Who's really the best?

[Insipid]

Thinking back to the days of early UFC and Pride a lot of people seem to reminisce fondly about the old rules and systems. I've probably said it before, but the thing that really sticks out to me from those days are the tournaments and the element of surprise - it's nearly impossible to strategically train for a single opponent when you're going to fight 3 times in a short span.

I know it's probably splitting hairs to distinguish between the best planner and the best fighter, but if someone is fighting with you, you don't usually get the benefit of training for an optimum peak athletic performance specifically designed to make them suck at what they do best beforehand. "Hold on while I check out some film on you...nice axe kick. See you in April. Pussy."

You just get axe kicked. Or you're good at spotting it and you deftly dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge it like Dwayne Hoobler. Whatever the outcome, it's based on skills and talents developed prior to the event which led up to the fight.

I've floated the idea of a blind competition before - 4 fighters from each weight class represented on the card would be selected to fight, and their opponent would be drawn by lots at the weigh in. You wouldn't know whether Cowboy was going to fight against Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit or Demian Maia until the weigh-ins, and neither would the fighters. They'd still train and have a full camp but they wouldn't know until the day before the fight who that would be. You could still set main and co-main events for things like rematches, grudge matches, championship fights, title eliminators - really any story you can sell now, you can still sell.

The main narrative shifts from "I can kick his ass" to "I can kick anybody's ass tonight".

Mythically talented fighters like Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, MM & GSP (and even Conor MacGregor) would probably have been/be champions in such an org based on talent alone. Jones and GSP would have faced a lot more adversity and perhaps even had slightly worse records. Selling gatekeepers - even the boring ones - becomes easier.

I have two questions - Do you think you'd buy a card like that?

Who do you think would benefit most and least from a system that leaned away from preparing for specific fighters and more towards preparing to fight anyone?

TLDR: No, because you're lazy. Maybe because I'm lazy, but no.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

I think that would kill your ability to market pay per views. I find the idea interesting though

 

[Grijswaarde]

Are you saying that GSP and Jones fought hand picked opponents? I'm pretty sure they cleaned out their division.

That said, this will never catch on since fights like Conor-Diaz or Lesnar-Cain sell more than blind tournaments imo. But i do like the idea and would watch.

 

[Leinster Rugby]

Can't see any fighters agreeing to have non specific training camps/opponents

 

[HUGHPHUG]

I'd watch the shit out of a tournament like that, it would be great fun

I assume a blind tournament must have been done at some point in MMA history at some level? I don't recall one though

 

[SMYD]

I'm the best.

 

[Jon E Sligo]

Your pitching to the wrong crowd mate, slide some DM's to Dana Cherry top is your best bet.

 

[loisestrad]

The idea is interesting. Obviously in "amateurs" fights (say, the Olympics) or any sort of tournament format, you oftentimes don't know your opponent untill a day or two/three days before the actual match/fight.

That said, that's part of the pro game, in boxing and mma: You get to prepare yourself for months to face one opponent, and you're at your best when facing that particular opponent.

 

[UpInThis]

I would buy it. I really miss the tournament format. It was much more dramatic, intense and exciting.

 

[MCS]

It's the way fighting is supposed to be. You didn't get to gameplan when someone attacked you or when you fought in a tourney. A style of self defense against all styles. MMA is based on the surprise factor anyway, this makes it more unpredictable and adaptability becomes key. It could happen in a small show but not in the UFC, sadly. Have to sell stories.

 

[wonderbread]

Your mom

 

[DragonRising]

The "really" champion


But fo reals, the hw champion is normally the best around, everyone else cut to avoid or is too small to fight him.

 

[DarkneT]

Jon Jones is the current 'best'

He's a cunt but boy is he good

 

[rurouni]

 

[Insipid]

Are you saying that GSP and Jones fought hand picked opponents? I'm pretty sure they cleaned out their division.

That said, this will never catch on since fights like Conor-Diaz or Lesnar-Cain sell more than blind tournaments imo. But i do like the idea and would watch.

I'm not saying that GSP and Jones fought hand picked opponents at all, I'm saying that they would lose their strongest element, which in my opinion is game planning. Jones is a beast, I'm a huge fan of his style. When he fights a guy prepared he generally takes it to them where they are strongest and makes them look shitty. I don't think he could have made his way up as easily if he didn't know who to prepare for - though he's still talented enough to beat most of the division anyway, if not in as devastating a fashion.

I don't think it requires doing away with fun fights like Conor-Diaz or Lesnar-Cain - those kinds of fights would still happen as headliners for cards and you can sell the shit out of fighter stories without all of the fake "i hate that guy" hype.

Fighters would still get a full camp to prepare for peak athletic performances, only the majority of fights on the card would be blind after the top 2-3.

Too bad it seems most people agree that it wouldn't catch on, I think it would just require a balance of old and new promotional tactics to create a really interesting dynamic.

 

[Insipid]

Your mom

I know you think so, but she's actually only like top 5.

 

[Grijswaarde]

I'm not saying that GSP and Jones fought hand picked opponents at all, I'm saying that they would lose their strongest element, which in my opinion is game planning. Jones is a beast, I'm a huge fan of his style. When he fights a guy prepared he generally takes it to them where they are strongest and makes them look shitty. I don't think he could have made his way up as easily if he didn't know who to prepare for - though he's still talented enough to beat most of the division anyway, if not in as devastating a fashion.

I don't think it requires doing away with fun fights like Conor-Diaz or Lesnar-Cain - those kinds of fights would still happen as headliners for cards and you can sell the shit out of fighter stories without all of the fake "i hate that guy" hype.

Fighters would still get a full camp to prepare for peak athletic performances, only the majority of fights on the card would be blind after the top 2-3.

Too bad it seems most people agree that it wouldn't catch on, I think it would just require a balance of old and new promotional tactics to create a really interesting dynamic.

Ah ok i misinterpreted you, agreed as far as planning goes.

 

[SpiderCrawl]

Sakuraba.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

I like the idea, im sure the fighters/managers/coaches wont though

 

[Insipid]

I like the idea, im sure the fighters/managers/coaches wont though

While I can see some fighters having unique problems with this kind of fight, I think that just as many fighters would embrace the situation. I can't think of a better proving ground for "any fight, any night" than a fight where you don't know who you might face out of 3 other competitors, and there are a lot of exciting fighters who I believe would embrace such a transition, at least publicly.