WHO’S BEEN PUNK’D??

Who’s been Punk’d?

The latest signing of CM Punk by the UFC has caused a lot of controversy so in this Colossal Concerns I’ll be taking a look at these varying opinions to see what all the fuss is about.  I’ll see who in the MMA world should be half-expecting the smug, high-pitched crowing that signifies the arrival of that irritating jester of anti-comedy- Ashton Kunter.  He will appear and announce that someone’s been Punk’d.  But who?

The Fighters

Is it fair that all the MMA fighters who are on the same card as Mr Punk will have all paid their dues in various ways (all these ways involved blood, sweat and tears) to the realest sport in the World and he waltzes in from the fakest sport in the World to massive media attention and God knows how much cash?  No, no it isn’t.  But as someone a lot wiser than me once said “that’s life”, and it really is as simple as that.  Everyone walks a different path, it just so happens Punky’s path has crossed over into MMA and the UFC.  Because he’s a name he’ll put bums on seats- which equates to cash prizes- and that’s the way it works.  If the Punkster wants to try his hand at MMA people will pay to see if he sinks or swims.  Is this right?  I’m not sure, I just know that this is the way things are.

Look, is it fair I got a shot against YouTube legend, the King of KO-ing, the toughest bloke at the family barbecue- Kimbo Slice- after Brett Rogers bingoed me?  No, no it wasn’t.  Is it fair that Kimbo was even there in the first place?  No, no it wasn’t.  In the Kimbo case I wish I’d grown a beard, purchased a camcorder, found a few wannabe hard men to dispatch, put it on YouTube and reaped the rewards- but I didn’t- so that’s that.  Look, I get it but what’s a man supposed to do- turn down his chance because you never got yours?

The salt gets further massaged into the wounds by the fact the majority of MMA slaves fighters aren’t getting paid yet some long-haired, spandex-wearing, steel chair-wielding make-believe fighter suddenly gets the red carpet treatment.  I get it, but rather than invest a lot of your time crying about how unfair the World is either change it, get used to it or use it as fuel to make sure you prise the cash you so rightly deserve out of the iron-fisted grasp of the UFC dictator’s hands.

The Fans

Are the fans being fed a watered-down version of what top-class MMA should be?  Maybe.  But then that raises the question as to who decides what is top class MMA.  Many fans would argue Prides was top class MMA and they certainly had a lot of freakshow fights- I know I was in a few.  Plus there is a big difference between a hardcore MMA fan and the casual cage-fighting connoisseur.  The latter far outweigh the former, their money is just as good, and there’s more of it.  At the end of the day if the “fans” don’t want it they won’t buy it, so it’s something of a moot point.  If they’re getting Punk’d they’re punking themselves and self-punking doesn’t count.

The UFC

I was shocked to hear that the UFC signed C.M. (What does C.M. stand for, does anyone know?) because it goes against their business model.  I mean the UFC had never been one for freak fights (after Dana took the reins).  So it will hurt them, not in the short term, that’s for sure- there’ll be plenty of people putting their money down to see how he does in a world where it doesn’t matter what you say on the mic or if your gimmicks win over the fans (that much).  What’s meant to matter is seeing whether Punkington doing this will give the ailing UFC PPV numbers a shot in the arm- so short-term great, long-term, who knows?  He might end up being the catalyst for a whole host of WWE stars to fold away their steel chairs and think about giving this MMA thing a go given how easy Punks made it look; or he might become the dirty little secret the UFC are desperate to forget.  Who knows?

C.M. Punk

How’s C.M. Punk punking himself?  He’s getting loads of cash, attention and all the other good stuff yet he hasn’t had a fight yet- how can that be bad?  Well you see all this comes with a flip side and that flip side is pressure.  I don’t care who you are or what you think you can do, none of it matters when you’re in the cage and that spotlight is shining squarely down on you.  This can make a big difference- everyone knows (or has heard of) a gym fighter: guys who are world-beaters in the gym yet can never replicate their results on the big stage.  Why is this?  Simply, pressure.

Now C.M. Punk’s never had a fight- he might’ve watched a few DVDs and done a bit of Jits but big deal, that hardly qualifies him for what he’s about to encounter.  Plus, it takes a hell of a lot of time to get good at MMA and the Punkerator- at 36 years old and 0-0- certainly hasn’t got much of that on his side.  What I’m saying is the bed of roses that most people complain about might end up being a bed of thorns- ohhhhhh pointy and uncomfortable thorns…I’ll guess we’ll see whether the Punk ends up punking himself.

 

Dana White

Mr White is a promoter- his job is to promote the biggest and best fights, as well as the ones the casual cage-fighting connoisseur will pay for.  It’s a business.  I fully understand this- see what’s written above.  However you can’t have it both ways: you can’t say “we’re the UFC, we only have serious fights for the best legitimate fighter” and then go and sign C.M. Punk and not expect to get called on it.  That’s my point and I’ve been making it since day one.  Dana White is a promoter; he will say and do whatever he has to to protect his bottom line.  The fact is, he’s not a fan of MMA, he won’t even fucking say it.

Dana White reminds me of the old fable I heard as a kid which sums up the situation.  The snake offers the rabbit a ride across the river.  He gives his word he won’t eat the rabbit, so off they go.  Half way across the river the snake turns to the rabbit and opens his mouth.  He’s just about to bite into the rabbit so the rabbit says “you gave me your word you wouldn’t eat me”.  The snake looks at the rabbit and says, “I’m a snake, what did you expect” and with that, swallows the rabbit whole.

So when Dana white says “we’re not signing (former Olympic wrestler and unbeaten MMA fighter) Ben Askren, he’s not got enough experience” but then the very next week goes and signs 0-0 WWE wrestler C.M. Punk, and they’re scratching their heads thinking “this makes no sense”, it’s because they haven’t figured out that The Baldfather’s sensibility changes depending on which way the wind’s blowing.  He’s just being what he is- a promoter.  As soon as this sinks in, the better it is for everyone.  He’s been so quick to jump on anyone and anything he doesn’t deem as proper MMA yet he’s left himself wide open when he’s done exactly the same thing.

And that’s why he’s the one that ends up being Punk’d.

 

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Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.

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THE JOE ROGAN ‘DECIDES YOUR’ EXPERIENCE & THE EX FIGHTER & KID PODCAST

I’m not sure where to start this practical Colossal Concerns blogpost, but not because I haven’t  wrote a blog for a while; no, don’t worry, I haven’t lost my mastery of the written word. I don’t know where to start because of what I heard on the latest The Fighter and The Kid podcast, a show where Bryan Callen, a comedian and “the kid”, and Brendon Schaub, a UFC heavyweight MMA fighter, do a podcast together. The episode I’m writing about came out a couple of days after Schaub had lost a first round TKO MMA fight to #3 ranked heavyweight Travis Brown. Joe Rogan joins them and they talk about Schaub’s loss. Now, from watching the podcast, Joe mention to Schaub that, “he wanted to do this on the podcast; it was his [Schaub’s] idea”. So it was expected to come up. And, after all, if you’re going to do a podcast about MMA, and you’re fighting in the UFC, then surely you should talk about it. As it’s a straight from the horse’s mouth take, people like this. But when Schaub agreed to talk about it on air, I guarantee he did not expect to be blasted with Rogan’s forceful version of ‘the truth’.​

Before I go any further, I feel I better set up the debate/brutal verbal shellacking as well as point out I’m a fan of the Joe Rogan Experience and have even been lucky enough to be on the podcast as well as enjoying countless hours of it. All through the podcast Joe pointed out that fighters should hear what he has to say to Schaub about brain trauma and retirement. Brian Callen talks about the transition from fighting mma to normal life which many fighters struggle with. All subjects that should be have more light shone on them. As these are real problem that you don’t hear anyone talk about. Full marks for that, what I didn’t like was, well here’s what I didn’t like

So the podcast starts with Schaub taking about how his fans go on a journey with him, how he feels like he’s let these same fans down but he doesn’t feel any pressure from that – remember, this is only two days after his loss. He was all over the place, contradicting himself and basically trying to make the best out of the shit he was left with after the TKO lose. Now generally doing a in depth podcast about this so soon after the event isn’t the best idea. But this depends on what kind of character you are and how honest you can be with yourself. In this case, Schaub doing a podcast before he’s properly come to terms with the loss was not a good idea. He talks about how he didn’t feel right on the night, the press conferences, selling the fight with trash talk – all just a lot of verbal designed to patch up his bruised and battery ego. I’ve never really taken to Schaub. I don’t feel like he’s particularly honest with himself; hearing him talk about how it was his fault that he ate that uppercut and he’ll take the blame for that, I was kind of like, “Yeah. No shit”. All Schaub’s talk was acting as a kind of bubble wrap insulating him from as much pain as it could. He was trying to say he was looking and talking at the ref yet the ref still stopped the fight. Obviously Schaub hadn’t quite come to terms with what had happened. This used to bother me about fighters, how they just can’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation. But now I understand: it’s important to a lot of fighters to have this mental wiring in place to help them deal with a loss as well as getting back in the cage. However misguided their thought process might be it does serve a useful function.​ Does it serve a useful purpose if you’re constantly being beaten half to death and have more fights lined up while not changing anything? No, is Schaub at that cross roads? Not in my opinion.

Now this is where it gets tricky. You see, Joe Rogan is a very intelligent man. He might talk about how he’s just a retarded shaved ape who knows nothing, but take it all with a pinch of salt because Joe’s sharp and all the points he made at the start were valid. Schaub was stiff, looked unprepared, his movement was poor, he left gaps, and basically how shit he looked and the fact he wasn’t a elite fighter. All of this I think is fair game. Rogan was being honest, brutal but honest. He’s was giving constructive criticism talking about what needs to change to get Schaub to that top level, to reach that rarefied air of elite mma fighter. After all, Schaub said he wanted to talk about it on air, but be careful what you wish for I would have said to Schaub at that point. But the conversation didn’t stick to those constructive points, we ventured far away from constructive criticism and end up on brain trauma and retirement. Rogan said he worried about Schaub and his  commitment to fighting, that he thinks he has one foot out the door, and he’s looking at where the future will take him and where he’s going to go with MMA, till one day they (the fighter) think ‘How long can I do this for?’ Now, I don’t know Schaub and I don’t know how true any of that is, but that heavy shit, it goes beyond saying I think your movement sucks and needs to get better. This is where I start having a problem with what Joe was saying because I feel he forgets himself. The more Schaub kicks back, the more Joes goes deeper. Joe said, “What if I went on stage and I wasn’t funny and sucked dick, I’d hope my friends would let me know”. Yeah, I’m sure you would appreciate it, Joe, if you had a bad night and your friends told you to quit your comedy career for your own good because you weren’t funny anymore and all this was done on a podcast to the whole comedy community. Of course you’d be fine with that… I’m surprised Schaub didn’t lose it then having his performance rated at dick sucking level, so bad he should retire.

My main problem is Joe decided Schaub isn’t going to get to that next level so he might as well quit and save those brain cells because every fighter is bound to get brain damage, it’s just a fact. Then you get Callen interjecting and talking about how funny Schaub is and how he could do so many other things. It was so painful and patronising to hear. Listening to Joe  decide that because of what he knows about brain damage and combat sport, because he’s friends with Schaub and this information could save him, that’s why he’s telling him HIS painful truth. Someone needs to remind Joe that just because he doesn’t think Schaub can  get to the next level, doesn’t mean Schaub can’t, and  telling him he can’t in front of an massive audience of mma fans can compound and magnify whatever issues Schaub might have. The chances Joes words help is friend are minimum. But Joe can say I told you so, if Schaub carries on with his mma career and he does get hurt. I’m not saying Joe did this for that reason what I’m saying is it more likely to hinder then help.

Because Schaub’s going to say, ‘Yeah Joe, you’re right about everything. I’m just going to shelve my MMA dreams and throw this ego and pair of balls away. I mean, I won’t be needing them and we’ll just rename the podcast I do with Bryan ‘The Ex-fighter and The Kid’, No, is he fuck! He’s going to think “fuck it!” and get back in there. Because he’s a fighter, and that’s what fighters do epically a fighter who young-ish (30) and has come a long way. A one point after Joe dropped his Implied versions of the future, a future were Schaub dribbling, rocking and shouting out potato at random passer bys (those are all my words) Joe says to Schaub who’s probably in shock and wondering wtf all this is, he says to Schaub  “don’t look at me defiantly “after Schaub says he will carry on fighting, this is upsetting to me I mean, do you want to suck all the fight out of the guy who’s a fighter ?” Everything Joe said will hang heavy on his shoulders – or maybe he’ll switch camp and use it as fuel and prove Joe wrong and they’ll laugh about it while getting stoned on the podcast in years to come. Or maybe the pressure that builds up because everyone is watching only to see if you fall, makes you more likely to fall. I don’t know, the point is no one does and I know for that reason Joe shouldn’t have gone down that road especially on a podcast. Look, one of the worst things to do in a fight is overthink. Joe said it himself in not so many words when he said that stupid fighters do a lot better because they’re not smart enough to get the risks. Ignorance is bliss. I know from my only experience fighting pro mma for a year and a half and then finding myself in Pride, stupid can get you a long way. So what I’m saying is all this talk about how shit Schaub is or isn’t, about brain trauma and getting knocked out, will surely play on Schaub’s mind, how can it not?  Not because it’s the truth, but because it can become the truth if Schaub becomes so consumed and worried about the issues instead of fixing them. I feel Joe didn’t really think about how Schaub was feeling; it was just a case of ‘take this nasty medicine, it’s for your own good’. It was very galling to listen to.

It got especially hard to listen to when Joe told Schaub that, “the issue you’re going to have to deal with now is not wanting to go out like that”. Then Joe goes on to tell us about his experience about when he was fighting and going out on a KO loss after a kickboxing bout and how you just have to get over it. This sums up a lot of my problem with how Joe approached all this. He decides what the issues Schaub will have and how he needs to deal with them. It smacked of arrogance and didn’t actually help his friend because Schaub’s not going to stop fighting because of this.

It really reminds me of when Dana took it upon himself to retire Chuck Liddell. I mean, Dana had a point, no doubt, but the way it was done was distasteful. No one has the right to say, ‘You’re done’, but you can say ‘I’m not giving you another fight, but take this great job at the UFC’. That’s a cool thing to do, but don’t say ‘Chuck’s done. I’ve got him a new job now’. I feel Joe said this because he’s done the maths and the results do not come out good for Schaub. Joe thinks it’s his place to inform Schaub – but then I believe he just made thing worse.​

Take this from me I know this well from having fallen in to similar pitfalls and trying to cope with it. If you fight MMA, seriously fight MMA, It takes everything you have, you give it more, it takes more until  you become (in this case)  Brendon “the UFC cage fighter” Schaub, that’s your identity and when that’s your identity,  you become your results. So a TKO loss isn’t just a loss, now it’s part of you, you literally feel like you’re dying inside. I went through a massive KO losing streak when my opponents got better. I started MMA late 23 with no experience. I wasn’t training in the right places and cultivated drug and gambling problems. Life was dark. That insipid cycle kept spinning downwards. People have often said, and rightly so (at that time) about me quitting fighting for all the very same reasons Joe said to Schaub – just not done so publicly and with more tact. And guess what: I came back. I came back because I addressed these issues. If I go further, it’ll be because I’ll address more issues. If I don’t, it’s because I didn’t. But regardless, it’s my choice. Who knows how long I’ll fight for. I’ve been close to the edge of quitting a few times but I kept going and it was the right choice. Even though a few years ago I was done for, because I thought I was done for and now I’m not because I believe I’m not. The key is backing the belief up with hard work. This is all down to Schaub my point is whatever reality he wants to achieve he can and he shouldn’t let anyone tell him differently.

I’ll attempt to play amateur psychologist, I think Joes eyes being opened to brain trauma and how delicate the head is, has taken some of the shine away from working with the UFC and watching MMA. He talked about quitting commentating because of seeing his friends making mistakes in fights and the price their health had to pay for it. I see how, as a friend, you would be concerned. But don’t overstep the mark, don’t try and make the decision for that person. It was so awkward that it cracked me up when, after Joe had done a good fifteen minutes on head trauma – so much so that I’m sure I could feel my temples starting to pulsate and ache listening to how Schaub “Would pay the price because no one rides for free” – Callen the comedian desperately  tries to play both sides and not piss anyone off and says after Joe head trauma biltzeig  “Take some time, not to out you on the spot or anything” and Joe says, “Yeah, kind of on the spot”. I think, fuck me, you have just been railroading poor Schaub for the last hour and a half so much so I was wondering if Joe was looking for a tap out from Schaub  on air. And Joe thinks Callen is putting him on the spot. Classic!

The last thing that really showed me that this kind of in-depth, soul crushing convo would be better off done behind closed doors was when Callen said, “Everyone’s made their point. We don’t have to talk about it anymore”, which translates to Joe’s told you how it is. You don’t have to give a response because I find this all too awkward because I can’t appease both sides. So he launches right into a Hulu Plus commercial. Or when Schaub says, “I can see myself with the title, it’s the only reason I do this”. Long big arse pause filled to bursting with awkwardness before Callen says, “The ONLY REASON …?” It was just wrong on so many different levels. I really felt for Schaub, everyone telling him how funny and good looking he was, about how he can do anything he wants. I’m sure Joe had Jamie (technical support) looking through ‘help wanted’ ads as Callen told Schaub, “Not many people have the wherewithal to handle this”. What was this? Is it coming to do a podcast and finding out Uncle Joe decided it’s time you stop this fighting malarkey? I bet Jamie was shitting himself thinking I’m going lose my job, it’s going to Schaub any minute now’. ​

I was screaming for Schaub to stand up to Joe, apart from saying “how easy it is for Joe to comment with millions in the bank” he didn’t offer any kind of offence at all. The reason I think Schaub didn’t stand up for himself more, apart from being in shock, was that I don’t think he figured on getting the “brain trauma intervention”. If Joe and Schaub did talk beforehand about retirement, brain trauma etc and agreed to talk about it on the podcast this whole blog means nothing and sorry for wasting your time as Schaub knew what was coming. But I can tell from Schaub’ reaction that they didn’t talk about it in that much detail beforehand especially as Schaub voiced his opinion on air about not even putting the podcast out. The other reason I THINK he didn’t stand up for himself more was because he didn’t want to piss Joe off. I mean they’re talking about Schaub’ life after mma, doing things with someone like Joe Rogan, fight companion (where they watch and comment on UFC fights), having Joe on their podcast the fighter and the kid Is all good. Joe Rogan is a good friend to have to help you make that move if that what you want to do. This is just idle speculation I’m just guessing but it does make sense. You don’t have a go at the guy who says you should quit mma because you don’t want to upset him just In case when you do quit mma you need him. All very twisted and why I felt for Schaub. He was in a very strange, difficult spot. I’m really hoping he take Joe’s opinion at what it is, an opinion, not the truth or the future or fact. If he works hard enough he can achieve anything he sets his mind to. I’ll certainly be cheering for him next time he’s in the cage.

Here’s the podcast I’m talking about

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DISCLAIMER

Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.

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MMA & THE EGO

 

 

Throughout my 10 years or so in Mma I’ve gone back and forth with my opinions on the ego and how important it is in Mma.

The first thing I believe that you have to do is recognize that you have one. Seems like a silly thing to say, but I think so many fighters fall foul of recognizing when their ego is doing the talking, and maybe they should give it a rest and take over for a while. But is letting your ego run away with you a bad thing and if so why? This is a very complex, convoluted question, one which I’ll do my best to answer.

First off since everyone is different, not to mention every situation is different, there isn’t any right or wrong answer.

Now, when I first started Mma I would’ve argued that I didn’t really have an ego. I knew I was a beginner, I had no illusions of grandeur and I listened and tried to learn as much as I could. I linked someone who had an “ego” as a bad thing because like most people… I link ego with arseholes (not literally as I’m not quite sure how that would work).

Because I haven’t ever classed myself as an arsehole, I didn’t think I had an ego. I’ll explain why I was wrong.

When I was training there were no real Mma clubs about so I trained the three martial arts separately, Ju Jit su, Boxing & Wrestling. I remember when I started to get a bit fitter and I’d gained a few low level wins under my belt I watched Pride. Nog vs. Fedor. I recall thinking I’m not there yet but I’m not a million miles away. When the reality was that I was really a couple of light years away!
Looking back, what I believe would have helped me was if I had been sat down and told the cold hard truth, then again if I had then I might not have even stepped foot in the ring/cage to start with.

The problem is that positive thinking can be part of the problem itself, but it will only take you so far when it comes to your ego. Reality caught up with me and let me tell you it has a hell of a right hand.

This is what I was talking about earlier. Once your ego takes a body blow, how will you react to it? When something like this happens the vast majority of fighters lose. I used to get pissed off when I detected a bullshit excuse from a fighter about losing a fight. I’d think come on now. I think it’s essential to look back see the mistake you’ve made hold your hands up and improve on them. The bullshit excuse stops the fighter from doing this and so I didn’t see any plus side in it.

These days I see things a little bit differently. Although I stick by my previous comments I now also see those ‘bullshit excuses’ are a safety device as for a lot of fighters. Bullshit excuses are an airbag that save the ego from taking too much damage. It’s needed because too much damage to the ego can really have a negative effect on a fighter’s mentality.

When it comes to fighting you have to really believe you’re going to win. If you can write off your loses with an excuse, but still train hard and improve what you need to improve, then you’re laughing.

This is why I envy some fighters out there who aren’t really too self-aware. They believe their own bullshit, which can be really helpful especially if you have a good coach who can see this and knows how to handle you with kit gloves and improves your weak areas.

Myself, I am very self-aware. For a while I thought I was TOO aware. When my trainer would say before a fight “ come on James, you’re ready for this, you’ve trained hard” I’d think no I haven’t, I’ve spent most the time at the blackjack table. That’s how I reacted to decisions that I saw as unfair back then.

I used to see this self-awareness as a disadvantage but it wasn’t. It will only work though  if you’re putting the time in at the gym. You can’t spend all your time listening to Antony Robbins tapes, enter Mma and then take the title in blitz of carnage and mangled bodies.

So to sum up. It’s important to listen and learn, stay grounded and realise you’ll never know it all, but at on the other hand if you hear a fighter giving excuses you don’t believe, give him a pass. It’s a tough sport and going out fighting in front of people takes a lot mentally and physically. Sometimes a fighter needs that ‘ego air bag’.

I remember Rampage Jacksons saying in a Pride interview

” I’m not going to give you excuses for my losses, but I have an excuse for all of them”

I realised if I wanted to fight and if I couldn’t baffle myself with my own bullshit then I’d better start putting the effort in. That way, win or lose, I could be satisfied I had done everything I could.

Being injured after the Lashley fight, then having a whole array of sickness and injuries, has given me a lot of time to reflect on my career and now I’m healthy (although fat at the time of writing this) I’ve looked at my weak areas and took apart my training, so next time so you see me you’ll see a more ‘in tune’ Colossus, mentally and physically, who will be dishing out some damage and finishing the last part of his career on top…. Grrrrrrrrrr… I told you I had an ego 😉

 

 

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My podcast Colossal Concerns on Itunes. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/colossal-concerns-podcast/id558622595

My twitter https://jp.twitter.com/JColossus

My YouTube channel Colossalcollective http://www.youtube.com/user/ColossalCollective

 

 

DISCLAIMER

Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found or embedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.

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MMA WITH A TWIST

Mma with a twist

In my time of watching and competing in MMA I’ve come across many variations of the sport. I imagine most of these ideas were hatched while consuming gallons of alcohol, drunkenly creating the ‘next big thing’ in combat sports. The geniuses that mustered these ideas have slipped, banged their heads, and in the morning -when sober- the ideas they had still, somehow, held some merit.
Let’s have a quick look at some of these creative ideas…

 

X-Arm – This is where you take a dismembered X-man’s arm. Not really, I’m only kidding as that would be silly. This is much more serious. This is where you strike your opponent while trying to pin their arm, like you would in a wrestling match. Art Davis, the man who brought you the UFC, gave us this gem. One out of one isn’t bad, Art..

 

Chess boxing– Like the name suggests – You play chess for 3 minutes, then you box. It’s apparently got a large following in Berlin, but then again they also put mayonnaise on their chips.

 

Ultimate ball – You have two teams of 4. You put them in a Mma cage. They have a small ball that they have to put it in a small goal on either side of the cage. The other team has to stop them. That’s all I could watch before the over-whelming urge to rip my own eyes out and hurt myself came over me!

 

Ymma– It’s Mma in a slightly different cage (it had slopes at the sides) creatively called ‘the pit’. This was also Art Davis’ brain child. One out of two…Please stop now Art.

 

Now, not one of these “sports” stuck. Which isn’t really that surprising as they’re all, well… shit, for want of a better word. A flash in the pan we call it, where after five minutes of watching them, the novelties worn off and is forgotten about as quickly as it came about.
I’m a Mma purest, in some much as you don’t need bells and whistles to be fitted to MMA. All you need is good MMA and the rest will take care of itself. I don’t get upset over any of it. I just laugh and wonder what Mr X was thinking about when he conjured up most of this shit and let the memory of the whole thing slip into the ether, so not to take up any valuable space on my mind.

Then a fella on twitter named @NeilJones72 asked me my opinion on the ‘Russian Hip Show’. Hmmm…. the hip show sounds like something that would be introduced on Britain’s Got Talent before being booed and buzzed out of the place. I don’t know what ‘hip’ stands for.
Let me do my best to try and explain what this is all about. Bear with me because, as of yet, I haven’t seen any English versions of the rules. What I am about to explain to you about the Russian ‘Hip show’ is just what I’ve gathered from watching myself.

So, you have two teams, made up of two blokes in a team. Both are the same weight (I assume). You give them Mma gloves and head gear and put them in what seems to be a giant jungle gym. This Jungle gym has different levels, slopes, ropes, blocks, walls with holes in, etc. Then throw a few tracksuit wearing Russians in to watch and, hey presto, you’ve got the Hip Show.

The combat icons are placed facing each other over a padded block. A whistle then goes off, and they fight. Now, the big difference here, apart from the fact they seemed to of kicked the kids out if their play area to hold this MMA hip show, is with this the fighters are part of a team. You can help your team mate out.
For example: if your team mate is being choked your ‘team mate’ could push your opponent off one of the giant blocks and rescues you by striking, submitting (not sure if kicking to the face on the floor is allowed) or anyway he sees fit.

If you knock your opponent out the bout is stopped. You go back to your foam block and it’s all restarted, minus the guy who just been KO. So it then becomes 2 against 1… Yep, only in Russia.

What did I think about all this when I watched it? Well, surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. Will it have any staying power, I haven’t a clue. But I found watching good MMA in these different circumstances fun and exciting. I still stand by my earlier statement that I’m an MMA purist and realistically this Russian Hip show isn’t going to take over MMA as really, come on, it’s just MMA but in different surroundings. The whole 2 onto 1 thing, while massively unfair, does make for great viewing

The ‘hip show’ has money. I know this because the format must cost loads (Jungle Gyms weren’t cheap last time I enquired) and they had Vinnie Jones (Britain’s favourite, violent, ex-football player) looking hard in a suit promoting it, and my guess would be that he’s not cheap to hire.

It’s only very early days for the Hip show, but here’s a couple if things that I think they did right, and what they need to do better.

 

Things they did right;

– They had some great fighters that came to fight. This is important as if you a had four guys that didn’t really know what they were doing, it could’ve quite easily become a school playground type environment very quickly

– Kept it about MMA – It’s MMA in a different environment. The ‘team’ element and it going two against one was different and interesting and kept me intrigued.

 

What they need to do better

– Explain what the fucks going on. -What are the rules? Who’s who? Give us some info…

– Make the info English – It’s not just Russians who like to see crazy violence. There should be a site that explains what’s going on in English so we can all understand.

– Change the name- I’m not sure what ‘The Hip show’ stands for. But whatever it is, it’s not working. You’ve done a lot right. You’ve held my interest for more than five minutes, but really, the names not helping

I think if the people behind the Hip show do some of these things then it stands a much better chance of hanging around for longer. It certainly got my interest.

Have a look let me know what you think

 

 

 

Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to ‘follow’ it for updates as to when the next one is posted before it hits the social media platforms.

My facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-The-Colossus-Thompson/199137513465142 &

My podcast Colossal Concerns on Itunes. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/colossal-concerns-podcast/id558622595

My twitter https://jp.twitter.com/JColossus

And finally my YouTube channel Colossalcollective http://www.youtube.com/user/ColossalCollective

 

DISCLAIMER

Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.

 

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MIND, BODY & SOUL AND ENSON INOUE

 

If you would have said to me, three months ago, that I would have written on my Facebook status and started a thread on mma.tv about the fact I will never tap in another mma fight again then I would have looked at you with an element of distain, whist thinking “you really don’t know me at all”

Why would I ever feel the need to make such bold statement and put pressure on myself? Plus, if a fighter makes a mistake and gets caught in a fight the normal mantra is you tap, you lose, but you learn from it and you come back stronger (hopefully). It’s all very acceptable to tap out in a fight if you’re in an unlucky position you can’t get out of. I have thought this way for pretty much all of my fighting career. No fighter want’s to tap, but we know that it will be ok if we do as sometimes in a fight there is no other way out other than to tap… or is there…

I look at it as ‘my old way of thinking’, and now I have a ‘new way of thinking’.

Old way of thinking = ok to tap (if you HAVE to). New way of thinking = Not ok for me to tap, I’m just not going to do it.

The strange thing is, I still agree with anyone who has my old view on this subject – which makes what I’m saying even harder to understand (even to me sometimes and I’m the one that’s saying it) and I thought by devoting a blog to it, I could clarify my new way of thinking.

First off, me saying ‘I’m not going to tap in a fight again’ isn’t about being tough, it’s not about ego. All combat sport has, to some degree, ego issues but in this case it’s not the determining factor. It’s actually something much deeper, which I’m still trying fully to understand. Let me try and make myself some-what ledge able.

I was listing to the ‘Joe Rogan Experience podcast’ and his guests were Chuck Liddell and Enson Inoue. Now, I have watched Enson, a long time ago, and remembered him as being a tenacious, explosive fighter that always came to fight (understatement of the century). But while I was aware of him, I wouldn’t say I knew too much about him.
While I was listening to him on the podcast it struck me how intense, kind and thoughtful he came across. I got the impression this was a man who says what he means or he doesn’t say anything at all!

When they got to the point of discussing his fights, the subject of ‘tapping’ came up. Now, I was listening intently at this point as my view of the matter was like I stated above – tap, learn, and come back stronger because anything else is just ego bullshit. Enson took another view, quite the opposite of my own, which was the reason I was listening so intently at this stage in the podcast.

Enson hadn’t come across like this at all, in fact completely the opposite.

I remember back to watching him fight Nog and getting caught in a quick transition from arm bar to triangle and being choked unconscious. I remember thinking two things at the time. The first was that it was pointless and the second was that I had a begrudging respect for him.

HERE IS A LINK TO ENSON INOUE VS ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA

“http://vk.com/video_ext.php?oid=-38384965&id=162907026&hash=4e7a144b788f4df7&hd=1″

 

What he explained next will change the way I fight, and by doing that it will change my life to some effect (I know, heavy right)

Enson said that when he fights, he has made a peace with himself. Right to the point that he has faced the fact he could die when he steps though those ropes to face his opponent. We know he overcomes this fear as he is there, in the ring, ready to fight.

Being a fighter I’m obviously comparing what he was saying with my own way of thinking. Was I prepared to die every time I was ready to fight? Well, in a way I suppose. I guess everyone that fights makes that choice. Is it likely to happen, that we might die in there? No it isn’t. So really grasping that concept and believing it is like letting that fear go.

I never thought too much about that side of it as a lot of the time I feel like the more you think about something, the more you worry, the more likely it is to happen. So I just go in there to do my best and fight.

After hearing Enson on the JRE experience I realised I had to try to free myself from fear as it was stifling me. I was scared to lose which was slowing me down in all aspects of my life, not just Mma. Now I’m trying very hard not to be scared of being scared.

Like any problem you encounter it needs to be looked at – otherwise how else are you going to figure it out. Only, it’s not that simple. Because fear can also be a good thing, it can motivate you and keep you, well… alive. The more I listened to Enson, the more I watched him fight, the more I saw a fighter with a massive advantage over most of us and there was a man who was controlling and using his fear to his advantage. How had he done this? Well like I said earlier, he was fighting like his life depended on it because simply… it did. This in turn made him train like his life depended on it… because it did.

He had come to terms with the fact he could, and was willing, to die in the fight.

Now when you take my old point of view “I’m not going to think and just fight” and put it up against Enson’s “I have accept I might die and now I’m ready to fight” Who do you think has the advantage going in?

I realise it’s not just as easy as this, to just adopt another man’s thinking to improve how you fight, because the way you think or what you believe in also depends on your personality, which complicates this matter even more.

Maybe if you look into it as deeply as Enson you’d get more nervous as thinking or doing without fear might not come naturally to your personality type. If you’re nervously inclined then Enson’s way would make you think ‘I’m only pushing myself and having a go at Mma, I’m not on about dying or suffering serious injury’.

I don’t think people who think this are wrong; there is no right or wrong way… It’s what is right for you and the only one that can tell you what’s right or wrong for you is yourself. No one else can.

What Enson said made real sense to me. He had conquered his fears by accepting them. Which made him more dangerous a fighter and, I’m guessing, as a person.

This hasn’t always been my view. I’ve never gone into a fight with this mind-set. Training like I’m going to have a fight that could end me. In fact for some fights I haven’t trained at all. I’ve drank, gone out, taken all manner of drugs and gambled incessantly and then (surprisingly) fought and lost. Only to wash, rinse and repeat.

You tell me which those two options is more dangerous, especially given the way I fight, which is flat out no matter what shape I’m in. I think the answer (in regards to me) is simple.

So I’m changing, not just the way I fight but the way I am as a person. This started happening before I listened to Enson on the JRE but this interview only accelerated things. This is why I made the thread on mma.tv and posted a status on my Facebook Page.

You’re probably thinking why did I have to make it public, why couldn’t I just adopt that way of thinking in silence. The answer is simply that I’ve noticed when I write something down it helps me get it done. I might not even go back to what I have written but just the act itself solidifies something in my mind.

When I’m doing my YouTube videos (Subscribe to my you tube channel Colossal Collective) I write all my thoughts down on my I pad, note book thing and it’s like I’m writing them into my mind, to regurgitate them in an entertaining fashion for your amusement. I also don’t say things that I don’t whole heartily believe, I just don’t.

So something as big as this wasn’t just a knee jerk reaction. I really looked at it, into myself, for the answers to find what’s right for me… and this is what I believe is.

I’m very aware that it can be perceived as ‘easy to write and say these things’ (even though it wasn’t easy or something I taken likely at all) but there is a big difference in saying ‘I’ll never tap again’ to then get caught in a knee bar with someone like Frank Mir hanging off your leg.

I’m not in that position and have only adopted this way of thinking recently so who knows, in the future I might be writing a blog about how and why I tapped. I don’t know.

All I know is that I’m not scared. If I have to write another blog in the future about me tapping and why I had to, either to stop my having leg or knee broken, or to stop me from dying in a fight, I’m not scared anymore because I will face up to these thing if they happen and look them straight in the eye. The willingness to do this, I believe, makes it less likely to happen and empowers me massively.

I’m now taking this this same approach in my life and its working out well. This is why I love MMA. I believe to be truly great you need to face your fears and let them enhance you.

Mind, body and soul…

 

 

This is the JRE that made me look at ‘tapping’ in a completely different light

 

 

Check out the LONDON REAL Podcast, where I talk about my ‘not to tap’ decision and  loads more

Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to ‘follow’ it for updates as to when the next one is posted before it hits the social media platforms.

My facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-The-Colossus-Thompson/199137513465142 &

My podcast Colossal Concerns on Itunes.  http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/colossal-concerns-podcast/id558622595

My twitter https://jp.twitter.com/JColossus

And finally my YouTube channel Colossalcollective  http://www.youtube.com/user/ColossalCollective

 

 

DISCLAIMER

Please note, the thoughts and opinions posted here are solely those of the author and do not represent those of anything linked or related. All content provided on this Colossalconcerns.com blog is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner of ColossalConcerns.com blog will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.  

Colossalconcerns.com is NOT the owner of any videos that are found  orembedded on this site. ALL VIDEOS on colossalconcerns.com are hosted by third party sites such as You Tube, Daily Motion, Novamov, Vimeo etc. Therefore all videos found on this site belong to their respective owners. Colossalconcerns.com DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS FOUND ON THIS SITE.

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MMA vs. BOXING

This old, tired, semi functioning, bed ridden ‘shitting where it lies’ debate has been given mouth to mouth and resurrected by a man that, funnily enough, fits the above description.

Tyson, real name Luke, called out Cain Velasquez ( The current UFC heavyweight champion) and any other fighter who’d ever put Mma gloves on, in what I think was an attempt to gain some kind of notoriety and get his name out in the States.

Now, I don’t want to go into this too much as I think covered it in my video (which is at the end of my blog), and verbally beating My Fury up is like taking candy from a baby with no arms, I.e. easy to do but you feel bad afterwards.

So instead I want to dissect the question: MMA VS. BOXING

I hate this question. To me it’s not even really a question. True, both are combat sports. True, Boxing is a large part of Mma, True, in both sports you have to be strong physically and mentally to compete but that’s where the similarities end.

It’s like saying ‘which is better, flying in a plane or a helicopter’? I thought this was an obvious thing but with all this Fury nonsense this debate seems to have been reignited, so I’m going to look at both sports and hopefully bring Colossal clarity to the table in regard to this matter.

Oh and please for the love of good could all you Dullards (a hybrid of a dull person and a retard) please stop telling me that if it was a boxing match, Fury would knock me out. Of course he would, like him or not Tyson Fury is a top heavyweight boxer. IF WE FOUGHT BOXING that’s more than likely to happen, but that’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying he can beat any MMA guy in the world.

Like me or not, I’m a high level mma fighter and 8/10 times (I’m being generous here) I’d power double him before choking him out. That isn’t down to my vast skill and knowledge as I know there are semi pros that would do the same to Fury.

Anyway enough of that deluded prick, I’m getting nauseous typing.

On to the topic at hand…. I’ll start with Boxing

First of all Boxing is a tough, really hard sport. Everyone, even Fury, should be given respect for getting in there. You take more damage in Boxing than in Mma because the main target is the head, whereas in Mma if I take a good crack, I can go for a double leg –

(Fury, please take note: this is where I’d lower my level, keeping my back and head straight upright. I’d cover the distance, grabbing behind your knee caps before running you over, like a stream train hurdling towards Bambi (you) producing a cheap, ugly, messy bit of road kill (also you)

– whereas in boxing your options are very limited. Also in Boxing if you get KO’d you get 10 seconds to get your head together before your opponent tries to take your head off again (Untold damage can be done in this way). In Mma the fight is over.

Now please… I’m not saying this is a good or a bad thing, I’m just stating the differences between the two sports as people seem to have trouble differentiating between the two.

When I first started Mma I thought Mma was harder to learn as you have to master more sports and mange to amalgamate them successfully to be a complete Mma fighter.

Rewind a little and look at what I was saying about boxing being a more physically damaging sport. Attacks in Boxing are limited to the body and head. As boxing is restricted to only striking with hands then Boxers, unsurprisingly, get very good at it. Shifting their body weight, head movements, the lot.

Mma fighters simply can’t spend the amount of time on any one discipline with this kind of attention to detail. Mma is so hard as you’re taking so many different disciplines and making them into one, spending limited time trying to master all of them individually before merging them together. Ironically this makes a Mma fight easier in a way as you often have other options to fall back on should one of your combat disciplines let you down. If you get rocked during stand up, you can take to the floor etc.

With Sports like Boxing it’s solely focused on the Boxing (hence the name) and one of the things that makes Boxing hard is that most boxers are at a very good level. Because of this most Boxers that take it seriously will be at a very good standard which means, with the limited options available, they’re sure to be landing heavy shots and an individual’s body can only take so much punishment. The points of impact in Boxing will mostly be focused on the head/brain.

It’s really hard to say one is harder than the other as they’re both very different sports that share some similarities.

I think this goes some way as to why some boxers hold Mma in such low regard. They see the Mma striking and are, generally, less than impressed. When it comes to Wrestling, Ju, Jit su or any other type of grappling, because they don’t KNOW what it is they look at it in a way as to pass it off as men rolling around hugging, rather than seeing it for WHAT it is. Men rolling around with the ability to “hug” you to death. I know not all boxers think this way; I’m just talking about the lowest common denominator.

So we’ve covered that the sports are different. While there are more disciplines in Mma, Boxing is in some ways more intricate as there’s less to focus on.

And that Tyson (Luke) Fury is a loud mouth Dullard (a hybrid of a retarded, dull person)

So now we’re all on the same page. Here’s the video (for those who haven’t seen it & even for those that have) of me asking Tyson (Luke) Fury. A Colossal question….

Where does delusion start and promotion end???

Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to ‘follow’ it for updates as to when the next one is posted before it hits the social media platforms.

My facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-The-Colossus-Thompson/199137513465142 &

My podcast Colossal Concerns on Itunes.
My twitter https://jp.twitter.com/JColossus
And finally my YouTube channel Colossalcollective

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“SO, YOU WANT TO BE A FUCKING FIGHTER” ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So, you want to be a FUCKING FIGHTER” ?

To many who hear these words reverberating off of their eardrums from Mr. Dana White, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” But since I’m not in that pressure cooker like these new fighters are and since I actually AM a fucking fighter, I took time to ponder what the question really means.

Nowadays, this question is being asked more and more. Why? Because the UFC is having more and more shows, which means more fighters are getting injured, which means more fighters are needing to step up on some short notice, causing Dana White to bark out the inevitable question. I’m going to look at both sides of this coin, and, since every case is different, I’m going to do my best to give you my humble opinion of what makes a fighter. So are you fucking ready? Ready for some fucking MMA knowledge bombs, motherfucker?

I apologize–I’ve got that all out of my system now.

The Promoter, a.k.a. Dana White:

Now Dana’s point of view is this: if you make your living as an mixed martial artist, then you should be ready at any time to step up and fight. I mean you’re a fighter, right? He’s only asking you to do what you do. I think Dana gets constantly frustrated because he’s trying to make the best fights possible for the fans, and more and more he’s running into roadblocks in terms of unwilling fighters who don’t want to step up on short notice and risk losing. Which to a lot of people, Dana included, is the essence of what makes a fighter. And, to the credit of Dana, he has avoided the pitfalls of boxing, where to make a fight happen means a year of negotiations. I can’t see that happening (thankfully) with MMA, and the reason for that is Dana. Now, the “do you want to be a fucking fighter?” question was first asked on the TV show “The Ultimate Fighter.” Let’s always keep in mind that it’s a television show, but, having said that, it’s a valid question when it’s being posed to inexperienced fighters, many of whom haven’t got that many fights under their belt.

I remember seeing a few fighters who didn’t really want it. They had this chance to be on a big TV show, and they didn’t want to take it. You shouldn’t have to ask this question when you’re talking about fighters who are in the UFC. I mean they’re there for a reason, of course they want to be a fighter. But Dana is finding it harder to get fighters to step up, which is causing problems. Look what happened with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen and how Dana laid the blame and heaped untold pressure on to Jones. He did this simply because it’s black and white in Dana’s mind. You’re a fighter. If the situation calls for it, you step up, it’s as fucking simple as that.

The fighter:

Now, there are many different types of situations, and I can’t go through every single one of them. So let’s stick with the Jon Jones situation. Of course, I’m not talking for Jon Jones–just where I think he was coming from by not taking the fight. Jones is at the top. He has fame, he’s making money, and rightly so. When he didn’t take the fight with Chael, who would be coming up a weight, and the UFC was canceled, a lot of people scratched their heads and went for the jugular with Jones. I mean, why not save the day, taking on a competitive, but smaller, fighter? He’d been training anyway, so just take the fight! But what people forget is that, once you’re at the top of the mountain, and you’ve gotten there through following a certain system, you don’t want to change that system. I believe in the case of Jon Jones that it was an unnecessary risk. It deviated from the system and therefore was a risk he and Greg Jackson weren’t willing to take. Jones wasn’t scared of fighting Chael…it was just unplanned. So, I guess the question is: when should you take a fight you haven’t fully prepared for? If you don’t step up, are you not a really a fighter? This is a very personal question which each fighter who is in that situation has to answer.

My opinion:

Where to start….I’ve looked at both points of view, and I can see valid points on both sides. At the end of the day, Dana White is looking at it from a promoter’s point of view. Of course he wants fighters to step up. He wants to put the best show possible on. And Jon Jones is looking at it from his point of view. Why should he take unnecessary risks? I look at it like this: as a rule, mixed martial artists aren’t scared to fight other mixed martial artists. If they are, then they’ve chosen the wrong profession. What fighters are scared of is stepping up, taking the fight on short notice, losing, and getting cut (I’m speaking in general here, not about the Jones/Chael fight). I think this is the problem with the UFC–the upside doesn’t weigh out the potential downside of losing your job. I haven’t fought for the UFC, but from being around the MMA world and knowing a lot of people it seems very dog eat dog. That’s great to a point, but when competition is so fierce, stepping up and losing while making Dana happy for the time being is risky. How long is his memory? How good is the memory of mma fans? This is why more and more fighters aren’t willing to take the risk. They know that they could only get one shot in the UFC and they have to be at their best to take advantage of that shot.

When I fought for Pride, they would change my opponent seemingly by the hour. It was just the way it was, and I know I wasn’t the only one. Were the fighters of Pride more braver, more fighter-like? No, of course not, but the difference was that in Pride, as long as you fought with all your heart and gave it your all, you’d be back to fight again. If you just fought to win, there was a strong possibility that you wouldn’t be back. The reverse is true in the UFC. I believe Dana can’t have it both ways. You can’t have fighters so fearful of their job security and then get mad when they don’t jump at the chance to take a fight at two weeks notice.

So, to wrap it up, I think if Dana and the UFC want more fighters to step up then they can’t have the threat of executioner’s axe resting on the fighters neck. Of course fighters can’t keep losing and expect to keep their position in the UFC, but I think that if you talk to most of the fighters in the UFC they will tell you that they fight constantly, surrounded by an air of uncertainty.

Thanks for reading, please remember to follow my blog to be updated on when the next one is out before it goes out on the social networking sites. If your on twitter you can find me @ https://twitter.com/JColossus or like my facebook page here http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/James-The-Colossus-Thompson/199137513465142 & finally I also write a NON MMA Blog here http://colossal-personal-concerns.com/ where I can free my mind and have a rant about all sorts of general topics.

FREAKY MMA

Roll up, roll up, let your eyes feast greedily upon the wonders of man as warriors from around the globe in all manner of shapes and sizes are pitted upon each other using mind, body and soul in the ultimate form of combat, MMA. Where, from the ashes of battle only one true victor will emerge and be left standing. Roll up, roll up!

This is how I imagine the M.C. of a Carnival would sound selling the ‘freak show fights’ that we witness in MMA today. If you live in Japan then you get a lady from New Zealand with a crazy cool voice to do it. With Japanese Mma now struggling and the UFC not having adopted the kind of format that showcases the ‘freaks show fights’, it looks like the ‘freak show fight’ might be on it last (overly long) legs.

So this time on Colossal Concerns I want to give my views on whether this is a good or a bad thing. To answer this we have to delve into what a ‘freak show fight’ really is.

Now, this isn’t an easy question it’s like a freakily shaped onion, by that I mean it has many strange layers. So please join me while I take a closer look at what the ‘freak show fights’ are all about (clears throat) Roll up, roll up! Don’t be scared, pay your money at the door and prepare to enter the many faceted world of the ‘Freak Show’.

The ‘freak against freak’ fight

(Zulu vs. Butterbean)

This is what you call the ultimate in freak shows. Two freakishly strange shaped individuals facing each other in a Mma match. In most of the cases I can think of, you’re not going to see a whole lot of ‘technical Mma’ but what you will get is entertainment that makes the Mma purist weep. I like to watch a good freak vs. freak battle every now and again. No-one does these kinds of fights better than the Japanese.

The ‘out of your depth’ freak show fight

(Don Frye vs. Le Banner)

This is a freak show fight with a difference. It’s a rarity because there aren’t many stupidly toughly individuals around like Don Frye. This is where you’ll get a stupidly overmatched opponent and (like in this example) a stupidly tough guy and throw the tough guy to the wolves. I remember watching an interview with Don Frye before he fought Jerome Le Banner in K1 rules and Frye saying something like he’s younger than me, stronger than me and better at kick boxing than me. I was watching the interview going ‘wow, he totally knows he’s going to get his ass kicked’. Frye suffered a hideous KO.

What stuck with me was how insanely tough Frye had to be to take that fight. I wouldn’t recommend this course of action though. These fights don’t happen often, which I think is a good thing, as it’s kind of the modern day equivalent of throwing the Christians to the lions. Another of these ‘out of your depth freak show fights that comes to mind is Cro cop against some poor, masked, pro wrestler Dos Santos.

The classic ‘David verses Goliath’ Freak Fight

(Sapp power bombing Minotauro)

The classic David vs. Goliath freak show I feel embodies the essence of the ‘freak show fight’. Size against skill, can skill overcome size? It’s a question that goes as far back as time and I feel will always be asked and will always be interesting to watch.

The Freak Show ‘format’

(Yamma cage with sloping edges)

I’m not too keen on these kinds of formats. It’s one of those that sounds good, but in practice fails to live up to expectations.

The first round is K1 Rules the next round its Mma.

One fight that springs to mind which used this format was Shinya Aoki vs ( kick boxer)Yuichiro Nagashima the first round was K1 rules and consisted of Aoki desperately doing outrageous flying kicks to wind the clock down so to make it into the Mma rounds. He succeeded somewhat and made it into the 2nd Mma rounds and ironically got ko’d from a  sloppy take down.

There are other examples of these kinds of fights but they are all pretty forgettable. Also there a picture above of the short lived YAMMA fights. They decided it would be a great idea to mess about with the cage and have sloped sides put in. This added nothing to the fights and just made it easier for wrestlers to push their opponents to the edge and get the take down.

Whilst I’m a fan of the ‘Freak show fights’ most of the time, I think messing about with the format of Mma and the cage is a step too far. It adds nothing to Mma, quite the opposite in fact. I feel like it takes it away from the sport and the fights taking place.

Conclusion

So there we have the many facets of what makes up the ‘Freak Show fight’, shining through with all its odd like glory. So, what’s the conclusion, should the freak show be left to die a quiet undignified death or should we pucker up, take a deep breath and breathe life into this two-headed fiend? It seems, at this moment in time we don’t really have a choice in the matter as Japanese Mma itself is on life support and the UFC model of Mma has no place for the Freak Show. For now at least it looks like the ‘freak show’ might be taking its last breath.

Some will say that this is a good thing, that these types of fights make a mockery out of Mma and whilst sometimes I can see where they’re coming from with this point of view, I feel that the freak show fight represents more than just unskilled, strange shaped humans doing battle. Sure, this might sometimes be the case which infuriates the Mma purists that feel Mma is being ‘dragged to new lows’, but generally it poses the age old question… Size against skill? (See example above).

Now, I’m not arguing that the UFC should start putting on ‘freak show fights’ as somehow that wouldn’t seem right. When it comes to the ‘Freak show’ there is only one nation that we can turn to that handles the ‘freaks’ with the proper love and affection… That, of course, is the Japanese. I’m not exactly sure why it is that the Japanese manage to balance the ingredients of the ‘freak show’ and get them all just right. If I were to hazard a guess I’d say it was because the Japanese match makers themselves are genuinely interested to see what happens in these match ups. This is the very reason I wouldn’t like to see the UFC taking on the freak show format.

I feel that not only does the freak show offer the size against strength question but these fights are also fun. I want to see what happens when you put Butterbean against Zulu, I’m interested in the outcome. That being said, would I like to see a Mma organisation that only puts on freak show matches? No, I wouldn’t, but one here and there does no harm at all, in fact I think it lends a different element to Mma which I can only see as a good, positive thing.

As of writing this the ‘freak show fights’ have almost flat lined but don’t worry too much my oddity obsessed friends because when Japanese Mma finds a way, and I believe it will, it will rise up and will do so with the ‘freak show fight’ in tow. I picture Dr Frankenstein (Japanese Mma) after shocking his newly invigorated monster (freak show fights) into conciseness, screaming “it’s alive, it’s alive!”

Thanks for reading &  please remember to ‘follow’ my blog to get a notification when the next one is out, before I post it up on the social media sites & for anyone that like my MMA blog, I am now doing a NON MMA/GENERAL TOPICS blog at www.colossal-personal-concerns.com. Check it out and feedback is always welcomed

WHEN DOES BIG GET TOO BIG -The Dangers of the UFC

Before we go any further on this blog I feel I have to make this point. It’s sad that I have to make it but such is life huhumm (clears throat)… The UFC IS NOT MMA!!! The UFC IS AN ORGANISATION THAT SHOWCASES THE SPORT OF MMA. Simple!

Unless you’re trying to explain what Mma is to the uninitiated then those of you that call Mma ‘Ultimate Fighting’ or ‘Cage fighting’ or anything else that you think makes you sounds cool, edgy or extreme, need to please follow these instructions.

1. Please place your ineffective, useless head at the mouth of a doorway

2. Make sure the door is either heavy wood or thick steel.

3. Finally place your head in said doorway and continue to open and shut it with all the ferocity you can muster in a Vinnie Jones, Lock Stock & two smoking barrels sort of way.

If you’re having trouble with this then ask around and I’m willing to bet that there will be an army of people you’ve offended with your nonsensical & dim-witted ways that will be more than happy to smash what little contents there is contained in your head over the floor provided.

I can hear you saying to yourselves ‘what difference does it make if I call it Ultimate fighting/Cage fighting and not Mma, it’s only a term describing the same thing, what’s does it matter what words you use as long as people know what you’re on about?’. To you I would respond ‘calm yourselves down… the door will shortly be free for your use’!

Many of you might think my Point, on what nickname you give Mma, is a small and somewhat insignificant point to make, but if you look closer I think it reflects the bigger picture and is one of the most worrying things about the UFC. Perhaps I’m wrong by saying this but, I can’t ever recall hearing Dana White call Mma…MMA. I’ve only ever heard him refer to Mma as ‘Ultimate Fighting’.
Now, I understand why he’s using the phrase ‘Ultimate Fighting’, he’s branding Mma, and hats off to Dana and the rest of the powers that be as they have done this VERY, VERY well. Branding and getting the UFC out there is their job so they don’t need to ignore the fact that the sport is MMA… but, like I said, hats off to them for doing an amazing job of it as they’ve almost made MMA into UFC, just as tissues are to Kleenex & Vacuums are to Hoovers etc. etc.

It all makes perfect sense because Dana White & Co are businessmen and, as good businessmen, it cleverly put’s their brand out there constantly. It’s free advertising for them as a huge amount of Mma fans use the term ‘UFC’ when taking about Mma in general. Mma fans out there need to remember that they are businessmen with a brand and, out of that brand, they make a lot of money from big named sponsors and you ( ‘the fan’) whilst you advertise their product for free.. It’s brilliant brand marketing!

Now this isn’t an anti UFC blog. I love the UFC. How can you not? They’re entwined with Mma so massively and to such a degree that for some people it has to be painfully pointed out that they are not one and the same thing. Credit where it’s due, the UFC has also done a lot of things that are great for the sport, but it’s only fair to say ‘what’s good for the UFC doesn’t automatically translate that it’s good for mma’.

Mma is more popular than ever! The standard of Mma is rising and we are getting to see some great fighters, most of which are fighting under one organisation- the UFC. You could argue Mma fans have never had it so good and to a point I agree, BUT To a point should be underlined heavily.
The thing that worries me more than anything is that MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, yet the only people making any real money out of the sport is the UFC. A sport so massively popular that five out of the top ten 2011 pay per views were UFC’s. Mma is unquestionably dominated, and to a large extent controlled, by ONE company! How can this be? Well, I think the answer lies in the fact the UFC spread their net wide and have introduced MMA to most parts to the world where they have no other means to access Mma shows. That, along with the clever branding they use, means the UFC have maintained the top spot- when it comes to Mma shows- for the longest time.

Now, we have to be careful not to fall in to the trap of vilifying the UFC for their success. I mean, “what are they meant to do, not be successful?”… no, of course not and it should be noted that the UFC has more than paid it’s dues for its current success as it was there at the start of the Mma revolution. In fact I’d go as far as to say it was pretty much the start of ‘mainstream Mma’.

In the early days the company lost a hell of a lot of money…somewhere around $30 million until they eventually stuck gold with the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ reality TV show, which got Mma out to the masses, and thus garnering the rewards. It should be remembered that no one gave them anything at the start and it was a hard road to walk. Even with that said and remembering all their early hardships, it has to be a concern. At the time of writing this the UFC are pretty much the only game in town and any time you’re the only game in town it means you get to set your own rules. Where is fighter X going to go if he thinks the rules aren’t fair? What are the alternatives?

To quote John Dalberg- Acton “power tends to corrupt, but absolute power corrupts absolutely” and the UFC has no plans to give up any of that power.

I’ve seen a UFC contract and once you sign it Dana White & Co have your SOUL (it’s rumoured Dana White uses them as paper weights in his office). It’s a tricky thing for fighters signed to them as the way the UFC are reported to go after people who disagree with them, on any number of issues, is with actions that are hard to describe in any other way…other than plain old bullying. At this moment in time Mma fighters have to just ride it out. It means they take their lumps inside, as well as outside, the cage and just hope they’re in agreement with the UFC’s view on things.

The UFC buying out Strikeforce, which was one off its last real competitors, has meant the UFC’s grasp on Mma just got that bit tighter. Since Pride went under and was bought out by the UFC it seemed it kick-started Japanese Mma into disarray and apart from the thousands of smaller shows out there, the only real competitor for the UFC at the moment is Bellator. Whilst they have achieved a lot in a short amount of time by getting shows out there and producing a promising alternative to the UFC… Dana White isn’t losing any sleep over them.

Other than Bellator you have to look to Asia to see signs of green shoots appearing.

We’ve got One FC that is putting together good quality shows with great production. They’re also holding some kind of summit, where they’re trying to bring together Mma companies across Asia, in the hope to band together to produce great quality Mma. I don’t know many details of this, if it will work or fall flat, but it is encouraging to see One FC trying to put something together and build some momentum. The people of One FC should be applauded for this.

We’ve then got the SFL (Super Fight League) who are based in India. I’ve fought for them twice now and while they’re not inviting me to meetings and showing me their blue prints for success, I do see behind the scenes of this organisation and I’m impressed with what a decent, committed, passionate team they have running the show.

In Europe the only big Mma shows I can think of are Showtime, which is a massive show that cross promotes Kick Boxing and Mma. These events sell out football stadiums in Holland but outside of Holland not many people know they exist, yet alone sell out massive football arenas. Then there’s KSW, a Polish Mma org that has a few promising Polish stars & great production quality. Like Showtime, KSW again doesn’t hold any weight anywhere in the world other than Poland. So as you can see there isn’t an abundance of choice for fighters outside the UFC realm.

I think that this monopoly the UFC holds over the Mma world will take time to change. Mma was brought to the world by the UFC and because of this it will take a long time for the casual fan to realise that the UFC is an organisation that showcases Mma fights and that the UFC is not actually the whole sport of MMA.

As Mma continues to grow then it stands to reason that in time other org’s (perhaps one I’ve mentioned earlier) will come along to rival the UFC and while the UFC will all ways be at the forefront of Mma, it will no longer be the only game in town. This is so much healthier for the fighters and Mma in general, not to mention -ironically enough- the UFC, as competition forces the best out of companies. It breeds the best out of people and companies simply because it has to… You have to be on your game to be able to survive. If you’re the only game in town, like the UFC are, then eventually somewhere down the line you get fat and lazy and everyone then suffers. There are so many examples of this through out history.

I believe we had better fight cards when Pride was around…Why? Well firstly, even though the fighters weren’t all under one organisation and Pride weren’t competing in the UFC’s backyard (apart from 1 pride show they did in Vegas) there were more ‘main event’ worthy match up’s on Pride shows to excite the fans. Pride kept the UFC on their toes as, at one point in time, Pride was genuine, healthy competition for the UFC. I don’t believe the UFC would have ever considered going down the road it seems to have now taken, in terms of aggressively adopting a boxing model for its fights i.e. one big fight per card, if pride were still around.

While on one hand it’s great for the fans to have most of the major Mma competitors under one roof, on the other I feel the fans ultimately suffer because these fights are now spread out over so many different pay per view events.

I’m not exactly sure what the pay per view costs are for a UFC card, I think it’s somewhere between $50 and $75 in the States. When there are three… sometimes four UFC PPV’s a month then not only is the talent being spread thinly, but all the PPV’s are saturating the market. This is why the PPV sales for the UFC have dropped significantly, that’s not to say that they’re not still turning over a massive profit.

The main reason that the UFC 151 was cancelled was the fact they couldn’t find a replacement fighter for the main event, which meant the card simply wasn’t strong enough to sell without their one major, monster fight.

Nowadays the UFC has to have so many events because it has so many fighters under contract that all want and need to fight. So, even if the UFC agreed that they were saturating the market it would make no difference as they would still need to keep putting on shows to keep the many fighters under contract with them busy. This is another reason why the fans and fighters need more competition and choice when it comes to Org’s.

So, what am I hoping for? I, as a Mma fighter AND fan want a viable alternative option to the UFC. Dana White would say that the reason that there isn’t another big Mma org out there right now is because it’s not an easy thing to achieve. I think he’d be a 100% right for saying that, it isn’t easy but never the less it needs to happen otherwise we’ll be paying more money… for less fights.

I, for one, want healthy competition inside the cage as well as outside of it.

As always, thanks for reading and taking time out to comment, my new weekly PODCAST is out and the link is here for anyone that wants to check it out

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/colossal-concerns-podcast/id558622595

Do Women have a place in MMA?

Don’t worry ladies; we haven’t gone back to the fifties despite my rather dated and antagonistic title. A more fitting title would have been ‘how big will women’s mma get’? My answer to this would be ‘Massive’!

We’ve seen the sport of Mma sky rocket to new uncharted areas of growth so it’s easy to forget just how new the sport actually is; really it’s still in its infancy. Within the last five years women’s Mma has sky rocketed and thus, so has the quality and amount of women competing in the sport.

On a side note: Something that puzzles me is ‘how come women’s Mma is steadily growing and gathering pace whereas women’s boxing has been at a virtual standstill’?, and that’s being kind. I wonder if it’s because people don’t like to see woman solely punishing each other with punches and even though Mma is seen as brutal by some, there are more varied ways to win other than by a KO. Some will say it’s simply all a fad and women’s Mma (along with Mma in general) will shine bright and then will burn out shortly after, but if you look closely at who’s saying this you’ll find it’s mostly crusty old men who are all about “the sweet science “… Boxing, and so stuck in their crusty old ways they can only ever imagine women putting on gloves to clean. These boxing dinosaurs are nothing to be scared of, I suggest tolerating them like a bad smell – unpleasant to be around but it won’t kill you. They will fade out long before women’s Mma… That’s enough pensioner bashing, for now.

Mma is an extreme sport both mentally and physically. It’s hard to compete seriously at any level. Because of this there are only a certain percentage of people who will ever dedicate their lives to compete at it professionally. Add to that the amount of time it takes to get half decent at it, not to mention the small amount you’ll be getting in compensation for the vast amount of time, effort and sacrifices you’ll have to make, and then not forgetting the likelihood that you’ll be working a day job for a long time – to fund your quest for Mma greatness- and you’ll forgive people for thinking you need your head seriously testing (which you’ll have to pay for as 95% of mma org’s won’t, as a cat scans are pretty expensive) to enter this sport.

All the points above rule out a lot of men from the sport yet alone women that also have to overcome a stigma that they shouldn’t be fighting as It’s pretty fair to say Mma isn’t the most feminine sport out there. It’s not like you see that many (if any) young girls pitting Barbie against Cindy in a fight of physical supremacy! So then, when it comes to women’s Mma the numbers are already depleted for all of the reasons above and it’s safe to say that we’re now in single digits. What we are left with is a slightly unhinged, tough, athletic female who likes to fight. You’ll see the number one issue facing Women’s Mma is… numbers. There are not yet enough women involved in Mma right now, right down to the amount of women competing and facing each other to training partners and having a deep enough talent pool to sustain the public’s interest…

If more women watch mma and take an interest in it, it will then filter down to more women actually training in Mma. As long as things keep going in this vain then the knock on effect is that eventually we’ll end up with more women competing. The numbers of women in the sport will vastly improve, like they have been doing, and hence the skill level will rise. In the last 5 years the thing that surprises me the most is the speed in which this has happened.

A common factor I’ve noticed in women’s Mma is the intensity of it… Generally it’s flat out right from the off. I would say (speaking very generally here) that women Mma fighters seem to fight with more passion and are willing to leave it all in the cage/ring. I think the reason for this might be because women are evil and they’ve learnt to harness this evilness- I’m joking (a bit).

No, really I think it might be what I alluded to earlier in this post. By the time you’ve filtered everyone out through the training, low initial pay, stigma etc. then what you’re left with are the real female savages that want to fight for no other reason than to test themselves….It’s either that or something to do with PMT.

When asked why women’s Mma isn’t in the UFC, Dana White simply states that the ‘depth of quality isn’t there yet’… which is a valid reason. But this reason won’t be valid for too much longer.

If someone had said to me five years ago that a women’s match up would garner enough interest to headline a UFC, I would have bet that you either had ovaries, or you were going out with a female fighter and you didn’t want her to beat you up! But this has been and gone, with the likes of Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg which was a co main event at Strikeforce. That was a while back but these days the match up of Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg could easily headline a UFC.

It doesn’t get much clearer… Women’s Mma is going from strength to strength. Let’s not forget we got two high profile women fights in one night when Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate vs. Julie Kedzie fought on this past Saturdays Strikeforce show

I do believe Dana White has made the right decision showcasing these fights on Strikeforce first because as good as these fights were you’ll notice that Cris Cyborg’s name has been linked twice in the biggest ever women’s fights (Gina Carano whom she already fought and the eagerly anticipated fight with Ronda Rousey which hasn’t happened yet). This goes back to the problem that keeps occurring that I mentioned earlier, there just isn’t enough depth of quality or variety with female Mma fighters yet.

What women’s Mma doesn’t need is to get forced out front and centre with a few fights from these female fighters that are capable of captivating massive audiences on a main event card, which in turn gets people excited and really into women’s Mma, but then doesn’t have a talent pool deep enough to draw from… meaning we end up watching Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey twenty times! That would be a great shame, would hurt women’s Mma greatly and would make it harder to get back to the UFC. That doesn’t need to happen and that’s why -at the moment- the way Dana Whites dealing with this issue is correct, in my opinion.

There is the argument that says the quicker women get into the UFC the better, as the added exposure to a bigger audience will get more women out there involved in the sport hence the quality of women fighters in mma would get better. While I think all these views are correct I do think you have to be careful because, even though it’s unfair, you have to remember practically all of the audience that views Mma and the UFC are male and if you don’t constantly deliver top quality Mma female fighters it won’t be long until you hear grunts and sexist moaning, about a woman’s place being in the kitchen etc., from shame faced males who wish they had the balls to do what these very women they’re criticizing are doing.

I think the way it is at the moment hits a perfect balance with Strikeforce getting female Mma out there to the masses, without diluting it needlessly. If the progress continues, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t, I’d go as far to say that we’ll see women’s Mma in the UFC in within the next five years.

I haven’t mentioned the people who think women’s Mma shouldn’t be allowed or isn’t somehow right since it’s not feminine. If you’re a male and have this view I’d say the real issue that keeps your sadly deficient in testosterone body up at night if you dig a little deeper, is the fact you don’t like the thought that there are hoards of trained up females able to kick your ass at the drop of a hat and even though I can see why this is a terrifying thought for you, I’d simply say ” man up son, grow a pair and get to the gym”

If you’re female and have these views I’m not quite sure what to say other than not every female wants to be in beauty pageants or a glamour model… Oh yeah I forgot, you don’t want women doing that either as it’s seen as degrading. In fact seems like whatever you do as a woman you’re upsetting someone- whether it’s going to work, staying at home, showing your tits or punching someone else in them…someone is going to have an issue with it… So the advice from The Colossus is… do what you want, because you’re the one that has to do it and be happy doing it.

In short, I don’t see Mma as divided up in to sections or groups… If I see a beautiful armbar, a perfectly timed double leg or a spirit sapping body shot… it’s just that! It doesn’t matter who’s throwing it, all that matters is that it’s executed well. If Llamas could fight Mma I’d be there front and centre row getting involved, not just because I like Llama’s (who doesn’t) but because I love Mma whoever or whatever’s doing it. Anything else is just people projecting their issues onto the sport… And no one wants or needs that.

Right, now I’ve done burning my bra (don’t worry I have lots left) for the cause of women’s Mma. So to all you women out there, go train some Mma but don’t forget to wash up first. Oh come on, that’s only the second sexist joke in the whole blog!! I reckon I’ve done pretty well.

Here are a few female Mma fighters who have caught my attention. All of them are at different stages of their careers. Some are very well known others are up and comers, either way… all are deserving of respect for deciding to try and master the toughest sport out there.

Ronda Rousey– an Olympic judo competitor that’s been making people take notice since she got into the cage. One of the few people who has applied their knowledge of Judo to their game plan and made it work in Mma and this is before we even get to her Ju Jit Su prowess. Once the fight hits the floor your thinking it’s only a matter of time until you see bones cracking, such is her ferocious technique. I’m sure she working hard on her stand up now to make her the complete fighter. Here is a female fighter that I’m excited to watch and no one will deny that a match with herself and Cris Cyborg is a worthy main event on any Mma card

Cris Cyborg– another woman fighter I’m always exited to watch. She always comes in ready to fight flat out and leaves it all in the cage. Stopped the unbeaten Gina Carano and finishes most her Mma fights which is something you can’t argue with.

Gina Carano– No longer fighting but brought a lot of attention to the Mma world when she was champion. Off making movies now so I don’t know if we’ll ever see her back in the cage.

Felice ‘Lil bulldog’ Herrig – A former Thai boxer that made the move to Mma. It seems like she’s added the ground game to her arsenal. Always full of energy and exciting to watch.

Lena Ovchynnikova – Lena competed at Thai before making the switch to Mma and picking up the ground game, which has fared well for her since 7 out of her 8 victories have come from armbars. I’ve watched Lena fight twice at SFL and both times she was on the losing end, but to say I was impressed not only by the level of Mma I was watching but by her never say die attitude. If I had to choose the heart of any fighter male of female I’d choose her. So many times I thought she was done and she came back time and time again.

Jo Calderwood– When I heard Jo was fighting Lena Ovchynnikova at SFL 3 and it was only her second fight I thought it was unfair and throwing her in at the deep end, but what I actually witnessed was someone who’s is proficient in all areas of Mma. She fought a great fight and took a decision, proving me wrong and impressing everyone who saw the fight… Her press up needs work though!

Rosi Sexton– Rosi’s been top of not only the UK but the international rankings for what seems like forever! She also has a doctorate in maths-science from Cambridge uni, showing she can do more than just smash pretty faces in. A great female fighter and ambassador for female Mma. Check out her well written blog at – http://rosisexton.wordpress.com/

Sanja Sucevic– She was the K1 champion of Serbia in 2010 before moving over to Mma. She impressed here as well, as after winning both her SFL fights she has been selected to be a coach on the SFL reality show because of her strong showing.

LJ ‘Xena’ Adams– LJ is relatively unknown and pretty new to the sport of Mma. I’ve been impressed with her wrestling and never say die attitude LJ trains at the same Olympians Mma gym that I train at, so I’ve witnessed her thirst for knowledge and hard work first hand. If she keeps at it, at this pace she’ll be making waves on the UK scene soon… mark my words.