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You’ve said before that ‘fighter safety should be primary concern for coaches/athletes/officials’ — has it not been, in your experience of MMA in Australia, or in general?
I haven’t seen any gross misconduct. If I had the context of my quote, in front of me, I may have a more in-depth answer here.
One current trend though, I find disturbing. The stand-up debate has made an impact on the sport. Many promoters openly encourage ‘action’, and referees are told to keep the action going. Boxers routinely circle, run and dance to keep distance and look for openings. In many boxing matches, this happens for the majority of a bout. With this strategy, few power punches are even attempted. I find that boring. In an MMA bout, I’d still find this boring — yet, I’ve never seen a fighter that runs from a striking altercation, put onto his back by a referee.
Now, grappling techniques are much more subtle than the ‘right-hook of death’. So why aren’t grapplers given the same respect as boxers? After all, we are constantly shifting our base (dancing, circling, running) to make new openings, but if we don’t throw big punches or make a fancy scramble, we’re stood back to our feet.
First, it inherently corrupts the integrity of a Mixed Martial Arts battle, as the mixing is at the referee’s discretion, not the athlete’s skill or will. That is wrong.
Second, it puts good grapplers back into a dangerous position. Many times, they worked hard to get that takedown. It may take a bit for them to really open an opponent up, but that process should be respected — just the same as a boxer who picks an opponent apart without going for the kill.
I’ve seen many bouts that were put back into a striker’s ballpark, though they were being completely controlled on the ground. I believe that the grinding process should be allowed to occur, and if a striker wants back to his feet — get up! A grappler has to get the takedown to avoid danger and fatigue. Why the double standard? Because it helps promotions fill highlight reels, with standing action that was manufactured by the promotion’s ideals of fighting. TV should not dictate sport.
Other than that, what’s right and what’s wrong with MMA in Australia right now?
What’s right? The sport is deservedly growing in popularity. Combat has been part of human history since the beginning, and we’re just now getting back to our roots. There were no divided systems before; combat was combat, not named sects like karate, kung fu, Muay Thai, wrestling, etc. The martial arts are growing back together, based on the fundamental truths of human expression and movement. Really, violence is taking the path that peace could follow. Imagine all the world’s religions dropping their individual names and uniting under their common principles: kindness, compassion, understanding, character, honesty, etc. What MMA has done is no less profound in essence. Walls are being broken down, in the name of truth and understanding.
What’s wrong? As above, those that live the life of a martial artist aren’t compensated properly. It’s tough in a capitalist market to make any business successful, but when there are a ton of middlemen in business, they eat up the profit margin.
Those that can only bring in one stream of revenue usually struggle. One has to be a gym owner, promoter, athlete manager and have a clothing company, just to pay a mortgage.
With the mainstream attention, hopefully the funds are directed to the roots that hold our sport in place. Aussie MMA has deep roots, and dry land. We’ll see how that changes in the next few years. I hope to be of great assistance.
What penalty should there be in Australian promotions for fighters not making weight?
Australia, specifically — are you kidding? Penalties for a fighter? Heck, there isn’t anything to penalise! I don’t see one Australian fighter that is a professional athlete, do you? Name me someone from Australia that makes a living as a competitor. Elvis [Sinosic]? No, he makes his living as an instructor. And his fight paydays didn’t come in Australia.
Before there are discussions of penalties, let’s discuss what there is to take away. It isn’t money! Can we suspend an athlete? No, as there are no commissions. Any suspension would simply be one promotion refusing to use an athlete, and maybe attempting to blackball an athlete with other promotions. And seeing how Aussie promoters work so well together (sarcasm), I doubt that is a possibility.
Common practice is a percentage of any fight purse offered. That is fair, and again, common. But really, Australia is in need of a regulating body that puts these common practices on paper and keeps them enforced to a degree. Let’s give the fighters something (unified rules, regulation, compensation for training costs, etc.) before we discuss any penalty. Fighting for an Australian promoter is penalty enough! (laughs)
Obviously wrestling, both freestyle and Greco-Roman, is huge in the US but has very few exponents here. Do you think the lack of wrestling at a grassroots (school and university) level in Australia makes it harder for us to produce world-class MMA fighters?
It sure does. The choice on where you fight is a major one for an MMA athlete. Being able to control the fight in that way is a huge benefit. Muay Thai is dangerous, and BJJ has proven the same, but train someone in just these two styles, and they have a huge gap. How do I get to the ground? And is it worth being on the ground, if I’m always on the bottom?
Soon enough, people will pick up the habits and some of the techniques of wrestling. Really, being competent in the basics is most important. Most wrestlers leave many of their techniques behind when transferring to MMA, because they are ineffective for the rule-set. So there aren’t fancy moves out there that make one a good wrestler — it’s good basics. With that, Australians will take note and implement different theory and basics to training. I hope to help guys over here bridge that gap.
Nobody here will embarrass an NCAA All-American wrestler any time soon. But we’ll aim to give them a hard time, and get the Aussies back standing to do some damage.
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