...the thing I love about MMA, and what made me appreciate it last night, was the fact that it the full dimensions of fighting are on display. When Money was hiding behind his gloves and elbows against the ropes, letting Manny expend energy, the limitations of boxing were in view--a stingy defensive fighter can dictate the entire fight. MMA's version of Mayweather is Anderson Silva, who has incredible foot and head movement and can also get into a mode where he won't engage more than a short burst per round; the difference being a wrestler like Chael Sonnen can still do something about it because there are other options except punching. Thoughts go out to everyone who put their $100 down to watch those two guys celebrate their payday with a cautious and uneventful fight last night. I am no exception.
eh my only interest in this fight was the outcome... which was exactly what I thought it would be. So I saved my time and money and saw none of it. I grew tired of boxing long before I became an MMA fan. All the clutching and holding and then having the ref break it up was so boring for me. I swear guys were landing less than 10 shots/round in a lot of fights because of how cautious there were. I still think MMA COULD end up being like this (and it some ways it has become more like boxing) in that fighters end up being more cautious and fight to not lose rather than to win. I think this happens because of the $$$$ involved. When the stakes are higher, fighters will be more cautious to keep earning big paydays by winning. Lower pays makes the fighters more hungry for a win and better payouts. IF the UFC can find a way to keep the fighters aggressive and pay them well then MMA could avoid the mistakes of boxing.
