th)- Article link

(Cyborg also mentioned that Strikeforce was considering eliminating the Women's 145 lb. division. Her response and more from Ronda Rousey after the jump)

Continue reading this post »

For those that need a quick catch-up, on the last Strikeforce Challengers card Ronda Rousey defeated Julia Budd by armbar, dislocating Budd's arm in the process. Rousey improved to a professional record of 4-0, with all of her victories coming by armbar within the first minute of action. After the fight, Ronda said she was planning on moving down to 135 and wanted to fight Miesha Tate for the title (Rousey clarified that she'd be willing to fight Sarah Kaufman for number one contendership, but her main goal was taking the title from Tate.)

A number of female fighters under the Strikeforce banner voiced their opinions on twitter, making accusations that she was ducking Cris "Cyborg" Santos, as well as criticizing Ronda for asking for a title shot at a weight she has never previously fought at. (Gal's Guide to MMA covered them here and here.)

Ronda had stated before her fight with Sarah D'Alelio that she would not move down to 135, saying:

"I can’t go any lower than 145. That’s the lowest weight I can healthily make. I might consider taking a catch-weight fight at 140 someday, but not unless I was very persuaded."

However, a much more recent interview with USA Today showed Ronda leaning towards a new position:

Given the difficulty of finding quality 145-pounders, how concerned are you that the division might not be viable?

Even if it wasn't, I think I definitely do have the capacity to move down. I have to do it in a very professional way. Get a nutritionist and have a structure to do it the right way.

But if Strikeforce decides to get rid of 145 and only keep the '35, or put them together into a 140, I'll be able to deal with the situation fine.

(from November 14th)- Article link

(Cyborg also mentioned that Strikeforce was considering eliminating the Women's 145 lb. division. Her response and more from Ronda Rousey after the jump)

Continue reading this post »

[Disclaimer: I wrote this post on a whim and while slightly buzzed.  Don't  take anything in it too seriously.]

Some fights contain moments that are pure gems, and if Kid Nate loves those moments verrrrry much that's how Judo Chop's are born.

Other fights contain moments that are stillborn aberrations, but still require a second look. Here's a few of those.  (no disrespect to any stillborn aberrations out there reading this.)

Our first comes to us from WEC 51.  After a tough fight, Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone go for an akward-high five.  They fail.  HARD.

At this point we can only guess at what is running through each fighter's head.  Varner starts falling forward.  Was he just hoping him and Cerrone would collapse into each other?  Was he counting on the force of Cerrone's five to knock him upright?  Was he going for a hug that would reverse years of not having his feelings respected or validated?  Or was he just falling forward with no real game plan, waiting until either Cerrone or the floor stopped his momentum?   

Cerrone gives an incredulous look to Varner before brushing him off with a stiff forearm.  Either Cerrone was genuinely reacting to a man awkwardly falling towards him, or he was able to discern that Varner was going in for the hug and went into hug defense mode.  His technique is on par with a hot girl avoiding that sweet but awkward dude she talked with constantly during 3rd period, who's hoping for just a hug on the last day of school (fuck you Lindsey).

Feeling slighted, Varner runs up for what could potentially be a devastating strike.  Instead he delivers a quarter-power nudge (that definitely ain't no shove).  Herb Dean jumps in to prevent any further escalation, but Varner is already turning away as if to try and disavow that this awkward non-exchange just took place.  If you want to praise Varner for self-control after a misunderstanding, go ahead.  But there's just something funny about an all out war between two top fighters, guys going at it and throwing vicious strikes that easily could have led to a KO if they connected, ending in the same manner as a 1st grader finding out the kid in front of him just took his favorite color crayon.

Continue reading this post »

Not to bag on mma blogs or online journalism, but after sifting through dozens of articles that were either verbatim re-posts or rehashes of information released by other sites, I felt the need to see if I could find any official announcements from Shine Fights on the future of their Lightweight Grand Prix.  (Caveat= I'm not sure if it's his wild charisma or intensely honest eyes, but as soon as Luke Thomas confirmed it on MMANation I took it as fact the show was moved.  He has that much journalistic credibility with me). 

And after going through the various online media outlets of Shine Fights, all I can say is holy-s, their marketing coordination is a joke.  Not that I held Shine in high esteem after their last debacle, but the only way to really  describe the marketing strategy for Shine is "giant cluster-f."

First I went to their website, http://www.shinefights.com/.  The site is still advertising for the event to take place at the Patriot Center, as well as allowing patrons to buy tickets for the events.  Their last new release was from May 7th, and the only recently updating feature is a twitter feed (under the title Worlds Collide: Matorga vs. Thomas), where various mma sites are posting links to stories about what's happening with Shine.  But no actual input from Shine.

Shine obviously hasn't informed the Patriot Center of any changes, because the event is still listed on the Patriot Center website along with a link to buying tickets.  Consequently Patriot Center tickets are handled by Ticketmaster, here's their refund policy if you've already bought tickets- http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/returns.html?tm_link=tm_i_rp

So I went to check the twitter of Shine Fights

Continue reading this post »

Totally ignoring all the complexities that go into each match-up, the basic math behind probabilities show how difficult it is to have an extended run as a champ, in the UFC or any other promotion.  It in part helps to explain the constant change for the LHW champ, and helps to illuminate how truly dominant a fighter must be in order to have an extended run at the top.

Continue reading this post »

This article is in response to the ongoing discussion on wrestling in mma.  The opening is just some quick thoughts, feel free to skip to the halfway point and just read my proposal.

I will admit to not having any mma experience besides being a fan.  I did wrestle for three years in high school (for one year I deluded myself into thinking I actually had any potential with basketball), and have a few insights into wrestling but I won't claim to be an expert.  This is just my two cents.

Quick 101: The amateur wrestling background most American fighters build off is entirely based on positional control.  In amateur wrestling gaining position isn't the means to an end, it is the only goal.  In addition amateur wrestling is based on trying to pin you opponent/staying off your own back, making much of the ground technique used in amateur wrestling incompatible with mma.  That's why a number of fighters with wrestling backgrounds are able to take opponents down and win scrambles, but can't readily pass opponent's guards or mount a ton of effective offense.  While this obviously changes with further training fighters with 8+ years experience in only one discipline will most likely continue to be strongest in this one field for some time. 

Working from top position is a balancing act, the more aggressively fighters go after submissions/strikes/try to improve their position, the more they open themselves up to being caught in a submission/allowing their opponent to escape to their feet/ being reversed or swept.  I feel like the term lay-and-pray is thrown about too loosely.  There are a number of fighters (Fitch being the poster-boy) who will continue to work at mounting offence from the top position, but put safely maintaining their position at a higher priority than inflicting damage on their opponent.  Fighters who are conservative in the balancing act of mounting offence vs. maintaining control are numerous, and different from lay-and-pray action where the only real goal is maintaining position.  It's comparable to the way a number of judge's decisions will fall into the spectrum of questionable to bad, but few are really robberies.

Finally, I have no problem admitting I find a lot of prolonged positional battles boring.  While I loved wrestling, a lot of times I was bored senseless when I had to watch others wrestle.  More active ground struggles are great, but I feel like there's a segment of hardcore mma fans out there who won't admit that they could possibly be bored by ground action, just like there are a number art snobs who won't admit that there's some modern art out there which is just plain ridiculous.  While I understand and appreciate the push from mma fans to maintain the "purity" of the sport, they are putting the sport on a pedestal that costs the sport a number of casual fans.  All the major sports leagues in America today adopted rules that radically changed the way their sports were played, and continue to tweak rules year by year.  I don't think some small concessions are completely out of the question, but I also wouldn't the evolution of mma dominated more by rule changes than fighter progressions.

My proposal: Once a fighter achieves top control (could be defined closely to the terms used in amateur wrestling), a clock is started by a referee outside the ring.  If their opponent is able to escape/reverse positions then the clock is reset.  At any point should the fighter in top position gain a full mount/crucifix mount/back control the clock is stopped, but not reset.  Should the fighter move out of either position but maintain top control then the clock is restarted.  If the clock reaches two minutes, then a horn is sounded and the in-ring referee stands both fighters back up.  The in-ring ref is still allowed to stand fighters up if he determines that action is completely stalled.

I think this is a fair compromise, it encourages action without forcing it.  The presence of such a clock would hopefully encourage fighters to be more active from top, either looking for subs, improving to a dominant position, or throwing meaningful strikes.  A more active top position would in turn allow for more activity from bottom other than just looking not to give obvious openings.  Should a fighter on bottom be close to the two minute horn there is the possibility they could try just to stall until the horn, but I'm sure laying on bottom and just absorbing damage until a standup won't look great to judges.

It also isn't a rule that would radically change the sport.  In a lot of fights it probably wouldn't come into play, fighter with reasonable skill from bottom to not be continuously kept down for that long.  It also wouldn't take position control wrestling off the table, should they choose to fighters like Fitch could keep the same game plan with the understanding they may have to work for 1-2 more takedowns a round at most.  Again, it wouldn't change the sport so much as nudge fighters toward more action on top.

I know the prospect of putting another part of the fight into ref's hands isn't what many want.  This rule hopefully would take pressure off in-ring ref's to make the subjective call of when action on the ground is stalled, and allow for a more objective ruling from an official outside the ring.  This would help reduce the discrepancy between ref's, and limit the controversy caused by different organizations trying to pressure ref's or fighters spend less time on the ground.

Thoughts?