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Think about the following fights..

UFC 118 UPDATE:

Gray Maynard v Kenny Florian

Nick Lentz v Andre Winner

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UFC 117 UPDATE:

Jon Fitch v Thiago Alves
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UFC 114 UPDATE:

Rashad Evans v Rampage

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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.

As the sport of MMA grows more lucrative and the cost of losing becomes greater, fighters are beginning to think more intelligently about how they go about securing a win. More and more fighters are putting down their swords and picking up the pre-fight pen and blueprint. The old boxing adage goes the good big guy beats the good little guy. Although Jones Jr and Pacquiao have proven this isn’t always the case, it usually is. Until recently, MMA has excelled because of its unpredictability, its no holds barred fighting spirit and its added dimensions in combat. Increasingly however, it appears that a new set of MMA truisms are starting to emerge.

The good wrestler beats the good boxer

The great Muay Thai guy beats the great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guy

Blueprints on how to beat opponents are beginning to influence the outcome of top-level, revenue-generating fights, way before fights have even started. Increasingly, it seems the once multi-dimensional sport is becoming more like a pre-determined game of rock-paper-scissors. Recent UFC events are making fans wonder if it’s really about heart or technique or the will to win, or simply about picking the right tool for the job and sticking to a game plan. Does this sound like adrenaline-pumping entertainment to you? Dana isn’t worried for nothing..

The problems at the heart of MMA stem from the most unlikely place: the sport’s versatility. Unlike the purer sport of boxing, which requires a fighter to only punch, defend and move, MMA requires fighters to develop a range of skills: striking, grappling and a submissions-based ground game. Sure, it means fights appear to be completely unpredictable. But what happens if a fighter is able to determine the outcome of a fight by eliminating one or two of the sport’s dimensions, controlling the fight and the opponent according to his/her own strict blueprint?

The worrying fact is that it’s already happening. Some recent examples highlight this growing trend in the sport. Georges St Pierre (GSP) was candid about the methods he employed to defeat Dan Hardy at UFC 111. In the post-fight press conference, he admitted that he didn’t fancy his chances in a boxing contest against the heavy-handed Hardy. So he used his far superior wrestling and take-down game. By continually taking Hardy down to the ground, GSP was able to almost completely eliminate Hardy’s stand-up game. But it isn’t just Hardy who has found his game almost completely denuded by GSP. Ask Thiago Alves, BJ Penn or any number of recent GSP opponents.

..GSP chooses paper when his opponents choose rock.

As these patterns of dominance start to appear, the sport of MMA is in danger of becoming less of a true mix and more of a must system. In other words, fighters know which area they must excel in, in order to totally dominate and win a fight. This destroys the idea of an even fight, and is contrary to the purer aspects of boxing, where fighters have only one option. They learn how to use their arms and move their feet, or they get knocked out. There are no real blueprints in boxing, unless your name happens to be Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Another counterproductive trend has also recently emerged. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) experts, on occasion, completely shy away from a stand-up battle and simply wait for the fight to go to the ground, resulting in a dull, forgettable 25 minutes of punching avoidance. Anyone that witnessed the farcical Anderson Silva v Demian Maia UFC 112 match-up will have noticed two things. Anderson Silva’s obvious dominance (and surprising “stamina issues”); but also both fighters’ reluctance to fight each other’s game. Silva refused to take the fight to the ground and compete with Maia’s excellent BJJ game. Maia, for the most part, didn’t want to trade blows with Muay Thai expert Silva.

Silva chooses scissors when his opponents choose paper.

Bottom line: if even so-called COMPLETE MMA FIGHTERS such as GSP and Anderson Silva want to stack their chips cautiously, it sets a bad precedent for the sport. Understandably, the most intelligent fighters are not prepared to take on the odds. But by doing this, not only are they taking on the dealer, Dana White, by refusing to make the fight a fight; they’re taking on the house (AKA the fans and more importantly, the fans’ money), ..and no one ever beats the house.

Paul Thomas Saunders

Although In The City is a showcase for new and unsigned bands, every year there’s an act that sounds like they’ve been plying their musical trade for years. This year’s ITC threw up the name of Paul Thomas Saunders. Like all those destined for greatness, Saunders’ trade feels like an effortless one. Dovetailing a deft, Arthur Lee-like instinct for lyrical mysticism and Tim Buckley‘s taste for psychedelic folk-rock, Saunders may well be the UK’s Cass McCombs equivalent. Not to mention Saunders’ voice, which commands attention like a young Paul Simon.

Seeräuber Jenny

OK, so not the most memorable of monikers the world’s ever known. But the wonderfully paradoxical thing about Our Jenny (tis better, no?) is that despite the forgettable name, her songs are cross-appeal, radio-friendly indie-pop memorable. Calling to mind Nico, PJ Harvey and Garbage, Jenny has vocal presence and hooks to spare.

more to come…

Finally, a new band that sounds like they might be having a little bit of fun making records. The band in question are Knoxville, TN’s Royal Bangs.

Another from City Slang’s reliable roster, Royal Bangs are basically just a bunch of geeks, and everyone knows that geeks generally have the most fun. It’s the cool kids that earn nothing and spend their days writing bitchy rhyming couplets, while the geeks own global corporations and sit on enough cash to convince Elvis that living again might actually be an option.

There’s a geeky precision to Let It Beep’s scuzzy slices of indie-funk. The use of computers is perfectly weighted, giving the album contemporary cool and little in the way of excess fat. And you’ll wear a Cheshire Cat grin all the way through it, just like the band did making it. This will sneak into a few 2009 top 100’s, methinks.

G

It appears that ensconcing yourself in either a cabin in the middle of nowhere or a crummy flat in New York produces album of the year-toppping results.

I forgot to mention other key influences for this record, including Phil Elverum’s Microhphones and Mount Eerie projects. And Radiohead too, for that matter. There’s something squalid and vacant about Hospice’s landscapes. It’s the muscial evocation of a pretty fucked up state of mind. The fact that Silberman and company get it so right is the thing that makes it so compelling and ultimately, so beautiful. I also forgot to mention the vacant futurism of Blade Runner. Although it’s fair to say that if I had my way, I’d fit Blade Runner into every facet of life.

G

And try not to think her mind
Might one day change,
That she might turn the page
And at the same time as me,

But I am the pulp that made her book
And she has offers with better luck,
The worst might be mine
And for another time,
I will save it

I miss her so
But I’ve lost her so,
It’s time to hunker down

Reeled in to this morgue of love
The hope then the let down

A sight of angels and scattered halo beams
The fall then the dive down

Sealed by its kiss and held unto its gaze
The chase then the bite down

A multi-coloured chastening vision
The entrance then the exit down

Kneeled to its call and demand
The shame then the come down

Wrists cut and sore from its rope
The pain then the turn down

The thought of you to which I cling
The fight then the back down

A swirl of blood reflects the bronzed glitter

They deliberate
They annihilate,
Straightening ties
Mopping down brows

This gambler’s zodiac
This chancer’s meteor attack,
Reverberations
Ruminations

His face visible
His mind clear,
Drops your pay load
When the table’s yours

My angel’s behind me
My angel believes in me
Blow on the dice, darling
Blow on the dice

Big boys game
Big boys game,
Red neon
Blue neon