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To Play It Safe or Not Play It Safe in MMA — Part I

Posted by :jcastle On : August 8, 2013
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Category: Decisions, Doombeard Opinion, Fighting Style, Grappling, MMA Fighter Profile, UFC, Wrestling

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Fighters seemingly “playing it safe” en-route to a (usually) Unanimous Decision victory has been a hot-button issue for both MMA promoters and fans alike for quite some time.  Fans routinely fill up MMA forums decrying such performances, lambasting fighters with such terms like “Lay-N-Pray” and “Wall-N-Stall”. Fans are also very quick to criticize when a fighter’s style blurs the lines between an elusiveness and counterstriking style vs. continually circling away and not taking any chances. Being routinely accused of being a “boring fighter” is generally not looked upon favorably, and can be known to have some adverse consequences in regards to a fighter’s career. Conversely, fighters who throw caution to the wind and adopt a more “crowd-pleasing” style are not only beloved by MMA fans, but are also afforded more chances to right the ship by their employers if they happen to lose in an exciting effort. After all, UFC President Dana White commonly refers to the fact that exciting fights “…put asses in seats…”, so he has given numerous exciting fighters a lot more leeway, whereas a 2-3 fight losing streak is most definitely going to earn a less exciting fighter his release from the organization. I will save my thoughts on what this means for the sport itself for another article, as I can personally appreciate the various facets of MMA so as to enjoy virtually almost every fight I watch, with a few exceptions of course! This two article series will include lists of fighters on both sides of the aforementioned equation.

Five Fighters Who’s “Non-Exciting” Style Hurt(s) Their Career or Legacy

Ben Askren MMA

Photo courtesy of http://fightersxchange.com

1. Ben Askren — To most people, this will not come as a surprise. Ben Askren seems to be the most widely panned Champion in any major MMA organization. While I would personally sell my soul to possess his wrestling abilities, he hasn’t really managed to gain much of a fan-base outside of MMA fans that are also hardcore wrestling enthusiasts. Askren’s fighting style essentially consists of top-notch “funk” wrestling with some cursory ground striking and light submission attempts thrown in for good effect. Watching the average Askren fight for the past few years is often akin to watching paint dry. If I happen to have the urge to take a gnarly dump, I can get up and do so at the beginning of his fight and know that when I return in the 3rd of 4th round, he will still be wrestling his opponent to death. His latest victory against Andrey Koreshkov was a TKO victory in the 4th round, but only after wrestling his opponent for 4 ½ rounds until Koreshkov was essentially too exhausted to continue. While I applaud Askren for defending his Bellator Welterweight title once again, I doubt he has endeared himself to many new fans in the process.

 

Jon Fitch MMA

Photo courtesy of http://www.mmamania.com

2. Jon Fitch — A longtime UFC mainstay in the Welterweight division, Jon Fitch’s tenure in the UFC lasted from 2005-2013.  After a few finishes were achieved as part of an eight-fight winning streak to start his UFC career, he was granted a title shot against Georges St. Pierre, which he ultimately lost by Unanimous Decision.  After that is when the proverbial wheels started to fall off, and his favor with fans really began to wane.  His subsequent (and much maligned) wrestling-heavy Decision wins against Akihiro Gono, Paulo Thiago, Mike Pierce, Ben “Killa B” Saunders, and Thiago Alves lead many fans, and UFC President Dana White as well, to decry such a fighting style even though it was ultimately a victorious one. Soon after, people began to refer to someone getting “Fitched” if a fighter was wrestled and held down en route to an unentertaining defeat by Decision. After a lackluster Draw against BJ Penn, Jon Fitch was confronted with the fact that a large share of the MMA community did not even desire a rematch of the fight. Jon Fitch’s next fight saw him on the wrong end of a gnarly Knockout loss to Johny Hendricks in just 12 seconds.  After going 1-1 in his next two fights, Jon Fitch was released from the UFC. Official reasoning that was given for his release included his high price tag for delivering losing efforts, but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the UFC was quite ready to jettison Jon Fitch into the open market, despite his overall UFC record of  14-3-1.

 

Yushin Okami MMA

Photo courtesy of http://www.bleacherreport.com

3. Yushin Okami — Despite an overall UFC record of 13-4, Yushin Okami has come under some fire in the past few years for his clinch-heavy fighting style. While his last victory by stoppage happened at UFC 150 against a clearly overmatched Buddy Roberts, Okami has still become widely known for getting his opponents up against the cage and utilizing his wrestling and dirty-boxing to stifle any of his opponents attempts at mounting much of any kind of offensive effort. This fighting style is what made him a hard sell for a Championship match versus Anderson Silva in the first place. After being handily dismantled at the hands of the (until recently) reigning Middleweight Champion of the UFC, Okami has certainly found himself in a position where he will be hard pressed to ever be granted a title shot again. His recent Split Decision victory over Hector Lombard did little to improve his prospects in the Middleweight Division, or his standing with fans in general.

 

Lyoto Machida

Photo courtesy of http://fansided.com

4. Lyoto Machida — Before you decry my inclusion of Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida on this list, I’d ask you to hear me out. I am not necessarily saying that Machida is a consistently boring fighter, I am merely pointing out that he is the present-day poster child for how a conservative striking-based style can also sometimes be detrimental to a fighters efforts to achieve victory. While “The Dragon” has some highlight-reel finishes of Thiago Silva, Ryan Bader, Rashad Evans, and Randy Couture to his name…he also was a part of some of the worst fights I can remember in these past few years. He lost a Decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by spending the majority of the fight circling away and sparingly throwing strikes at his opponent, demonstrating very little for the judges to even attempt to score in his favor. His most recent effort against Phil Davis was marred by the same overall strategy and outcome. Machida’s recent fight against Dan Henderson was, quite frankly, pretty awful as well. While he won a Decision victory against Henderson, he did very little to improve his stock in the Light Heavyweight Division because of it. His Karate-based counterstriking style is often described as “elusive” or “unpredictable”. While I give Machida all the credit that is due for being the only person to ever win a round against current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, some of his recent outings leave a lot to be desired for the average viewer, as well as his prospects at getting another shot at the title.

 

Georges St. Pierre MMA

Photo courtesy of http://www.theprovince.com

5. Georges St. Pierre — I will be the first person to say that Georges “Rush” St. Pierre is a future UFC Hall-of-Famer and will go down as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. His accomplishments in the UFC’s Welterweight division are second to none; as he has been competing in the UFC since 2004, with the majority of his fights being for (or mainly defending) the Welterweight Championship belt. Despite his overall record of 24-2 (18-2 UFC), GSP has seen his favor with some MMA fans wane in the past few years. Despite his utter dominance in the UFC’s Octagon, many have grown weary of Georges St. Pierre’s long streak of Unanimous Decision victories. Whether he utilizes his dominant wrestling skills to grind his opponents against the mat for 25 minutes, or uses his jab to set up a winning striking effort from a distance, GSP has the longest slew of Unanimous Decision victories of any Champion in UFC history by far. The last time GSP won via any form of stoppage was when BJ Penn refused to answer the bell in their title fight in January of 2009. While his accomplishments are certainly laudable, I have had a hard time finding many MMA fans that aren’t wishing that GSP would get back to his old ways of finishing the majority of his opposition.

Honorable mentions for other fighters who fall under this category include: Jacob Volkmann, Colton Smith, Cole Konrad, Kris McCray, Francis Carmont and Shane Roller.

My next article will cover a list of fighters whose careers have greatly benefited from being regarded as “exciting” by the MMA community at large.

Q&A with Brian Nielson

Posted by :jcastle On : July 23, 2013
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Category: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Fight Prep, MMA Fighter Profile, MMA Institute, Training, Victorium

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brian nielsonThe Doombeard Report is proud to present this interview with up-and-coming Professional MMA fighter Brian “The Solution” Nielson. Training out of Richmond, Virginia, Brian is currently preparing for his seventh Professional MMA fight at the Victorium II on August 10 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Q: What brought you to MMA?

A: Well I had just not made the wrestling team at Liberty University. I needed to work out somehow without just lifting weights and stumbled I on to grappling and I was hooked.

Where did you begin your training?

Team Ram in Lynchburg, Virginia, then a short time later MMA Institute in Richmond, Virginia and I’ve been there ever since.

When did you have your first amateur MMA fight? How did it go?

It was only a few months into training but it went pretty good. I took the guy down and we ended up in the ropes and they started me on the bottom in guard which was foreign to me, but I got an Arm Bar and finished it.

After finishing your amateur career at 6-1, you made your pro debut on 3/25/2011 at M1-Challenge XXIV against recent TUF winner Colton Smith. How did your preparation go for this fight? How was the event? How was the fight itself?

Oh we had to talk about that fight? Haha! It was not the greatest fight for me. I was coming off a pretty long layoff and it was the first time I fought at 170. But no excuses, Colton is a beast and he beat me on that night so its just another learning experience.

M1 has gotten its fair share of criticism for the way it ran its events held in the US. What was your experience like at that event?

The event was ran pretty smooth from what I can remember. My boy Bryan Lashomb had a rough time getting his purse. I’m not even sure he ever got paid.

Your loss to Colton Smith was followed up with a three-fight winning streak. What did you take away from your fight with Colton Smith, and how did your next three fights go as your Pro career started to take off?

I think that loss was a learning experience like any other fight is. Just getting in the cage each time prepares you more for the next time. Then my next three fights, I won all of them. I wanna say in the first round if I remember right, and it was a great feeling.

You lost to recent World Series of Fighting competitor Ozzy Dugulubgov last April, then lost a questionable (I thought so at least) Split Decision to Brandon Becker at CFFC 19. What are your thoughts on those fights? Where do you see your career now that your Professional record is at an even 3-3?

I mean kinda like what I said earlier they are all learning experiences, but more specifically I learned that I need to go out there and dictate the pace. I have great conditioning and I need push and look for finishes more. My career is just starting, I am young at 24, and I have a long time left in the sport. So who knows where its going. All I can do is get up every morning and get better.

At the Victorium II event on August 10, you face Jeremy Boardwine. How is your preparation going for the fight, and what do you think about your opponent? How do you see the fight going?

Preparation is going great, I’m training hard. Thoughts on my opponent are that he is tough and crafty, but at the end of the night I’m gonna get my hand raised because of who I train with and how hard we get after it.

What are your ranks/achievements in MMA or other Martial Arts forms that you have achieved?

I just got my brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a few months ago.

Forgive me for using a somewhat loaded term, but how would you describe your style as a fighter?

I would consider myself a well-rounded fighter, but if I had to speak to a specialty, it would be in the grappling aspects of MMA.

Aside from fighting, do you have another occupation?

I work at the gym teaching, adults and kids. And sometimes I work as a doorman on the weekends at Europa, as well as every now and then judging amateur MMA fights. But nothing I would really call “work”.

What motivates you as a fighter? What are your goals that you’d like to achieve in your career? Do you feel that coaching others helps you grow as a fighter?

I enjoy getting better, so progression is probably what motivates me more than anything. And along with that my goal is perfection. By that I mean perfecting my skills, technique, cardio, athleticism, mental preparation, everything that goes into the fight. And yeah, coaching for sure helps, I might be showing a technique to someone that I know how to do but is difficult for me to explain, so I learn the technique even better and more polished in order to show or explain it.

What would be your ideal way to end a fight? If you could fight anyone during your career, regardless of whether they are active or retired, who would it be and why?

My ideal way to end a fight is with a submission or knockout, as both are amazing to me! And if I could fight anyone … that’s hard man. I would say when I’m at my peak or the best I could be…whoever is the champ, so right now it would be Georges St. Pierre.

Why Edson Barboza is a Scary Dude

Posted by :jcastle On : July 8, 2013
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Category: Leg Kicks, Muay Thai, UFC Fight Recap

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With his victory over Rafaello Oliveira last Saturday, Edson Barboza has become the first person to finish two fights by TKO via Leg Kicks in the history of the UFC (and any ZUFFA-acquired promotions therein). His first TKO victory via Leg Kicks was achieved at UFC 123 against Michael Lullo at (0:26) of the 3rd round. Beyond just leading the UFC in leg kick TKO’s, the greater implications of what Edson Barboza accomplished last Saturday really make him stand out amongst an organization that is replete with skilled fighters.

Leg kicks are a part of just about any MMA fighters striking repertoire. They are one of the main cornerstones of Muay Thai, and have become so in Mixed Martial Arts as well. When a fighter lands kicks on his opponent’s leg, he can damage that leg and negatively impact his opponent’s effectiveness in just about every facet of MMA. A fighter who is on the receiving end of some well placed leg kicks will find that his abilities to shoot for takedowns, use footwork and speed to effectively strike and evade his opponents strikes, and even his general movement will be adversely effected and slowed, and the pain from repeated kicks to his legs could quite possibly begin to sap his will to fight in general.

Jose Aldo is a name that comes to mind when you think about a victory that was achieved, in no small part, by the brutally efficient execution of leg kicks. When Jose Aldo faced Urijah Faber at WEC 48, he hit Faber with a total of 32 leg kicks over the course of their five-round fight for the WEC’s Featherweight Championship. After weathering a fair amount of kicks, Urijah Faber was noticeably hobbled by the effects of the kicks, even falling to the canvas as a result of them. The overall impact of Jose Aldo’s effectiveness in hurting Urijah Faber’s legs resulted in a fight that saw Faber unable to mount much offense. Handily dominating their fight, Jose Aldo out-struck Urijah Faber by a ratio of almost 3-1, leaving Faber largely unable to utilize his highly vaunted wrestling skills with the effects of his leg kicks clearly affecting him adversely. Other notable MMA fighters to use leg kicks with great effectiveness are Forrest Griffin in his Title Fight against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well Pedro Rizzo in a slew of his fights.

Edson Barboza wasted very little time before utilizing the cornerstone of his strategy, blasting Rafaello Oliveira with a leg kick in short order to begin the first round. Olivera’s troubles seemed to be mounting quickly, where he was noticeably staggered by a fourth kick to his lead leg at (3:47) in the first round. At (0:46) Oliveira was again hobbled after taking the eleventh kick to his lead leg alone, and began limping a bit as a result. At the end of the first round, Rafaello Oliveira was on the receiving end of 14 kicks to his lead leg. After taking his fourth leg kick of the round at (3:57) of the second round, Oliveira was again hobbling in pain. Edson Barboza immediately landed another thudding leg kick, sending Oliveira falling forwards, trying to salvage his involuntary collapse into some sort of takedown attempt, from which Barboza easily backed away from. With a sixth leg kick, Barboza sent Oliveira crashing to the mat again at the (3:36) mark, backing away to let Oliveira attempt to get up and ostensibly take more punishment. When Oliveira got to his feet, he was noticeably limping as a result of the damage to his leg, leaving him in a precarious situation as the fight continued. Edson Barboza landed his seventh and eighth leg kicks in the span of three seconds, sending Oliveira crashing to the mat again. Clearly unable to get up and continue to take such mounting punishment, referee Herb Dean waved the fight of as a TKO stoppage at (3:17) into the second round.

With a total of twenty-two leg kicks, Edson Barboza left his opponent unable to stand in less than a round and a half. While the fight also showed his ability to fend off any attempts by Oliveira to bring the fight to the ground, Barboza’s striking acumen and brutal utilization of leg kicks really were his crowning achievement in the fight. With his ability to use leg kicks so effectively, Barboza presents a daunting opponent for fighters of a striking or grappling persuasion. As evidenced in many of his past fights, fighters looking to strike with Barboza are often subjected to a fast-paced and dizzying array of strikes, often to their detriment. A grappling based fighter, such as Oliveira, will also be on the receiving end of a great deal of strikes in their attempts (or inability) to close the distance and get Edson Barboza to the ground.

With only a single UFC loss to his name, an upset of a TKO loss to Jamie Varner, Edson Barboza is certainly poised to make waves in the UFC’s Lightweight division. Barboza requested a match-up against a Top-Five opponent for his next fight, which I sincerely hope the UFC will oblige him with. At this point, I think there might be some fighters in lofty positions in the Lightweight division that aren’t necessarily looking forward to such a match-up. Time will tell whether this is the case.

As I said before, almost all MMA fighters utilize leg kicks, but very few of them utilize them to the degree that Edson Barboza does. Edson Barboza is a scary prospect for anyone to face in a fight, or at least anyone who enjoys his or her ability to walk.

I certainly would not want to be on the receiving end of dozens of leg kicks from Edson Barboza. Generally speaking, I do enjoy my ability to walk quite a lot.

Thoughts on Felipe Arantes vs. Godofredo Pepey

Posted by :jcastle On : January 24, 2013
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Category: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, UFC Fight Recap

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Any fan of MMA and/or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) could appreciate the Featherweight fight between Felipe Arantes and Godofredo Pepey. Taking place on last weekends UFC on Fuel TV: 10, the Featherweight bout featured a truly awesome display of various BJJ techniques. While the fight lasted under a round, it was a truly back and forth affair. Both fighters found themselves able to repeatedly use sweeps and reversals to change their position on the ground, showing excellent execution of techniques that are most certainly practiced frequently in BJJ, but are rarely executed in an MMA fight where fighters are allowed to strike each other.  Ground strikes being allowed in MMA adds a different aspect to traditional BJJ techniques, rendering some techniques a bit more on the risky side due to the potential of being left exposed to strikes from ones opponent. Taking the aforementioned factors into account, the events (and results!) of this fight are left looking even more impressive.

Both fighters met in the center of the cage, looking to gauge the distance between each other. This usually will lead to one fighter beginning to strike…but in this particular fight, Godofredo Pepey took the first available opportunity to shoot for a single-leg takedown with Felipe Arantes backing toward the cage. Straining to complete the takedown, Godofredo Pepey managed to shift Arantes away from the cage and attempted to take his back whilst in a standing position. Felipe Arantes took the opportunity to turn and keep Godofredo Pepey’s head and shoulder low and then successfully executed a very basic hip-toss. Arantes then fended off an attempt by Pepey to take his back, ending up in the top position in Pepey’s guard.

Both fighters began to throw a few strikes from within the Guard of Godofredo Pepey, while looking for an opening to advance their position. Godofredo Pepey kept a closed guard and threw repeated elbows from the bottom position. Felipe Arantes also threw elbows and punches while deflecting Pepey’s initial attempts at the setups to various arm-locks and a triangle choke. Arantes landed a few hard strikes in quick succession, spurring quick action from Pepey, who was most definitely not enjoying the hard punches and elbows. Godofredo Pepey switched between attacking both arms; finally latching onto a Kimura hold on the right arm of Arantes, which he then used to fluidly sweep Arantes and land in the mounted position. Godofredo Pepey subsequently threw punches and looked to latch onto one of Arantes’ arms again, but Arantes expertly covered up and kept his arms free from Godofredo Pepey’s grip while regularly bucking up and trying to explode out of the bottom-mounted position.

When Godofredo Pepey postured up to throw more punches, Felipe Arantes threw both of his legs up and in front of Godofredo Pepey’s torso. Holding onto Godofredo Pepey’s shoulder/neck area and leg, Felipe Arantes then deftly swept Godofredo Pepey and ended up in the top position in Pepey’s Guard. Without a moments pause, Felipe Arantes immediately began to hit Godofredo Pepey’s head and jaw with numerous hard elbows and punches at a furious pace. After being on the receiving end of those punches and a whopping 14 unanswered elbow strikes, Godofredo Pepey began to noticeably wilt under the pressure while his head was bouncing off the canvas. Sensing the proverbial “Blood in the Water”, Felipe Arantes kept up his blistering pace, hammering Godofredo Pepey’s chin with another five unanswered punches before referee Dan Miragliotta mercifully ended the contest.

To put the aforementioned sweep and stoppage into a better perspective; I would like to point out that the reversal took place with (1:49) left on the clock, with the fight being waved off at the (1:28) mark. By my estimation, that means that Felipe Arantes swept Godofredo Pepey and convincingly stopped him in exactly 21 seconds. Felipe Arantes, whilst being punched in the face and fending off submission set-ups, got out of a terrible position by executing a very difficult sweep and then stopped his opponent in well under half a minute. Having repeatedly watched this sequence in order to ensure the accuracy of the above facts; I am thoroughly impressed by Felipe Arantes’ skill and killer instincts, as well as with the obvious quality of his training and the results that it has shown. We have all seen a great many fights ended when one fighter gets mounted and either submitted or stopped due to strikes, so this makes what Felipe Arantes achieved even more commendable. As a fan of all aspects of MMA, I truly appreciated being able to watch this fight. In the midst of a card full of finishes (mostly via Submission), this brief fight was definitely one of the most entertaining ones to watch.

To any of Felipe Arantes’ future opponents at 145 lbs., I’d think twice before taking the fight to the ground. If you don’t mind your P’s and Q’s, Felipe Arantes has the skills to make you pay for your mistakes and stop you in short order.