Elite level mma is boring

[Eric Silva 2.0]

I’m not saying anything other than Bonnar v Griffin is invalid. Upon further thought, I think MMA has severely stagnated because of the ruleset. The unified ruleset is garbage, guys like Gary can fail a takedown and are not punished for it by knees etc, this means guys can go and train to just be adequate everywhere rather than specialists. Gary can train to be OK at striking and OK at wrestling because he doesn’t even need to complete his TD’s. Theyre all just tools to avoid damage and avoid actually fighting.

Agree with your point. I guess I'm zooming in on the fact that a guy can be very good everywhere and figure out how to collect points for 3 or 5 rounds if he has an advantage somewhere, especially getting out to an early lead and coasting the last round (3 round fight) or 2 (5 round fight). In boxing, it's harder to run for 12 rounds. It's easy to touch and run for 3 rounds or do the Merab (keep on going for takedowns).

I still enjoy watching it since I love MMA, but the casual wants no part of this type of stuff.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Fighters “mixing it up” which means going for a takedown when your opponent is not expecting it, is boring. It gives a break from the action to both men and it’s garbage watching two high level fighters cancel eachother out and waste 3 minutes of a round doing nothing with the commentators trying to justify it to the fans “this is so gruelling… for the people at home this is gruelling”

MMA as an idea is very interesting. You get a boxer and a Muay Thai guy and see which discipline is better. That’s how it started. Now what we’re watching is very far removed from that, it’s mixed martial artist gamers dragging fights out for 25 minutes doing everything they can to avoid taking and seemingly inflicting damage

I think MMA will not survive past its infancy. Boxing is supposed to be a restricted form of fighting, but boxing represents the “fight” the argument between two people even more. Boxing fights are won by attrition, mma matches are won by choices

I’ve watched this sport for 18 years, as soon as I heard it existed I was a fan, but long gone are the days of Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva. Now all the legit guys are being forced to sit on the sidelines for years like Aspinall, you have women talking absolute rubbish in the booth, and you have cards stacked with nobodies in the Apex

Lmao no .

Come on man .. you've been watching for a long time and are a solid poster on here but dont go down this path to casual fandom ..

The real issue with the sport right now is that it's become stagnant in that the evolution has slowed down or isn't progressing we need more innovators..

Right now most gym and fighters are more concentrated on how fucking big can i be for certain division more then innovating the game ...and thats because nobody is addressing these massive weight cuts...

Thats the real issue....you take that away and the skill of each guy starts to matter alot more and leaves more time for gym and guys to focus on innovating the game and getting better..then just focusing on how the hell am i gunna make 155lbs when im 195lbs ( yes im talking about you Paddy ) ...

Also you can argue the sport went through a dramatic change already in the likes of Silva/DJ and GSP etc so of course there's always a lull after the great growth, after a peak there must be a valley...

We could just be in a valley..

 

[Marko Polo]

Agree with your point. I guess I'm zooming in on the fact that a guy can be very good everywhere and figure out how to collect points for 3 or 5 rounds if he has an advantage somewhere, especially getting out to an early lead and coasting the last round (3 round fight) or 2 (5 round fight). In boxing, it's harder to run for 12 rounds. It's easy to touch and run for 3 rounds or do the Merab (keep on going for takedowns).

I still enjoy watching it since I love MMA, but the casual wants no part of this type of stuff.

I think what I actually want to see is a stand up fight where the option for a takedown is there - I don’t want them to be limited in any way, but it’s too heavily incentivised at the minute to just lay on someone or hold them against the cage. There needs to be a change in the ruleset to instil more urgency during grappling exchanges, and when that happens it should make fights for exciting. If there’s a risk of a knee when you fail a takedown, or the judges start favouring stuffed takedowns maybe we will see something.

Off the top of my head here’s an idea - if you secure a takedown you have 30 seconds to advance position or attempt a submission or you get stood up.

 

[Steve Fox]

Elite MMA is top 3 of every division at best.

Who is elite at

125? Nobody
135? Merab, Umar, maybe Sean or Yan
145? Volk, Max
155? Mak, Arman, Ilia is questionable
170? Shavkat alone
185? Borz alone
205? Ank alone, maybe Poatan
265? Tom alone

With all due respect, that's one hell of a biased list Sherbro.

 

[TheMaster]

I just find it interesting because for years I’ve seen boxing as a more restricted form of fighting, but I don’t think that’s true. A fight isn’t about taking your opponent down and submitting them because you’re physically stronger or even getting a flash KO, it’s supposed to be a back and forth argument, a conversation where you convince the other guy you’re better, we don’t really see that in MMA. People don’t have to dig deep in mma - when the going gets tough a lot of fighters roll over and give up a sub. There are ways out in MMA that don’t exist in boxing. There is hugging in boxing, I’m not saying it’s perfect by any means.

Boxing is obviously much more restricted in rules, but those restrictions can significantly boost the types of combat people want to see in a prize fight which is action.

No one chooses to tune into dry humping on the floor in guard, although the ref has the option to stand them up for inactivity and make them engage more.

Part of the outs in MMA is because it is really an attempt to make martial arts a sport, which it wasn't originally. Martial art is about winning in the most efficient way possible, so even if someone js better trained in most areas and more dedicated if he doesn't know a specif defence to a hold he can get subbed quickly. This is the 'easy way out' you could say but its not excuse in self defence and MMA began from this perspective but its not great for entertainment as a spectator sport.

This is why pro wrestling originated - catch wrestling was real but no fun if someone just hooked someone with a toe hold in one minute. People want drama which is where the feuds and storylines come in as well.

I've been a fan since '97 but basically am a casual now for the last several years I only watch the occasional big fights but still pay attention from a martial arts perspective of what works rather than entertainment value for the most part.

I think what I actually want to see is a stand up fight where the option for a takedown is there - I don’t want them to be limited in any way, but it’s too heavily incentivised at the minute to just lay on someone or hold them against the cage. There needs to be a change in the ruleset to instil more urgency during grappling exchanges, and when that happens it should make fights for exciting. If there’s a risk of a knee when you fail a takedown, or the judges start favouring stuffed takedowns maybe we will see something.

Off the top of my head here’s an idea - if you secure a takedown you have 30 seconds to advance position or attempt a submission or you get stood up.

They tried this in Strikeforce I believe, was an inovative and good idea for more standup heavy action but UFC obviously stuffed it when they took over.

 

[benebox]

Which is why we appreciate fighters like Jiri even more. He is there to kill or be killed.

 

[ricc505]

I like both.
B and C League are more accessable live.

 

[usernamee]

Which is why we appreciate fighters like Jiri even more. He is there to kill or be killed.

Reminded me of this interview where he got asked about the round scoring after the Hill fight and he almost looked disgusted at the mere thought of points

 

[mangokush]

The UFC should become a mixed striking combat organisation only and ban grappling/wrestling since casuals who pay for PPVs and tickets find grappling/wrestling boring and only want striking

 

[13Seconds]

For people who don't know anything about mma, sure.
Low tier people like low tier stuff.
People who aren't musicians and don't know anything about music like stuff like rap and dance.
Chess is boring to people who are bad at it.
Sex aint great for dudes who lost their weiner from a freak accident with a lawnmower.
Books are boring for people who never learned how to read.
Movies are boring for blind people.
Lemme guess, u like ur steak well done too?

Are you saying rap is trash?

 

[markantony20]

Fighters “mixing it up” which means going for a takedown when your opponent is not expecting it, is boring. It gives a break from the action to both men and it’s garbage watching two high level fighters cancel eachother out and waste 3 minutes of a round doing nothing with the commentators trying to justify it to the fans “this is so gruelling… for the people at home this is gruelling”

MMA as an idea is very interesting. You get a boxer and a Muay Thai guy and see which discipline is better. That’s how it started. Now what we’re watching is very far removed from that, it’s mixed martial artist gamers dragging fights out for 25 minutes doing everything they can to avoid taking and seemingly inflicting damage

I think MMA will not survive past its infancy. Boxing is supposed to be a restricted form of fighting, but boxing represents the “fight” the argument between two people even more. Boxing fights are won by attrition, mma matches are won by choices

I’ve watched this sport for 18 years, as soon as I heard it existed I was a fan, but long gone are the days of Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva. Now all the legit guys are being forced to sit on the sidelines for years like Aspinall, you have women talking absolute rubbish in the booth, and you have cards stacked with nobodies in the Apex

If we’re being honest the days of finding out which style of fighting is over and people realised the best style is every style together.

Much like how back in the day there were 50 round boxing matches which were basically just bum fights between two guys with granite chins it’s not highly technical guys like Mayweather or Bivol.

 

[markantony20]

125? Nobody

Pantoja is incredibly elite

 

[r-harper-1]

MMA was better when fighters had more holes in their game …..Ring , Stomps and soccer kicks also helped

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Hahahaha this little woman

Oh I'm sorry, did I not walk into a thread about you crying?

Yeah, I guess I'll take my emotions elsewhere

*edit* wait, do you think I'm targeting you? I called 20 people idiots this weekend alone, you're just among them. Man, what a victim

 

[DougieJones]

Too many guys now are ATHLETES who can fight and not FIGHTERS who are athletic


They just don't have that dawg in 'em

 

[DougieJones]

Reminded me of this interview where he got asked about the round scoring after the Hill fight and he almost looked disgusted at the mere thought of points

How can any fight fan not like Jiri

 

[colorles]

Fighters “mixing it up” which means going for a takedown when your opponent is not expecting it, is boring. It gives a break from the action to both men and it’s garbage watching two high level fighters cancel eachother out and waste 3 minutes of a round doing nothing with the commentators trying to justify it to the fans “this is so gruelling… for the people at home this is gruelling”

MMA as an idea is very interesting. You get a boxer and a Muay Thai guy and see which discipline is better. That’s how it started. Now what we’re watching is very far removed from that, it’s mixed martial artist gamers dragging fights out for 25 minutes doing everything they can to avoid taking and seemingly inflicting damage

I think MMA will not survive past its infancy. Boxing is supposed to be a restricted form of fighting, but boxing represents the “fight” the argument between two people even more. Boxing fights are won by attrition, mma matches are won by choices

I’ve watched this sport for 18 years, as soon as I heard it existed I was a fan, but long gone are the days of Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva. Now all the legit guys are being forced to sit on the sidelines for years like Aspinall, you have women talking absolute rubbish in the booth, and you have cards stacked with nobodies in the Apex

Hey now, if the UFC hired this woman to commentate fights, I might even start watching some WMMA

 

[Lycandroid]

Elite MMA is top 3 of every division at best.

Who is elite at

125? Nobody
135? Merab, Umar, maybe Sean or Yan
145? Volk, Max
155? Mak, Arman, Ilia is questionable
170? Shavkat alone
185? Borz alone
205? Ank alone, maybe Poatan
265? Tom alone

If you really think there are only a dozen or so elite fighters in mma then you truly retarded

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Just watch low level MMA then. There's a Samurai Fight House card on YouTube today which will be full of Argentinian and Uruguay bums trying to take each other's heads off with Julieta Martinez 's brother being a decent prospect.

 

[World eater]

The UFC should become a mixed striking combat organisation only and ban grappling/wrestling since casuals who pay for PPVs and tickets find grappling/wrestling boring and only want striking

No, the UFC should just unban knees tdo and soccer kicks just like they unbanned the 12-6 elbows and everything becomes fun again.