SB Nation User Blog: szucconi

My Chat With Executive Director of the Maryland State Athletic Commission.

szucconi — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:28:08 -0000

First, Mr. Patrick Pannella has been very upfront with me and kind enough to address my concerns with Maryland MMA regulations. Maryland has not yet had an MMA show of any kind. The first being a pro bout slated for later this month. After attending UWC 7 in Virginia this past weekend I was motivated to get involved in my own state. I first contacted Mr. Pannella on Sunday morning and he has been more then receptive to my requests. I think the AC is taking the right approach to qualify judges through the amateur ranks and I completely agree with what he had to say about the young, but well thought out process in MD. He had his own thoughts on UWC 7 and the judging, but I will get to that. I spoke to him this afternoon and I genuinely respect him.

He stated that he knows people have concerns about MD starting pro MMA before amateur, but many states don't even have amateur regulations. The pro regulation is tried and true and can be adopted, but the amateur process does need a little more time to develop and I don't believe that this is a case of running before you walk. He said that they will bring in qualified MMA officials and judges from other states and only use local refs and judges that are experienced and proven, while the amateur ranks will be used to develop the local ranks. He said that judges will only moving up based on experience and performance. I am young and I hope to start at the bottom and work my way up. I think he was under the impression that I wanted to jump into pro MMA and that couldn't be further from the truth. I run toward structure and regulation. Then he brought up something that made me feel great about MMA in MD. He said he believes judges should be able to justify scores. And that goes right along with rating a judge's (or ref's for that matter) performance.

Now I brought up boxing judges being inserted into MMA and it causing problems and I think that hit a nerve. I was mainly speaking of early on in the sports sanctioning and the use of boxing judges that were not as qualified for MMA as they were for boxing (Dalby Shirley comes to mind). I never got around to clarifying, but I could tell that he was slightly offended in my over generalization. He assured me that the judges involved in the UWC 7 controversy were not, in fact boxing judges that had no MMA background. He said they both had experience as trainers in MMA, although we did not get into there overall qualifications. He said in MD, a boxing judge would never judge a MMA bout unless separately qualified in MMA. He was at UWC 7 and he said that while he was, as a boxing guy, not qualified to really render a decision on the Easton Beebe fight, but he did understand the issues regarding the fight. I believe I labeled the judging "questionable at best" and he objected saying it was only one fight in an otherwise great night of MMA. This is true, but there were only four decisions on the card and in this case I thing one in four is way to high of a rate of error. Not to mention that three of the four decisions were split. Now I did not disagree with the other decisions that night, but the judges obviously did not come to a consensus. I though the other two splits were very close fights that could have either way. Although I would have protested if Riggleman and Runez didn't walk away with a win, the former being a more dominate victory.

One point he made was that he questioned the announcing of the scores. His take was that first the announcer should announce something like "Ladies and gentleman, we have a split decision". That would be fine. I like the way Bruce Buffer does it announcing the card for one, then the other, and then announcing the deciding card. It builds suspense and drama, but it's really a matter of opinion. What I absolutely agree with him on was the announcing of the judges name and then the score card. Saturday night was announced poorly in that three scores were read, then the winner, then it was called a split. No scores were assigned to judges and it was a mystery as to which card went to which fighter. This is a pattern at UWC that I don't like.

All in all I was impressed with Mr. Pannella and I hope to get started judging amateur bouts as soon as they get the regulations worked out. I think Maryland can be a first rate state for MMA and Mr. Pannella's openness can only help. I think he is a guy that I could talk to for hours if I were so inclined, but I had to get back to work. He made a convincing case for MD MMA and although I disagree with him on judging quality in Virginia, I do agree that anyone can have a bad night, but that is why there are three judges and not one, to offset a bad night. The close fights made it a hard night for judges in Virginia, but I don't want Maryland to have the next "Worst decision of the year". Not if I can help it. He told me he would send me a copy of the MD regulations and I anxiously await them.

As a side note, I am finding it difficult to describe to people that have never had there back taken just how bad a position it is. I am at a loss for an equally defensive position in boxing. In wrestling it is similar to back points/ near fall as well as riding time. In BJJ points are awarded based on hooks. While back mount is not exciting and more subtle then punching someone in the face, it is 100% defensive for the guy on bottom. The only way that bottom man can improve his position is if the top man makes a mistake or goes for a risky maneuver. The top man can do any number of things, but Beebe opted to maintain position and work a high percentage choke rather then a riskier maneuver that could lead to an escape. Does anyone else have a better analogy of just how in trouble Easton was? I don't think is rises to the level of a knock down in boxing, but it certainly is close from a grappling perspective and the amount of the last three round that Beebe was on Easton's back you would certainly make the case for that mount being equal to a knock down.

UWC 7: Redemption Card Breakdown

szucconi — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:20:51 -0000

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas. This post is best viewed in WIDE mode.

UWC Bantamweight World Championship Title Fight (5 Five Minute Rounds)
Mike "The Hulk" Easton		Chase "The Rage" Beebe



Weight: 135 lbs Height: 5'5" Association: Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Fighting Out Of: Washington DC/Temple Hills, MD Corner: Lloyd Irvin / Brandon Vera MMA Record: 8 - 1 - 0 Fact:Fact: 2X UWC World Champ		Weight: 135 lbs Height: 5'7" Association: Midwest Training Center Fighting Out Of: Chicago, IL Corner: Alex Trujillo / Joey Gilbert MMA Record: 12 - 4 - 0 Fact: Former 2X WEC World Champ
This is one of the biggest fights in North America at 135 to ever happen outside of the WEC. Easton is a huge prospect and Beebe is a proven vet. Originally slated to take place back in February only to be called off days before the bout because Beebe no showed the weigh-ins, my anticipation for this bout has only grown. Everyone knows Beebe has cardio for days and I doubt that has changed from his days in the WEC. He is now training at MTC where another cardio phenom, Clay Guida holds camp. Beebe is coming off three strait losses to a who's who list of BWs and should come in hungry. Easton is a local product that is still looking to "bust loose" onto the national scene. He is the defending champ. His stand-up is far better then Beebe's although reach could play a role. His ground game is good, but he in no way has the wrestling of Beebe. Easton does have a secret weapon on his side, a steel elbow. If the fight goes the distance I like Beebe in what could be a grinding win of control. If the fight ends early, and it could, I like Easton by TKO. As far as the odds on a sub, Easton has the skills to catch an over aggressive Beebe early or a Beebe worn down by being battered on the feet. Beebe could also grind down on Easton for five rounds and sink something in on a gassed TLI fighter. Truly a great match-up and a risky one for the promotions future.

UWC Flyweight World Championship Title Fight (5 Five Minute Rounds)
Pat Runez		John "The Magician" Dodson



Weight: 125 lbs Height: 5'4" Association: Arizona Combat Sports Fighting Out Of: Tempe, AZ Corner:Jamie Varner / Todd Lally MMA Record: 6 - 0 - 0 Fact: PFC World Champion		Weight: 125 lbs Height: 5'4" Association:Greg Jackson MMA Fighting Out Of: Albuquerque, NM Corner:Greg Jackson / Mike Winkeljohn MMA Record: 12 - 4 - 0 Fact:2X UWC Vet / Tap Out Show Vet
This is a flyweight title fight, that in it self makes this a rarity. Pat Runez took part in the PFC four man tournament to crown a flyweight champ. On the opposite side of the bracket was an extremely dangerous FW in Rambaa Somdet. When Somdet, the favorite in the field pulled out, Runez dispatched a late replacement to take the belt. With the current state of the flyweight division in North America, the PFC flyweight belt is the top of the heap. The UWC is looking to change that bringing in Runez to take on John Dodson. Dodson is an amazing striker. Not a guy known for his power, but his style is effective and his creativity is unmatched. The WEC has their sights on flyweight and these two are likely on there short list. Not to mention Dodson's last loss was up a weight class to the UWC's own BW champ, Mike Easton and that was a close decision. One thing I expect from this fight, a lot of head scratching after the score cards are read. Flyweights are fast and Dodson is a point scoring fighter, but his strikes lack power and that hurts him with the judges.

Images and stats via www.uwcmma.com

Fight #7 - 155lbs
Tommy "Gun" Truex		Kyle "The Alleycat" Baker



Weight: 155 lbs Height: 5'9" Association: Team Greg Jackson Fighting Out Of: Albuquerque, NM Corner: Greg Jackson / Mike Winkeljohn MMA Record: 5 - 2 - 0 Fact: Officer US National Guard		Weight: 155 lbs Height: 5'10" Association:MMA Institute Fighting Out Of:Harrisonburg, VA MMA Record: 7 - 4 - 0 Fact:2X UWC Vet
If you have never heard of Kyle Baker I pity you and I suggest you read this article by BE's own Luke Thomas. It pretty much sums it up in a way I can't. He is going to scrap. I don't know anything of his opponent, but I know he will have the fight brought to him.

Fight #6 - 185lbs
Timothy "Reshad" Woods		Ryan "The Rhino" Sturdy



Weight: 185 lbs Height: 6'2" Association: Team Lloyd Irvin Fighting Out Of: Temple Hills, MD Corner: Lloyd Irvin / Brandon Vera MMA Record: 4 - 2 - 0		Weight: 185 lbs Height: 5'10" Association: Team Curran Fighting Out Of: Chicago, IL Corner: Jeff Curran / Doug Mango MMA Record: 11 - 3 - 1
Reshad Woods. it appears, now trains at TLI, but a little over a year ago I saw him fight TLI member Ron Stallings and the end of that fight was one of the most brutal KOs I have ever seen. The man is powerful. He is also careless, but that could make him more dangerous. Sturdy game wrestler, but I haven't seen enough of him to really get a feel for his style.

Fight #5 - 170lbs
Beau "Blackjack" Baker		Jacob "Tick-Tock" McClintock



Weight: 170 lbs Height: 5'10" Association:MMA Institute Fighting Out Of:Harrisonburg, VA MMA Record: 7 - 2 - 0		Weight: 170 lbs Height: 6'0" Association: Arizona Combat Sports Fighting Out Of: Tempe Arizona MMA Record: 5 - 0 - 0
The second half (or first by bout order) of the Baker brother is Beau. Read about the Baker brothers here. Its a little old since Beau has turned pro and has nine fights under his belt with only two losses both coming to UFC vets. McClintock is a young undefeated fighter that has yet to get out of the first round. My guess on Bakers game plan is that he will try to drag McClintock into the later rounds and really test his gas tank. I have seen how aggressive Kyle Baker is so if Beau is the same then I could be way off base and they could both come out looking to finish quickly.

Fight #4 - 185lbs
Kris "Savage" McCray		Igor "The Legend" Almeida



Weight: 185lbs Height: 6'0" Association: Gold Medal Grappling Fighting Out Of:Woodbridge, VA MMA Record: 3 - 0 - 0 Fact:3X UWC Vet / US Army		Weight: 185 lbs Height: 6'0" Association:Palm Beach Boxing / MMA Fighting Out Of:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/ Palm Beach, FL MMA Record: 5 - 0 - 0 Fact:BJJ Black Belt
These guys are young, undefeated and have never been out of the first round in a fight. This could mean fireworks.

Fight #3 - 115lbs
Sumie Sakai		Iman Achhal



Weight: 115lbs Height: 5'1" Association: Team Hard Knox Fighting Out Of: Tokyo Japan / Atlanta, GA MMA Record: 2 - 2 - 1		Weight: 115lbs Height: 5'2" Association:Capital BJJ Fighting Out Of: Alexandria, VA MMA Record: 1 - 0 - 0
Iman Achhal's pro debut last February stole the show. I went to that show thinking she was being fed to Muay Thai champ and Fight Girl vet, Felice Herrig. In three, five minute rounds she won over the crowd. Read this piece in the post about her. Iman is no joke and Sakai is a pro wrestling trying her hand at MMA again.

Fight #2 - 125lbs
Jesse "Mountian Man" Riggleman		Josh "Taz" Ferguson



Weight: 125lbs Height: 5'5" Association:MMA Institute Fighting Out Of:Harrisonburg, VA MMA Record: 5 - 0 - 0		Weight: 125lbs Height: 5'5" Association:Team Cruz MMA Fighting Out Of: Louisville, KY MMA Record: 6 - 2 - 0
Josh Ferguson is yet another fight that lost to Mike Easton and dropped down to flyweight. Riggleman is fighting out of the Baker brothers gym in Harrisonburg. More then one flyweight bout on the same card? What is this, Shooto? Should be a fast pace.

Fight #1 - 145lbs
Felipe "Sertanejo" Arantes		Freddy Assuncao



Weight: 145lbs Height: 5'8" Association: Gold Team Fighters Fighting Out Of:Sao Paulo, Brazil / Newark, NJ Corner:Jorge "Macaco" Patino MMA Record: Pro Debut		Weight: 145lbs Height: 5'7" Association:Ascension MMA Fighting Out Of: Recife, Brazil / Atlanta, GA Corner:Raphael Assuncao / Junior Assuncao MMA Record: Pro Debut
What do you want me to say about to guys making there pro debut? Could be a bright future for the third Assuncao brother, so my hopes are high.

Images and stats via www.uwcmma.com

The ADCC committee announced that Ronaldo Jacare will replace injured Roger Gracie in the...

szucconi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:01:26 -0000

The ADCC committee announced that Ronaldo Jacare will replace injured Roger Gracie in the superfight of ADCC 2009 against Robert Drysdale.

graciemag twitter account

Maryland MMA Promotion

szucconi — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:13:02 -0000

Maryland MMA Promotion

The first (as far as I know) MMA event coming to MD. Looks like is run by the owner of team ground control and will take place Oct. 24th at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. Large venue for a first show and I guess I live under a rock because I just learned of it today.

Getting Excited For The Main Event at UFC 101

szucconi — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:54:25 -0000

If you would have asked me a year ago if Kenny Florian had a chance against BJ Penn I would have looked at you funny. Penn had demolished Sean Sherk, an imposing lightweight at the time who holds a dominate win over Florian. Right now the line on a Florian win sits at +200 on Bodog. Those are long odds, but not insurmountable. Kenny is wicked good, but his talent doesn’t jump out at you like BJJ ground wizard or a raw power standing or an impressive wrestling pedigree. His skills fly under the radar because he is unassuming and well rounded. When this match was announced I was not very excited. Sure, Kenny has earned a title shot both by beating a lot of contenders and not losing, which in such a deep division is commendable in its own right. Now I am going to explain to you why I was wrong not to be excited and why you too should be excited for the Lightweight title fight Saturday.

Now I am not saying Kenny will win. I think he is rightfully the underdog. But his style is smothering. His control is complete and he doesn’t put himself in bad position. He fights smart and make his opponent beat him because he never beats himself. His record is strikingly clean and full of wins by finish. He finds a way to win and has only one loss at lightweight and that was to Sean Sherk who has a great take down and great top control. Kenny also had some trouble early in his fight with Joe Lauzon, but again Lauzon is a guy with a very solid take down.

UFC 101: Declaration coverage

The Lauzon fight typifies Florians strengths and weaknesses. Lauzon was able to get Kenny down, not because of weak take down defence, but because he cheats toward his stand up. He isn't bashful about exposing his legs for a shot because he is aggressive in his stand up game. That certainly gives him an edge over a more tentative fighter. Once it did go to the ground Kenny showed a very active guard. His guard is not fancy, but he looks to use elbows to escape. That's right, elbows to inflict pain so he can make space and escape. Strikes from the bottom have very little leverage, but Kenny uses them effectively to distract his opponent from running there offence so he can shrimp and do a little hip escape and get up to a clinch. What happened in the Lauzon fight when Kenny had guard (the illegal elbow and the cut) was not typical, but after the first round it was a classic Florian win.

Kenny Florian wins by position and control. He has great hip. He has great hip control and always maintains control of his opponents hip when he is on top. Without control of his own hips, Lauzon couldn't sweep Florian. Florian continued to pepper Lauzon until was able to improve his position and pass his guard eventually ending up in mount. A lot of Florian's wins follow that pattern and then they follow this next step. Kenny brushes off his opponent's futile attempts to buck him off while raining punches down. They then try in vein to cover up or they give up there back and Kenny sinks in a rear-naked choke.

For a guy that is so well rounded, he is also predictable. At the same time his small set of go to moves are seemingly unstoppable. He has a distilled MMA game that is about perfect execution. That makes it easy to compare him to a man that has beaten BJ Penn. GSP also has phenomenal hip and excellent top control. Where GSP has an edge in transition work (take downs, take down defence, and scrambles) over Florian, I think Kenny might have an edge in top control. I think GSP plays fast and loose with top control because he can get another take down and score more points, but it also has something to do with avoiding sweeps and staying out of bad position. Florian doesn't get in bad position once he has top control.

Florian will not have the weight advantage that GSP did over BJ and he lacks GSP's double, but I think he will work to push Penn back on the cage and wear him down inside the clinch. It's doable if he can avoid power shots and be smart about his lack of power standing and get the fight down. Outside an overwhelming performance by BJ I don't see Kenny never being in BJ's guard. With Kenny's immaculate control and BJ's freak like BJJ ability and almost superhuman flexibility it should get interesting. Plus you have to ask yourself, if it goes to a decision then who will likely be the winner? If Kenny can survive the first two round then I think he can easily take the last three on control against a gassed BJ. I even think Kenny could finish BJ in the fourth or fifth round depending on how much energy he can drain out of him early.

I wrote this to examine KenFlo's chances and get myself pumped for the show. I have selfish motives, but I thought I would share anyway. I may have convinced myself to pick Florian, but I will have to sleep on that. http://twitter.com/szucc

Image via www.trashvent.com

There will always be a "Fedor"

szucconi — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:26:59 -0000

Fedor Emelianenko is the number one heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world and few people disagree with that. Is he overrated? Maybe. Is he ducking top fighters? I don’t know. The fact of the matter is, he hasen’t lost in quite a long time. In a sport where staying on top is so hard and losses don’t spell the end, Fedor has kept his record clean for a long time and depending on who you ask, he has never been defeated. He has fought top fighters, maybe not in there prime, but he has a lot of wins versus a lot of quality fighters. He can lay claim to one of the most prestigous championship belts in MMA, the Pride Heavyweight Championchip Belt.

Now the UFC wants him. They don’t want him because he can draw in fans. They aren’t bending over backward and dusting off the checkbook because they think he is a great guy. They think he is the number one heavyweight fighter in the world, no matter what they say about him or what they think about his management. They don’t need him, they just want him and for that I am greatful. I want to see top fighters face off as much as the next guy, but there will always be a fight that needs to happen or a fighter that is not with one organization or another. For the short time I have been into the sport I have seen this pattern more then once. Take the long antisipated bout between Chuck Liddell and Wanderli Silva. In that case, the fighters were rabid to fight eachother and the fight just couldn’t get made. When it did happen is was well after interest had peaked. Both fighters were coming off losses and the fight was great, but for me it felt anticlimactic. After the fight I checked it off the “fights that need to happen” list and moved on.

Without a way to gauge how a fighter stacks up vs. another group of fighters, it is extreamly hard to rank and predict fighter skills. This problem is well documented and made increasingly difficult by varying rules, cage/ring, and PED regulations. There have been several recent cases where a fighter has gone undefeated fighting a relatively lack luster group of competitors yet they continue to rise in the rankings. A few names come to my mind, but one sticks out, Robbie Lawler. An acomplished fighter with a lot of power, but he left the UFC after losing three out of four fights. He headlined four strait shows once out of the UFC and took only one loss to Jason Miller. Four and a Half years after his UFC run and he is on the better half of an 8-1 run with a five fight win steak and fighting about 2.5 times a year. The problem was that by now he was ranked in the top five with his biggest win being over Frank Trigg. That’s a decent win, but it was an outlier when compaired to Niko Vitale X2, Eduardo Pamplona, and Jeremy Brown. Those are not awful fighters by any means, but not they caliber of fighters that a top five guy should be taking on. His other wins and his loss are mostly a step up, ex-UFC/Pride fighter that anyone would be happy to have beaten, but not up to par with being top five. It wasn’t until he lost to top five WW Jake Shields that Lawler begain to fall.

The reason Lawler climbed the rankings was three fold, he is a game fighter, he didn’t lose, and other fighters did lose. No matter that they lost to the top guy or fought other top ten fighters, winning is pairemount in MMA. A long enough winning streak on a big enough stage and anyone can fight safe fights and rise to the forefront of the fans fight lust. Eddie Alvarez is another name that fits this rise pattern, not perfectly, but simalarly he is 8-1 in his last nine fights beating only one top ten fighter and that top ten fighter benifets from a win over Aoki, but has an otherwise inconsistent track record. Brett Rogers pops to my mind, as does Gegard Mousasi.

It’s not that these guys aren’t good, it’s that we have no reference to see how good they are. They fight on an island and that island is never going to go away. There was a time when that island was the UFC and you never really knew who the best was. Now in every weight class except heavy, the UFC owns the top spot and they are the main land where fighters can be certified. When Fedor comes and goes there will be more like him. Ranked highly and the subject of a billion articles on the internet. There are some unique characteristics about Fedor’s situation, but if the fights come and go then the fans will move there fight lust elsewhere. Fedor is just at the top of the “fights that need to happen” list, he is not the entire list.

"Grass Eaters" on the Rise, MMA on the Decline in Japan

szucconi — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:11:54 -0000

A relatively new trend in Japan could lead to an even greater decline in interest in combat sports. I found an article on slate.com about "Grass-eating men" in Japan who shun consumption and seek quieter less competitive lives. It’s a growing subculture in Japan and the lack of macho under thirty types may drive out combat sports all together. As many of us know, Japan is a hard place to gauge. But according to a survey cited in the slate article, 75% of men ages 20-30 describe themselves as grass eating men. That is a huge chunk of the key age demographic for MMA. A large portion of the audience may be lost for the time being. The attitude shift is a shift away from MMA.

Perhaps this means a rise in interest from women. Maybe, like so many other things is Japan, it is just a fad and fighting will come back stronger then ever. Maybe an earthquake will open the earth and swallow Japan rendering this article pointless. Something to consider, something to talk about. I don’t know a lot about Japan, but I am interested in hearing other reasons then Yakuza on why Japan MMA is down. I love Dream shows as much as the next guy, but they are not Pride and not as stable. What say you?

image via slate.com

Matt Brown has shoulder surgery, will be out for a few months. (Sorry, I couldn't help it. Luke is...

szucconi — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:24:53 -0000

Matt Brown has shoulder surgery, will be out for a few months. (Sorry, I couldn't help it. Luke is an easy target. And for WAMMA, THIS IS A JOKE)

WEC May Invade Mexico and Your Wallet.

szucconi — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:41:05 -0000

Ariel Helwani reporting a jump to PPV for the WEC and a hop across the boarder into Mexico City. I think they could sell out, but how good will a PPV sell.

"I think we could be (ready for pay-per-view in 2009)," Harris said. "I think you'll agree that the key to pay-per-view is having fights that people are willing to pay to watch. That's what pay-per-view is all about. I think that we've produced shows that have had fights like that, but I also believe that it takes time to build your brand, which we're doing. So, I think towards the end of '09 we could be ready and certainly 2010."

The make an interesting case for going to Mexico. It makes sense to me. A lot of there stars are Hispanic and they have done shows in New Mexico and Cali.

"...I know the UFC has interest in doing shows in Mexico, and I believe that if they went to Mexico, they would be very, very successful, as they have been pretty much everywhere they've gone. We do have some of the top Mexican/Hispanic fighters in the world in WEC. You know, we've taken Miguel down to Mexico for press tours, and the reaction has been huge. A lot of people know who Miguel is down there, so based on that, I think we can do well doing a show down there."

I guess it's a race to see who gets to Mexico first; WEC of UFC. My guess is Zuffa wins either way. I never understood why they didn't go to Mexico and Canada before places like England and the upcoming German show.

Image via www.everyjoe.com

Laying the Ground Work for SoS Stats and Building a House

szucconi — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:02:42 -0000

JCS from fightmatrix.com and Leland Roling formerly with MMA-Analyst.com now doing great work on BE in the fan posts have been posting on Strength of schedule, the fight matrix post and Leland's post. They really got my brain going about this useful stat. SoS is used in the calculation of BCS rankings and talked about in college basketball rankings and seeding for the torney, but it can be applied to other sports. I think it will be useful to judge a persons body of work at a glance in MMA. It is by no means a be all end all determining factor in a fight, but an indicator of how a person has faired over a career. A fighters record falls short in doing this for obvious reasons. Take a look at the record of Randy Couture and Jason Reinhardt to make this point clear.

The approaches taken by JCS and Leland are similar to those taken by other sports. Leland is close to the BCS calculation and JCS is a more standard approach, but MMA poses some unique issues. Namely, careers span ten or fifteen years and we don't have a nice tight season in which to analyze. JCS uses the sliding window of three years around a given fight to gain this "point in time" perspective. Another issue is the schedules lack uniformity. A fighter can be more or less active. A football team may play an easy schedule, but they all play about the same number of games. So there is a margin for error when fighters are less active. JCS uses a min of 100 opponent fights to gauge a schedule.

The BCS approach that Leland takes is good. It is very close to the real BCS calculation. He has done some filtering to address the issues I have stated that make MMA <> to college football, but it is a great start. There are, however, a few rules that the BCS uses that Leland didn't apply. Well, one really that stuck out at me. How D-II schools factor into the records of D-I schools. A win is dropped, but a loss counts. How can this be translated to MMA? What is the D-I and D-II of MMA? What I propose is that wins count if the loser has fought in a major organization and losses always count. What is a major organization is open for debate. And should a time window be applied to that question, I am not sure. It has everything to do with how an opponent's record is calculated.

The things I like about the method JCS uses is the sliding window put in place for a uniform schedule, but I don't think is solves anything. It makes the stat more timely, but it also trims the sample drastically. You can't know how big a win was for a fighter for 18 months. Logically that is true, but that's a long time. I think the proper way to do it is to look at all fights in the past three years. This will take some tweaking and I am sure JCS and Leland will make some changes and play with the numbers a bit, but a lot can happen in three years.

As in keeping with the BCS calculations, head to head match ups should be taken out when calculating an opponent's record. To see a sample of the BCS calculation. I will be running the numbers as soon as I can gather the data and get geeky with some sql. But I want to discuss some of the issues and mitigate the unique issue and complexities that MMA poses. Any ideas? Questions?