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We've got another edition of Ask MMATorch for you today, where Columnist Rich Hansen and Editor Jamie Penick answer your questions on the world of MMA.
If you've got your own question for us, send it in now to askmmatorch@gmail.com!
Adam writes:"Hi my name is Adam and I am a strength and conditioning coach in Orlando, FL. Given my profession I have always wondered what could aid a fighter the most in their ability to recover from a hard shot. For example, the Diaz brothers are heavily involved in triathlons and endurance training and I believe that their extreme aerobic capacity is huge in their recovery and durability. Couple that with their seemingly unbreakable fearlessness and they both could arguably be the toughest in the game. As we've seen both of them take serious shots and waltz straight through them. What do you all think? One or the other? Or a genetic cocktail of both? Thanks for reading and love the app, keep up the good work fellas."
MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick Answers: I'm far, far, far from an expert in this field, but you asked, so I'll try to give some sensible response here! It's hard to say with any certainty whether there'd be a correlation between the endurance training/aerobic capabilities of fighters like the Diaz brothers and their ability to take hard shots. In fact, with no real research at all into that subject, it's impossible to say what is most helpful when taking punches.
In a very unscientific take, you can look at a fighter like Roy Nelson, who is pretty much as opposite a fighter as you can find from the Diaz brothers on the cardio front. It's impossible for fighters to put him away, and he's taking punches from the biggest and strongest men in the UFC. Now, ability to absorb strikes and ability to recover from them may be two different things, and it could be argued that while he doesn't go down he's not effective once hurt. Still, that's an example of one of the most durable fighters in the entire sport.
It's tough to really nail down what allows some fighters to absorb punishing blows and continue fighting while others go down easier. Sometimes it's just a matter of where they're getting hit, where some fighters get caught right in that perfect spot and go out while others get hit an inch to the side and they're alright. We've seen extremely athletic fighters with glass chins, we've seen some great chins from less athletic guys. Right now, we just don't have any solid evidence one way or the other to give us a better idea of what allows certain fighters to take the most damage while fighting back.
Ed writes:"Where do you see Rory MacDonald in three years?"
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: UFC Middleweight Champion of the World. Unless Georges St-Pierre retires or moves to a different weight class, that is. If GSP does move out of the welterweight division, then I see MacDonald being the UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.
Brandon writes:"Will the UFC, Bellator, etc. ever think about two "Pride" rules I love: 10 minute first round and taking money away for stalling? That will guarantee I get what I pay for, a FIGHT."
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: Oh man, not this question again. Look. Sit down before I tell you this, because I don't want you to hit your head...
1.) There were a ton of crappy fights in Pride. Just a ton of them. Some of the great fights... weren't that great.
2.) Every UFC card has a ton of fights. No, really, they do.
3.) Japan was unregulated. MMA in the States, and in most of the rest of the civilized world, is regulated by commissions who look after the fighter's well being. 10 minute first rounds, soccer kicks, knees to the head of a downed opponent don't quite fit in that column.
Austin writes:"If Anderson Silva beats Chris Weidman, do you think they will have a third fight?"
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: Eventually? Sure. Right away? Well, that depends on how the rematch goes. If Silva comes out and starches Weidman, or toys with him for 25 minutes, Weidman won't get an immediate rematch. Silva held the belt for almost seven years. Weidman, come December 2013, will have held the belt for five months. If Anderson Silva wins convincingly it will erase the first fight from all but the staunchest of Weidman acolytes. Keep in mind that the storyline coming out of an Anderson Silva UFC 168 win will be that Silva screwed Silva the first time, and the rematch set the universe right.
Jack writes:"I actually have a couple questions and they both pertain to Bellator. My first question is in regards to Hector Lombard and Alistair Overeem. Hypothetically speaking, if both men lose their next fights and get cut, do you think Bellator would/should sign them?
The second question involves PED use. If Bellator took a proactive step and decided to contract VADA to test all their fighters randomly, do you think it would give them more credibility as a fight league in general? Bellator would obviously have an extremely difficult time arguing that their fighters are the best in the world, but what if they claimed to have the best "drug-free" fighters in the world?"
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: 1.) There are zero Blackzillians with Bellator, save for Eddie Alvarez who was there when he joined the team. Alistair Overeem might be a Blackzillian in name only, but there's still a reason that the Blackzillians avoid Bellator. I don't know what it is, but I highly doubt that the first member of that team to willingly go to Bellator would be one of the highest profile ones.
2.) I tend to think that Lombard would wind up in WSOF before returning to Bellator. Just a hunch, but I don't think Bellator wants him back, not do I think they want anyone to ever remember he was ever there in the first place. They've moved on, and I really don't think they want him to consider returning to middleweight and winding up with another fight with Alexander Shlemenko. It would be a nightmare for him to once again run roughshod over Shlemenko when he was a UFC failure. Now, that said, I think he remains in the UFC for a while.
3.) I don't know about you, but I have yet to meet a fan (casual or hardcore) who has refused to watch a fight because one or both fighters were on the juice. Josh Brnett is returning to the UFC in a co-main event. Vitor Belfort is being sheltered in Brazil and continually main events fights down there. There are a bunch more examples, but the examples aren't as important as the overall point; fans don't care about PED's. I wonder if they even SHOULD care. I mean, if fighter A is punching fighter B, and Johnny Six Pack is having a good old time, do you really think he's going to get all upset because fighter A was all pumped up? Bellator can market themselves as the CLEAN organization tied to VADA. And the guys at PTI will snidely compliment them on how wonderful they are, and sportswriters who wouldn't deign to ever watch or cover a fight will do 500 words on how wonderful it is. And then Friday night will come and 450,000 people will tune in to see John Alessio and Marcus Davis fight, and no one will remember the VADA part as much as they'll realize how vast the talent gap is between Bellator's roster when compared to the UFC's roster.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
