Evolution of MMA is more hype...

[FIghtxIQ]

Overall fighting has evolved tremendously because of the full contact sport aspect of mma. It's much more polished and a combination of styles to be effective instead of just specialized skill sets. All the years of full contact competition improved martial arts overall because we can see what works and doesn't work in a full contact setting. Of course there are things that different are different from street application of martial arts and sport application, and that's due to the rules, clothes, gloves, etc. Like kicks/knees to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, 12-6 elbows, strikes to the back of the head/neck/throat, etc are game changers.

But overall martial arts has evolved and will continue to evolve, we've only scratched the surface and slowly moving away from specialized styles to fully evolved mixed styles. There is still a lot of evolution that needs to happen because there are other styles that haven't been fully explored yet.

Everyone in the past have used the same base styles of muay thai/kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, bjj because of all the success of those styles from the inception of UFC. There are other base styles being used by fighters now that mma is expanding globally. The evolution in mma is when everything is fluid and you can't figure out what the original base style is anymore because it is a truly mixed style. Transitions are fluid and everything flows from striking to grappling, to scrambles, back to striking and everything in-between. There will be less stalling options.

 

[Iroh]

Lord Lobov would take on all contestants from the first 10 UFC's at the same time and KTFO! within a minute.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Lol

Demetrious Johnson would run through the first few UFC tournaments with hilarious ease.

Shamrock would've picked him up and thrown him through the bottom of the ring, probably with one hand.

 

[wwkirk]

Evolution of MMA is more hype than reality.

Hype and rule changes have you believing the opposite of what has actually happened... fighters haven't evolved, fights have evolved into sport. The rules used to be simple, no gloves, no rules just use your discipline to kick the other guy's ass. Now? Use a cup, if you just graze the cup you get 5 minutes, no finger or digit manipulation, no eye, throat or spine/back of the head strikes, no kicking a downed opponet in the head, you have to wear gloves, you get to rest between rounds, yes, there are now rounds and, most of all, WEIGHT CLASSES.

We see a lot more "talent" in today's fight game only because the rules and regulations, mentioned above, allow more people to participate. With no weightclasses how many Aldos, Demetrious Johnsons, McGregors, GSPs and jon joneses would you see? Hell, even the 265lb cap limits what is truly out there.

We can't complain too much because we have gotten to see some amazing fights and characters through "the evolution" but we can't forget that this isn't really fighting anymore. It has become a sport.

Instead of using the first few UFC events, or even pre-UFC MMA, as references, compare today's MMA to the early days of unified rules MMA. Then you'd be comparing apples to apples instead of two very different combat scenarios.

 

[TheAmericanGazelle]

I've been involved in MAs since 1998, and a serious fan of MMA specifically since 2003, and I have zero doubt we currently live in the most rich period of martial arts in the history of mankind, taking in everything from youth leagues to the Olympics to MMA.

In almost every sport, claiming the "ancients" were the "real" athletes/warriors/Gods is usually little more than nostalgia bias driven by some sort of emotional need on the part of the fan.

In martial arts, the difference is extremely obvious. It's true the *rate* of increase year-over-year is slowing compared to say 1992-2010, but that's because we started from such a low place before MMA became popular. Like some others have said, pretty much anyone on the UFC roster could go back to UFC 1 and stomp everyone.

 

[El Panteron]

Is your point you'd like to see kicks in the balls?
There is porn for that man

 

[Qays Stetkevich]

I think you're looking at this from the wrong direction (and then trying to put way to much thought into it). Basically, your argument makes no sense and is based off of a false premise.
The "evolution" of MMA is 90% how fighters train and how the sport has grown, allowing for more talent, more fight knowledge, better training/training partners, better nutrition and supplements, broader market, more money, etc.,
You didn't touch on any of those fundamental aspects of how "mma has evolved".

 

[Crusty Nuts]

Rogan called it "complete and total domination" ...the less than 5 minutes it took for Matt Hughes (170 lbs) to destroy Royce. Shamrock (212 lbs) couldn't do anything with Royce on either occasion, and Dan Severn (253 lbs) didn't know how to pass guard. What does this prove? Nothing...I just like posting the video of the cocky Royce getting smashed. Flame on.

<Lmaoo><Lmaoo>

 

[Freddy Fisticuffs]

Evolution of MMA is more hype than reality.

Hype and rule changes have you believing the opposite of what has actually happened... fighters haven't evolved, fights have evolved into sport. The rules used to be simple, no gloves, no rules just use your discipline to kick the other guy's ass. Now? Use a cup, if you just graze the cup you get 5 minutes, no finger or digit manipulation, no eye, throat or spine/back of the head strikes, no kicking a downed opponet in the head, you have to wear gloves, you get to rest between rounds, yes, there are now rounds and, most of all, WEIGHT CLASSES.

We see a lot more "talent" in today's fight game only because the rules and regulations, mentioned above, allow more people to participate. With no weightclasses how many Aldos, Demetrious Johnsons, McGregors, GSPs and jon joneses would you see? Hell, even the 265lb cap limits what is truly out there.

We can't complain too much because we have gotten to see some amazing fights and characters through "the evolution" but we can't forget that this isn't really fighting anymore. It has become a sport.

It is still fighting, not every street fight involves the biggest dude.

 

[kflo]

The mitigation of risk by stalling and stifling the fight has evolved the most over the years... also exploitation of the Unified Rules, gaming the system has become a monkey see monkey do part of the evolution as well.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

I just want to point out that the early UFC events were not a real proper gauge of where MMA was in that stage.

someone probably pointed that out already but oh well

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

You either know the history of the sport and know this is a bullshit example or you are just an idiot copying and pasting pictures with no real grasp of what you are trying to say. Which is it lol

 

[kflo]

You either know the history of the sport and know this is a bullshit example or you are just an idiot copying and pasting pictures with no real grasp of what you are trying to say. Which is it lol

there are plenty of examples of stalling fights from early days. this one obviously stands out irrespective of the fact there may have been some reasons they stalled the entire fight.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

there are plenty of examples of stalling fights from early days. this one obviously stands out irrespective of the fact there may have been some reasons they stalled the entire fight.

so you knew this was disingenuous and posted it anyway to prove a point. Bad look IMO

 

[kflo]

so you knew this was disingenuous and posted it anyway to prove a point. Bad look IMO

would it be a bad look to post that picture in a thread about the best examples of a boring stallfest fight of all time?

and don't be so serious.

 

[TrueFightFan]

Lol

Demetrious Johnson would run through the first few UFC tournaments with hilarious ease.

Trolling or no idea about what fighting really is?

 

[TrueFightFan]

If we put Jon Jones and Palhares in UFC 1 there would be a lot of insurance to pay for broken knees and shattered eyeballs.

Also, imagine Cro Cop and Wand sprawl on some shitty Ken shamrock and Royce Gracie takedowns and soccer kick them into living death

Come on man, never go full retard

Maybe, but again, I've seen all of the guys you mentioned get a break for a groin strike but you have gone full retard and missed my point... Fighters have become more athletic and through more advanced (enhanced) supplements and training, have become stronger, this occurs in all sports but the fighting, itself, hasn't evolved much.

 

[TrueFightFan]

So you want to see someone die because they get their windpipe crushed? Or in a wheelchair for life after getting spiked on their head?
Get off our phone. Stop posting. Delete your account.

No, I'm not asking for anyone's death but let's stop pretending some evolution has occurred.

 

[TrueFightFan]

It will probably take another 20 years until we have someone as talented as Jon Jones in the sport

Go to bed, jon.

 

[TrueFightFan]

1) It was always a sport. No weapons. Ref in the cage. No assistance from team-mates or gang-members. UFC 1 was to fighting what a zoo is to the savannah.

2) You are mighty nostalgic for the 90s for someone with a 2016-join-date.

Nostalgia has nothing to do with the observation. How many guys who cut so much weight would make it through a fight with no breaks?