Author: Kyle Symes

UFC: After Years of Wrestling Ruling the Belts, Is Striking Making a Comeback?

Ask any MMA fan or analyst what the best base for MMA is and the majority will say wrestling. Next to wrestling, the next closest answer is probably jiu-jitsu.But what about striking? During the early UFC tournaments, fans and fighters were in awe of h…

Ask any MMA fan or analyst what the best base for MMA is and the majority will say wrestling. Next to wrestling, the next closest answer is probably jiu-jitsu.

But what about striking?

During the early UFC tournaments, fans and fighters were in awe of how a tiny Brazilian could win a fight against muscular behemoths. When everyone started to train jiu-jitsu, wrestlers made their way to the sport and dominated people on the ground.

Fighters like Dan Severn and Mark Coleman used their wrestling to take opponents down and break them.

Then, a fighter like Maurice Smith came along and changed our whole outlook on fighting. A heavy underdog, Smith survived the wrestling of Coleman and won the UFC title.

Smith’s victory, along with Chuck Liddell’s reign of terror, led many people to believe the most dominant discipline was striking.

In recent years, fans still tend to side with wrestlers due to the nature of how fights are scored. A takedown in a round is just as good to a knockdown for some MMA judges. The ability to decide where a fight goes is also a huge benefit to having a background in wrestling.

But if you take a look at all the champions in the UFC, you could argue that striking is making a comeback much like it did in the early UFC days.

All but one of the champions utilize their stand-up game to win their fights. (The lone exception in this case being Georges St. Pierre, but he has shown the ability to win a fight on his feet as well.)

Junior dos Santos has some of the most explosive and powerful hands in MMA. Jon Jones utilizes his strong wrestling at times, but has also used his vast array of striking to dominate foes on his feet.

Anderson Silva is a Muay Thai wrecking machine and Frankie Edgar has some of the best boxing and footwork in MMA. Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz both have grappling backgrounds but are more known for their striking skills.

Moving beyond the title holders, look at the top five fighters in each prospective weight class.

Many of the top contenders like Cain Velasquez, Dan Henderson and Nick Diaz use their striking skills despite having an advantage over many of the fighters they face.

Wrestling and jiu-jitsu will still be important aspects of any MMA fighter’s skill set. But striking should be just as important, evident by the amount of stand-up fighters we see rising to the top of the rankings lately.

Like before, it will most likely result in another “life-circle,” where striking takes over as the top discipline of the trade only to be outdone by wrestling again. Eventually MMA will reach a point where fighters are experts in all areas instead of just one particular facet.

Until that day comes, we will always be answering the question of what discipline is the most important or if striking/grappling is making a comeback into MMA.

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UFC on Fox 2: The Story of Each Fight Through a Picture

UFC on Fox 2 is in the books and we now have two title matches in place. We also saw the rise of a new middleweight contender and the arrival of a big fighter.There has been a lot of storylines to emerge from the event, particularly with the two main e…

UFC on Fox 2 is in the books and we now have two title matches in place. We also saw the rise of a new middleweight contender and the arrival of a big fighter.

There has been a lot of storylines to emerge from the event, particularly with the two main event bouts. There was also a story to be told in every fight. Instead of giving a long list of play-by-play commentary, I believe a picture can say more than I can (a picture is worth a 1,000 words, right?).

From the opening prelim to the dominant performance by Rashad Evans, UFC on Fox 2 was littered with great images that tell a story.

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UFC on Fox 2 Results: Michael Bisping Is Due Some Respect

Michael Bisping may have gotten a raw deal with the judges scoring, but he should be getting plenty of respect from MMA fans following his performance on the UFC on Fox 2 event.Bisping stepped in on short notice to take on the No. 2 middleweight in the…

Michael Bisping may have gotten a raw deal with the judges scoring, but he should be getting plenty of respect from MMA fans following his performance on the UFC on Fox 2 event.

Bisping stepped in on short notice to take on the No. 2 middleweight in the world in Chael Sonnen and performed very well.

Most MMA fans were already previewing a Sonnen rematch with Anderson Silva and expecting Bisping to simply be a sacrificial lamb. Good thing “The Count” didn’t get the memo.

The Brit stopped a handful of Sonnen takedown attempts and even held the Olympic-caliber wrestler against the cage for a considerable amount of time. When Sonnen was able to get the fight to floor, Bisping worked hard to get back to his feet.

Sonnen said in the post-fight press conference that he never really felt comfortable in the bout and looking back, it’s clear that Bisping did everything he could to throw Sonnen off balance.

I’m sure the last thing Sonnen expected out of Bisping was for him to hold him against the fence and beat the wrestler at his own game. Even if Sonnen managed to take Bisping down, “The Count” either maneuvered back to his feet or looked to slap on a submission.

When Bruce Buffer began reading off the judge’s scores, you could see Bisping grimace after hearing the scorecards being read. He knew he was going to get screwed and shouldn’t have let it to the judges.

Regardless of the loss, Bisping deserves a lot of respect for this fight. His stock in the company likely won’t dip too far, if at all. It may even rise given the fact Bisping took the No. 2 middleweight to his limit and did so on short notice.

Both men were cordial with each other at the post-fight press conference and when asked if he thinks Bisping is title-worthy, Sonnen praised his former adversary.

Bisping was one fight away from realizing his goal but he won’t fall off the face of the Earth. Other than Sonnen, it would be a tough task to argue anyone outside of Bisping deserves the next title shot.

It seems as most fans agree with this sentiment as well judging by the online reaction after the official decision was read. Maybe Bisping has turned the corner with fans and can still be his brash self and have a strong fan base a la Nick Diaz.

Hopefully Bisping can use the loss to motivate him for his next bout while keeping his exciting fighting style.

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UFC on Fox 2 Results: What’s Next for Demian Maia?

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia came up short in his attempt to win back-to-back fights by losing a split decision fight to Chris Weidman. The majority of the bout went as one would expect to see from a standup battle between two grapplers. Most of…

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia came up short in his attempt to win back-to-back fights by losing a split decision fight to Chris Weidman.

The majority of the bout went as one would expect to see from a standup battle between two grapplers. Most of the exchanges were ugly, winding punches, but there were a few bright spots of activity between the two men.

One thing is for sure, Maia needs to work on his cardio.

I’m not sure if he had a tough weight cut or just simply gassed out, but in the third round, Maia looked awful. There was one takedown attempt that saw Maia simply bend over at the hips and collapse into Weidman’s legs.

It’s good that Maia is working on his striking, but he may have lost sight of what got him to the big dance—his submission skills.

Even if Maia failed to get a takedown, the fight likely would’ve went to the ground where Maia’s jiu-jitsu can end the fight at a moment’s notice.

To his credit, Weidman was able to neutralize the jiu-jitsu of Maia in the handful of takedowns he was able to secure.

As for what’s next for the former title challenger, a rematch against Weidman could be a possibility.

The fight may have been uneventful, but it would be interesting to see what a fight would look like with both men having a full camp behind them.

If that rematch doesn’t happen, there’s two possible opponents that could fit the bill for Maia’s next opponents.

A bout against Alan Belcher would be an interesting grappler-against-striker matchup. And, Belcher hasn’t fought since September after making a return from a career threatening injury.

Recently, Dana White discussed a possible return to the Octagon for Nate Marquardt and seemed to be fairly positive that it could happen. A rematch with Marquardt would give us the bout we were “cheated” to by Marquardt’s thunderous punch.

Whatever the case may be—and whoever the opponent is—Maia needs to have a better showing than he did in Chicago. We know Maia is better than what he looked like tonight.

Let’s hope he knows it, too.

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Dana White Open to a Nate Marquardt Return, Not Anthony Johnson

Putting yourself in Dana White’s doghouse generally means you can kiss your UFC career goodbye. Or does it?Not necessarily, according to White’s interview with Michael David Smith of MMAFighting.com. The UFC president spoke about two fighters in partic…

Putting yourself in Dana White‘s doghouse generally means you can kiss your UFC career goodbye. Or does it?

Not necessarily, according to White’s interview with Michael David Smith of MMAFighting.com. The UFC president spoke about two fighters in particular that have been removed from the UFC roster—Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson.

In regards to Johnson, White was adamant that Johnson needed to work on his career before making a return to the UFC.

“He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things he needs to do. If he does, we can talk.”

White doesn’t seem very sympathetic, given the stories about Johnson’s reported health concerns leading up to him missing weight.

Although White is quick to dismiss a “Return of the Rumble,” he was quick to suggest that Marquardt could find himself in the Octagon soon.

“I don’t dislike Nate,” White said. “I like Nate very much. We’ll see what happens.”

White was furious with Marquardt’s medical issues that lead to him being released. So furious, in fact, that White didn’t bother to let people know via an official press release that Marquardt was handed his walking papers.

I, like many people, were critical of Johnson’s weight issues, but Marquardt has had his fair share of troubles. Between the steroid/PED issues and some dirty fighting at times, Marquardt certainly has a rap sheet in the MMA world.

It certainly seems like White feels it’s more important for fighters to be on weight than to be worried about what they do to their bodies.

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UFC: Nate Quarry Speaks out Against Sponsorship Ban

The topic of fighter pay is becoming quite the hot topic in the MMA world. With all sorts of fighters coming out about their pay as a result of ESPN’s controversial video, Nate Quarry is speaking out against a new UFC policy. With the recent news about…

The topic of fighter pay is becoming quite the hot topic in the MMA world. With all sorts of fighters coming out about their pay as a result of ESPN’s controversial video, Nate Quarry is speaking out against a new UFC policy.

With the recent news about Zuffa banning sponsors that are related to guns, knives, ammo and hunting, many MMA agents will be on the hunt to fill ad space on their fighters’ shorts.

Quarry believes the ban will be very detrimental to fighters and their careers. He took to the UG forums to put his two cents on the issue. While some people have made good points about why the sponsor ban is a good thing for the sport, Quarry gives us a look into the human aspect of the ban.

“I can’t tell you how many times a sponsor showed up at just the right time and gave me food money. Literally.” (UG Forums)

Quarry shared one particular story about how Toyo Tires came into his life at just the right point in his career.

When I fought Pete Sell the second time I was sponsored by Toyo tires. For two fights I had their logo on my shorts. For what? A set of tires. That would be about $800. $400 for two fights on primetime that have been shown over and over. Why did I do it? Because I was driving around on my spare and one other tire was filled with fix a flat. The belts were showing on the other tires. (UG Forums)

Now I will admit that Quarry’s story isn’t universally true for every fighter, but there’s no doubting that sponsorship dollars can really make or break a fighter’s career financially.

Matt Mitrione fired his agent on-air for not getting him what he felt was proper sponsor money.

Quarry breaks down the expenses an average fighter pays, and while most of his claims about needing separate coaches from those at his gym can be disputed, it’s clear that he feels heavily affected by the sponsorship ban.

The ban will likely have as many supporters as people who are against it, but the bottom line is that quite a handful of fighters are losing some revenue.

Will they end up finding something else to replace sponsors like “The Gun Store”? Absolutely. It’s an adjustment fighters will need to make in order to survive; something Quarry even admits in his post that he’s willing to do.

Fighters will still find a way to get paid, but as Quarry says, “having those sponsors makes the ride easier.” (UG Forums)

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