But its the truth. The vast majority of MMA fighters cant be called masters of anything, they're just a jack of all trades not excelling at anything. it wouldn't be fair to call Jon Jones a great kickboxer because he's good for MMA standards when they are guys who dedicate their lives to it and have forgotten more about kickboxing technique than Jones has ever known. The great kickboxer is a master of his craft, the good for MMA standards kickboxer isn't a master of that craft.
Are you even a fan of MMA? Because you don't seem to get what it is about at all.
What craft is it you speak of, martial arts mayhaps?
The kickboxers, boxers and wrestlers you seem to idolize are completely inferior to the supreme mixed martial artist, for the simple reason that they need rules to protect them.
What you claim is Jones' lack of fundamentals is in reality the style that is a result of what a mastermind has deemed the most useful in regards to his personal potential. The rest of the techniques you claim he's never been taught have actually been DISCARDED.
I realize this might be difficult for you, but if you think about it, you'll start to see how the style these "masters of their craft" use are completely dependant on their opponent acting a certain way and refraining from certain techniques. And their response if these rules are broken is not something smart to counteract it, like it is in MMA, instead it's "HEY THAT'S NOT FAIR :'("
Martial arts is The Art of Defending Yourself and Disabling Your Enemy. How good are you really at defending yourself if you have the need to hide behind rules?
Just look at boxing, no shoving, no spinning for added momentum, you can't even rightly call it the art of the fist. Look at wrestling, you're not even allowed to wrestle invidual limbs. What Jones did to Glovers arm is PURE wrestling, the greeks would be in awe. While the modern wrestlers would be crying about rules being broken.
It inhibits innovation and makes the whole game predictable. That's why MMA is the far superior sport. The rules are all meant to lengthen the career of the athletes, not reduce their chances of getting creative or finding new ways of attack.
Gustafsson is a fantastic boxer, because he doesn't sacrifice his balance, (which would make his TDD terrible) he doesn't lean far out with his hands low (since that would allow even a wrestler to land a headkick) and he incorporates takedowns into his boxing. (because it's a great way to tire the opponent and put ideas into his head)
How are the pure boxers superior when they stand hardly a chance if they can't tell him not to do that? how are they "masters of their craft" when their craft is a fabricated mess?
The true craft is martial arts, and the MMA proffessionals are the masters of it. :icon_evil
