Thursday, March 4, 2010

Stylistic Double Standard in MMA

When a talented wrestler comes into MMA, we expect a one-sided skill set but we still want to see his potential. We'll give him time to develop his striking while he competes and wins decisions. When a world class boxer enters the sport though, we doubt his chances against any “decent, well rounded” fighter. There is no doubt that wrestling is the hinge that determines where a fight takes place, and thereby determines what skillset the fighters will be using, but there are plenty of good fighters that have average wrestling. With the signing of James Toney, some fans reacted with disdain while there are plenty of kick boxers who have come over to MMA who haven’t received the same criticism about their background. Fans have given a pass to fighters who “brawl” because it’s entertaining when it’s just subpar striking. If he can adapt and take the time to learn grappling, I think Toney can raise the current level of striking in MMA just as the influx of top wrestlers has raised the level of wrestling in the sport. As we get more and more fighters from certain specialities who, and this is key, are able to adapt their style to MMA as well as learn the other necessary skillsets it will make for even better future fighters.

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