Evolution of MMA
- Thread starter Nastycrow
- Start date
Not sure how much more it can evolve or how much more popular its going to get. I have a feeling the fanbase is going to remain painfully casual. If the one of the greatest fighters in mma history is getting booed for winning a fight that broke one ufc record and tied another I have little faith about how much more the sport will grow. I think any evolution will somehow cater to help making sure the fights end before decision so they can attract more wishy washy fans.
rocklobster said:
Not sure how much more it can evolve or how much more popular its going to get. I have a feeling the fanbase is going to remain painfully casual. If the one of the greatest fighters in mma history is getting booed for winning a fight that broke one ufc record and tied another I have little faith about how much more the sport will grow. I think any evolution will somehow cater to help making sure the fights end before decision so they can attract more wishy washy fans.
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Nicely put
smartigan said:
We have all witnessed the evolution of MMA in the last few years
What do you think it will take for MMA to evolve once again?
World titles?
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I think it's currently going backwards a bit because I'm seeing more and more young fighters who aren't embracing the multidiscipline approach to MMA, but rather positioning and defending while lashing out with a monster shot over and over again, like Koscheck and Evans seem to be doing.
bigskinny22 said:
More wieght classes, legit ranking system and a Fighters Organization modeled after the other major sports like NFL Players Association..... oh and more cowbell
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???
More weight classes will make MMA evolve? They will certainly change it, but I wouldn't call that evolution. I predict that rule changes (like knees to the head of a downed opponent) will help precipitate the evolution of American MMA. Also, since many new fighters will be coming into the sport there will be more top tier athletes. And since kids are starting to learn MMA younger than ever, the next few generations of stars will continue to be more skilled and more well-rounded fighters than the previous generation.
Maharaja said:
bigskinny22 said:
More wieght classes, legit ranking system and a Fighters Organization modeled after the other major sports like NFL Players Association..... oh and more cowbell
Click to expand...
???
More weight classes will make MMA evolve? They will certainly change it, but I wouldn't call that evolution. I predict that rule changes (like knees to the head of a downed opponent) will help precipitate the evolution of American MMA. Also, since many new fighters will be coming into the sport there will be more top tier athletes. And since kids are starting to learn MMA younger than ever, the next few generations of stars will continue to be more skilled and more well-rounded fighters than the previous generation.
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Yeah i guess the "more weight classes" was directed towards UFC not to MMA overall, since UFC is the face of MMA i think it would help that organization to have maybe a Cruiserweight or Super Middle Weight class that way you dont have guys absolutely killing themselves to move up or down and can transition a lil bit easier. I do agree with the younger MMA guys coming up theres more than ever and i think there really needs to be a MMA Association or an overall League or something ... not the BS thats WAMMA
Maharaja said:
bigskinny22 said:
More wieght classes, legit ranking system and a Fighters Organization modeled after the other major sports like NFL Players Association..... oh and more cowbell
Click to expand...
???
More weight classes will make MMA evolve? They will certainly change it, but I wouldn't call that evolution. I predict that rule changes (like knees to the head of a downed opponent) will help precipitate the evolution of American MMA. Also, since many new fighters will be coming into the sport there will be more top tier athletes. And since kids are starting to learn MMA younger than ever, the next few generations of stars will continue to be more skilled and more well-rounded fighters than the previous generation.
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More weight classes will happen eventually with more and more skilled fighters. That's part of the evolution. Rule changes will probably also be part of the evolution, but certainly not knees to head of a downed opponent. Allowing that will hurt the progress of MMA, not help it.
Well, as far as weight classes, the ABC recommended 14 weight classes for MMA just last year and nobody cared. I think more weight classes will come into play as a result of the sport's evolution, but won't cause it.
As far as knees, how will that hurt the sport? I think it will make fighters have to evolve, especially wrestlers. Just look at Heath Herring back in PRIDE. He was a completely different fighter when he had that tool in his arsenal. He was a more complete and more dangerous fighter than he is without them. Knees definitely belong in MMA, whether or not one of the fighters is on the ground.
Maharaja said:
Well, as far as weight classes, the ABC recommended 14 weight classes for MMA just last year and nobody cared. I think more weight classes will come into play as a result of the sport's evolution, but won't cause it.
As far as knees, how will that hurt the sport? I think it will make fighters have to evolve, especially wrestlers. Just look at Heath Herring back in PRIDE. He was a completely different fighter when he had that tool in his arsenal. He was a more complete and more dangerous fighter than he is without them. Knees definitely belong in MMA, whether or not one of the fighters is on the ground.
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My point is that evolution of MMA to me coincides with it going mainstream. Knees to a downed opponent only lend creedence to those who view MMA as a bloodsport and not the great sport that it is. Kneeds are allowed to the body of a downed opponent, just not head, which is the way it should be. Driving a knee into the head of someone lying down could kill the person, and it doesn't require much skill.
mmafanatic said:
Maharaja said:
Well, as far as weight classes, the ABC recommended 14 weight classes for MMA just last year and nobody cared. I think more weight classes will come into play as a result of the sport's evolution, but won't cause it.
As far as knees, how will that hurt the sport? I think it will make fighters have to evolve, especially wrestlers. Just look at Heath Herring back in PRIDE. He was a completely different fighter when he had that tool in his arsenal. He was a more complete and more dangerous fighter than he is without them. Knees definitely belong in MMA, whether or not one of the fighters is on the ground.
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My point is that evolution of MMA to me coincides with it going mainstream. Knees to a downed opponent only lend creedence to those who view MMA as a bloodsport and not the great sport that it is. Kneeds are allowed to the body of a downed opponent, just not head, which is the way it should be. Driving a knee into the head of someone lying down could kill the person, and it doesn't require much skill.
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I def have to agree with this, i think Knees to the head while your opponent is down and soccer kicks should stay banned it just seems to brutal for mainstream USA.
mmafanatic said:
Maharaja said:
Well, as far as weight classes, the ABC recommended 14 weight classes for MMA just last year and nobody cared. I think more weight classes will come into play as a result of the sport's evolution, but won't cause it.
As far as knees, how will that hurt the sport? I think it will make fighters have to evolve, especially wrestlers. Just look at Heath Herring back in PRIDE. He was a completely different fighter when he had that tool in his arsenal. He was a more complete and more dangerous fighter than he is without them. Knees definitely belong in MMA, whether or not one of the fighters is on the ground.
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My point is that evolution of MMA to me coincides with it going mainstream. Knees to a downed opponent only lend creedence to those who view MMA as a bloodsport and not the great sport that it is. Kneeds are allowed to the body of a downed opponent, just not head, which is the way it should be. Driving a knee into the head of someone lying down could kill the person, and it doesn't require much skill.
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Bloodsport? The quickest way to get your opponent bloody is to elbow his forehead. Rarely do knees to the head of a downed opponent lead to blood.
If the goal is to remove the elements of MMA that look brutal, then any strikes to a grounded opponent should be illegal. That and the fact that the fights take place in a cage are what I hear the most complaints about regarding MMA's apparent brutality. Whether it's soccer kicks, knees, or GnP, attacking a grounded fighter appears brutal to a culture that has always been told that you shouldn't hit a man when he's down.
If the goal is to remove any move that can kill someone, then all strikes to the head, all slams, and all chokes should be forbidden.
MMA isn't a sport that caters to the whims of the mainstream. It is a niche sport and a large part of its appeal is the inherent brutality of a fight. And by removing knees to the head of a downed opponent, you're considerably altering the dynamics of the fight.
Sorry guys, soccer kicks and knees to head of downed opponents are never going back to MMA. If anything the elbows to the head are going away. One of the biggest problems of MMA is that fighters are often only able to do 2-3 fights a year of a toatal cage-time of less than 40 minutes! Quite outsanding how little these guys are actually out ther performing... more liberal rules will not help that!
-The most important thing is to get the rules as similar as possible in different parts of the world. I would like a standard arena too, silly to have all those different cages and rings, imagine that in any other sport!
-As the sport is a very new way to become a superstar, we still havent seen many people training for MMA since childhood. Machida is close, though (childhood karate, youth BJJ and SUMO.) The level will just improve, we have seen nothing yet!
-As the years go by, i believe you have to have even fewer flaws in your game to make it to the top level. Can also see a kind of standard MMA-fightingstyle develop.
-As all fighters get more dangerous weapons in their arsenal, I believ future MMA-fighters will be more cautious and defensive. Event today, brawlers are seldom making it to the top level.
I think it may follow the model of the poker boom of about 5 years ago. Poker, both watching on TV and actual participation on the tourneys and Vegas poker rooms, grew at a ridiculous rate over a few years. Mainstream media covered it left and right as the next big thing. Then, everything got really quiet, and suddenly people aren't talking about poker nearly as much.
Now, the long term benefits for us poker fans are certainly there, as poker remains approximately one million times more popular than it was, say, 10 years ago. It used to be maybe you could find some WSOP main even coverage a few weeks a year, not promoted. Now, you can find some sort of poker show on various channels pretty much every day. And it is not hard to find a game. So, I'm not saying that the poker boom is over, just that the rate of growth and interest eventually leveled off, and perhaps even contracted a bit (aided, in part, by some draconian nanny laws passed by Congress).
So, MMA has seen a similar exponential growth pattern in recent years. The question is, will this continue, making MMA as big as boxing once was, or even as big as some of the major league sports? Or will the growth level off and things will remain as they are today? Or will interest in the sport even contract a bit, and we are left with a situation where MMA is not as big as it is at this moment, but still thriving and much, much more popular long-term than it ever was?
I suspect the second or third of those options is more likely than the first.
Brick said:
I think it may follow the model of the poker boom of about 5 years ago. Poker, both watching on TV and actual participation on the tourneys and Vegas poker rooms, grew at a ridiculous rate over a few years. Mainstream media covered it left and right as the next big thing. Then, everything got really quiet, and suddenly people aren't talking about poker nearly as much.
Now, the long term benefits for us poker fans are certainly there, as poker remains approximately one million times more popular than it was, say, 10 years ago. It used to be maybe you could find some WSOP main even coverage a few weeks a year, not promoted. Now, you can find some sort of poker show on various channels pretty much every day. And it is not hard to find a game. So, I'm not saying that the poker boom is over, just that the rate of growth and interest eventually leveled off, and perhaps even contracted a bit (aided, in part, by some draconian nanny laws passed by Congress).
So, MMA has seen a similar exponential growth pattern in recent years. The question is, will this continue, making MMA as big as boxing once was, or even as big as some of the major league sports? Or will the growth level off and things will remain as they are today? Or will interest in the sport even contract a bit, and we are left with a situation where MMA is not as big as it is at this moment, but still thriving and much, much more popular long-term than it ever was?
I suspect the second or third of those options is more likely than the first.
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While the growth is comparable for sure as far as spectator sports go I think MMA can hold onto fans and gain more far better than poker. I play poker online and in live games and I like to watch it but as you say the boom is gone and I don't think anyone but players watch it often. Whereas a lot of people like a good fight and you don't have to train to be a fan. Watching someone eat a round house kick to the face is far more exciting then watching someone catch the nuts on the flop.