We live in what people like to call an information age. Every day we are bombarded with so much new information that we can’t help but learn new things. And with this new information, one might think that we’re all getting more informed.
But it turns out that ignorance is a constant. Every time some new set of facts destroys an old bastion of ignorance, the explosion flings ignorance in every direction so that people can start saying new stupid things.
Case in point: UFC 82: Pride of a Champion this past Saturday night. Anderson Silva, the reigning UFC middleweight champ defended his title against the former (because the promotion died) Pride welterweight (middleweight: 183 lb.) and middleweight (light heavyweight: 205 lb.) champ Dan Henderson. Even though Silva was much bigger, a much better striker, and a more accomplished submission grappler, fans of the Pride Fighting Championships picked Henderson to win, and claimed all over the internet that his two appearances on the Olympic wrestling team and his two Pride belts meant that he was going to walk over Silva.
And while that doesn’t seem terribly outrageous to an outsider, it makes absolutely no sense in mixed martial arts (MMA). Let’s break down why, and bust up some pockets of ignorance:Greco-Roman Wrestling is an amazing sport, and many of the techniques used by wrestlers are directly applicable to MMA: takedowns, takedown defense and grappling are three of the most important skills an MMA fighter needs. And when it comes to takedowns, very few people can stand very long with Dan Henderson. But the problem is that wrestling isn’t a combat sport. While there are a lot of combat elements, and while wrestlers are definitely tough people, the point of the sport is not to injure or submit an opponent. Wrestlers are playing for points or position. There are no striking or submission techniques taught in wrestling.
That’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of successful wrestlers in MMA. In fact, it’s just the opposite. But the wrestlers who make it to the top of the sport do so because they cross-trained with some kind of striking (Muay Thai, boxing) or submission grappling (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Judo) techniques. The wrestlers who don’t are the kind of boring fighters you see far too much of: taking their opponents down time after time without damaging them. Sean Sherk is a prime example. Matt Hughes on the other hand has trained heavily in BJJ and is an exciting fighter with good ground and pound and better submission skills. But while Hughes makes good use of his wrestling in MMA, it’s in a supporting role to his submission and striking game. The takedown sets up the submission, but the takedown isn’t the submission.
Thus, Henderson’s Olympic-caliber wrestling gave him an opportunity to set up his other skills, but Henderson isn’t a great Jiu-Jitsu fighter, nor is he a great striker. People make a big deal out of his “unorthodox striking,” but what they really mean is that he’s awkward and slow with his punches, has poor boxing defense and gets by on strength and a good chin.
As for his Pride belts, that’s a bit of a story. The now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships was home to many of the top-ranked fighters in MMA. but it’s now been established that the Yakuza - the Japanese Mafia - were a joint owner of the promotion, and that at least one fighter was asked to take a fall. That’s not a huge scandal in professional sports, but it makes it impossible to know how many other fights may have been rigged. What we do know is that Pride never tested its fighters for drugs or steroids (except two shows in Las Vegas), and that many of their superstars have failed to perform once coming to the UFC with its more rigorous testing.
In addition, it has been widely recognized that the referees and judges at Pride events were prone to both nationalism and racism in their judging. A gaijin competing against a Japanese fighter needed to win by knockout or submission, because decisions most often went to the hometown fighters.
With all of that in mind, it’s hard to put any stock in the record of any particular Pride fighter. Anderson Silva went 3-2 in Pride, but hasn’t gone past the second round in his last 6 fights in the UFC winning decisively by knockout or submission each time. Quinton Jackson was 12-4 in Pride and lost twice to Wanderlei Silva when fighting for the Pride middleweight (205 lb.) championship. Wanderlei lost in both of his fights in America with drug testing, once to the smaller Henderson, and once to Chuck Liddell, the former UFC champion who lost decisively to Jackson. The performance of Pride fighters coming to the U.S. has been poor overall, but the unevenness in their performance is the most telling factor: obviously there were things affecting who won and lost in Pride that aren’t factors in the UFC. With the success of Silva, Jackson and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, there were obviously great fighters in Pride, but something was fishy.
This is not to suggest that Henderson is a cheater or a steroid user. It just makes it impossible to know for certain why he was winning, or why other fighters he faced won or lost.
But the end result of all of this is that Silva defeated Henderson in the second round by rear naked choke. He looked much better on the feet, avoided any real damage when on the bottom during the first round, landed devastating blows in the second round, and exposed exactly how bad Henderson’s submission defense was while working for the choke. In short, he completely dominated Henderson.
So with all of that information out in the open, MMA fans will be prepared the next time a former Pride fighter or an accomplished but not well-rounded wrestler shows up in the UFC, right? Well, maybe. But there are already new stupid things going around:
I’m doing the best I can to correct these issues, but it’d be great if everyone could just spend a few minutes each day figuring out what he or she is ignorant of so that the rest of us wouldn’t have to waste time telling them. Thanks.