“Limit The Takedown” – The problem(s) with MMA/UFC

Think about the following fights..

UFC 118 UPDATE:

Gray Maynard v Kenny Florian

Nick Lentz v Andre Winner

——————

UFC 117 UPDATE:

Jon Fitch v Thiago Alves
——————

UFC 114 UPDATE:

Rashad Evans v Rampage

——————

Jake Shields v Dan Henderson

King Mo Lawal v Gegard Mousasi

Georges St Pierre v Dan Hardy/Thiago Alves/BJ Penn

Josh Koscheck v Paul Daley/Anthony Johnson

Rashad Evans v Thiago Silva

Brock Lesnar v Frank Mir II

While some of the above fights were fairly exciting contests in their own right, they were all largely one-sided contests, dominated by wrestling and the move known as the takedown.

If you like your fights one-sided and utterly dominated by one figher using a rock-paper-scissors blueprint formula, stop reading. If you want even fights that demonstrate the true essence of mixed martial arts combat, then read on. The takedown spells real danger for MMA. The fear is that a sport known for its many dimensions could well develop into a marginally more exciting version of wrestling.

To counter this, the takedown – the driving wrestling technique that forces an opponent to the floor and into a prone position beneath the attacking fighter – should be regulated. This isn’t an argument for the removal of wrestling or the many wrestling techniques that MMA has adopted, but for the limiting of the takedown manoeuvre. Limit the takedown and MMA’s excitement levels will be safeguarded. If the sport spirals into wrestling with bells and whistles, it is in danger of becoming redunadant as a sport, losing fans and revenues.

So what would be the essence of such regulation?

Limit the takedown to 3 per round. Prevent the MMA game from becoming a boring and predictable wrestling procession. Allow fighters whose boxing or Muay Thai is as good as his opponent’s wrestling to compete in a round, instead of being forced to the ground, again and again and again and again.

Think about the Shields v Henderson fight. Standing up, Shields initially struggled against the better boxing skills of Henderson. Ultimately though, Henderson’s advantage in this area of the sport meant little as Shields continually looked to take Henderson down in rounds 2-5. Shields’ ground and pound game was very solid, but Henderson had little or no chance to illustrate how good his boxing game was. Allow Shields the chance to take Henderson down three times in a round, or attempt the takedown three times, then cap the takedown.

Ask Shields to come up with other ways to dominate Henderson. Allow Henderson the chance to challenge Shields standing up, making the fight a more entertaining spectacle for the fans. That’s what everyone wants.

..It’s no different in boxing. A good referee will know when a boxer is holding an opponenent unnecesarilly, and will punish that fighter. Punishment for overuse of the takedown is unfair, but regulation might well be the answer.

Advertisement