Why so few fighters like Thompson and Machida?

migeru29

migeru29

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Which reason do you consider more doable?

1. The technique is very hard to learn, and other striking styles like kick boxing, and muay thai are "easier" to master? In other words you need to be kind of "special" (natural talent) and/or years of experience to be able to master this fighting style?

2. Top MMA coaches are still skeptical because this fighting techniques are something "new" to MMA and cannot be considered something proven and/or reliable?

3. This fighting style is a myth, meaning that it is really not optimal for MMA (other than as a complement) and Thompson and Machida are really just that good of a fighter meaning that the could be equally if not more dominant using a more common "MMA striking style"?
 
4. Not as many people who practice karate at a high level are interested in coming into MMA compared to wrestlers, BJJ guys, kickboxers and so forth. Similarly to judo.
 
Thank god. That boring point fighting style (unless there is a safe opening) is OVERRATED.

These guys are actually easy to beat when you give them respect as fighters, but zero respect because of their styles.
 
Good question.

Honestly thought fighters were going to be adding Karate just as much of a base as BJJ, muay thai, etc. after seeing Lyoto's success whether to have an advantage or be able to deal with someone who has skill in Karate.
 
Mikey Palangio said:
Thank god. That boring point fighting style (unless there is a safe opening) is OVERRATED.

These guys are actually easy to beat when you give them respect as fighters, but zero respect because of their styles.
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WOAHHH watch out sherdoggers this guy right here is SUPER EDGY he might CUT YOU cause he's SO EDGY
 
L0ki said:
Good question.

Honestly thought fighters were going to be adding Karate just as much of a base as BJJ, muay thai, etc. after seeing Lyoto's success whether to have an advantage or be able to deal with someone who has skill in Karate.
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I think not as many people who are knowledgeable in karate are interested in getting into MMA, both on the fighting and training side of it. So even if fighters wanted to add karate it wouldn't be as simple as adding boxing, wrestling, BJJ or muay thai which have tons of trainers involved in MMA.
 
Too boring of a style to imitate.


Plus, wrasslers are too lazy to learn another boring style anyways.
 
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Machida was raised from childhood by a karate master. Did sumo, muay thai, BJJ. His entire life is martial arts. You don't get that from a scrappy kid growing up in Brooklyn that fell in love with boxing after competing on the high school wrestling team. Machida is special.

It's kind of like asking why there aren't more sambo guys wrecking the UFC's divisions. Khabib does it because once again, his old man was a sambo champion and this Dagestani fuck grew up wrestling bears. Most other people don't start any kind of training until they're 12 or so, these guys started at like 4.

Being amazing at something isn't so much aptitude as it is practice. When you start playing piano at 5 you've been doing it for ten years at 15 and 20 at 25. Some dickhead that took it up at 17 is so far behind at that point they'll never catch up.
 
Because Just Bleed that's why they don't like them.
 
wasn't GSP originally a TKD guy? i can't recall atm I have a massive hangover
 
The karate style is very dangerous as there is less defense using a guard. It's a high risk high reward situation where as long as you don't lose the timing and the distance you can stay away from their punches. When the opponent has a very measured pressure game and the karateka isn't throwing in the open and only waiting for counters, it becomes easier to try and force their counter shot and put them in a bad position. Make no mistake though even some of mcgregors moves are karate moves, and some of the most beneficial aspects of the elusive karate style are making their way into the more standard mma styles.
 
It's a style that involves a lot of moving out of the way and countering, which some people call "running", especially fighters that lose to that style.
 
'Cause of all the upper deckers those dudes have laid in their houses.

Simple fact.
 
MVP is another example of a karate guy bringing his skills to the cage.

Scoggins as well.

But to answer the OPI think it's a combination of factors...

The vast majority of karate competitions are light contact and/or they stop after a point is scored. So most competitors don't have the mentality for non stop full contact. Not that they can't but they never develop it.

Even Machida said it took him awhile to find his style in the cage. And if you look as some of his earliest pre-UFC fights he stands and moves much more conventionally.

Plus there are so few high level karateka that have adapted their game to mma that there's not much in the way of coaching available.
 
You have to have started as a kid to be able to use it effectively at the elite level. Of course you can get some guys who could pick it up later in life and use it just fine but they are anomolies
 
Jedi Judah said:
You have to have started as a kid to be able to use it effectively at the elite level. Of course you can get some guys who could pick it up later in life and use it just fine but they are anomolies
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Stop contradicting yourself
 
cherryzero said:
MVP is another example of a karate guy bringing his skills to the cage.

Scoggins as well.

But to answer the OPI think it's a combination of factors...

The vast majority of karate competitions are light contact and/or they stop after a point is scored. So most competitors don't have the mentality for non stop full contact. Not that they can't but they never develop it.

Even Machida said it took him awhile to find his style in the cage. And if you look as some of his earliest pre-UFC fights he stands and moves much more conventionally.

Plus there are so few high level karateka that have adapted their game to mma that there's not much in the way of coaching available.
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fun fact: MVP started out training kung fu as a kid.
 
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