As the sport of Mixed Martial Arts grows, we're beginning to see the entrance of more and more talented participants. Within the last three years in particular, MMA has seen a number of blue chip prospects, elite grapplers, elite strikers, and high level wrestlers, begin their careers and find mixed results. The importance of fighter seasoning has never been clearer.
As much buzz as there is over MMA in the world right now, it still doesn't get the respect that it deserves. To the untrained eye it can appear to be "two psychos fighting in a cage," but more knowledgeable fans of the sport know that is simply not the case.
When knowledgeable fans hear about pro boxers such as James Toney demanding entrance into the UFC to "expose" top MMA fighters, they usually laugh off notion of them competing at the top level. Success in individual aspects of the martial arts that comprise the dynamic sport that we've come to know today, simply don't guarantee any degree of success in MMA fights.
In the interest of this argument, I will now address the 290lb elephant in the room, (that's a pretty small elephant, I suppose), Brock Lesnar. Obviously, Lesnar is the exception and not the rule. With a record of 4-1, yes Brock Lesnar is the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion and has dominated a number of top level competitors.
However, Brock Lesnar devotes a lot of time to his MMA career, has an amazing training camp, and is an absolutely enormous elite wrestler. Also, he was fortunate enough to suffer a loss to Frank Mir in his first fight in the UFC. An early loss exposing weaknesses is essential to every top fighter in MMA, unless your name is Fedor Emelianenko.
Through that setback Lesnar was able to put together a dominant three fight winning streak that saw him capture the championship against Randy Couture and defeat Frank Mir. However he's still fairly unproven as a champion, despite leaving a permanent mark on the sport.
A quick look at a fighter like judo black belt, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, is perhaps is biggest eye opener to the necessity of fighter seasoning. Early in his career, Sokodjou was thrown into deep water, and showed some swimming ability by defeating Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in PRIDE via quick knockouts. His next fight was yet another step up in competition, as he faced Lyoto Machida and was completely dominated.
Since that fight, Sokodjou has gone on to lose to Luiz Cane, Renato Sobral, Gegard Mousasi, and Ikuhisa Minowa, all fights which he performed well in, but ultimately crumbled in due to pressure and poor cardio. Had he never taken that step up in competition, which he obviously wasn't ready for, perhaps he would have patched the aforementioned holes in his game, and be a vastly improved fighter without the 5 losses he's been handed.
Moving up in competition is a somewhat permanent decision. Gradual progression is key to maintaining fan interest while honing your skills for stiffer challenges. UFC light heavyweight prospect Jon "Bones" Jones is an excellent example of the destruction that a blend of skill and patience can impose. At 22 years old, Jones has amassed an impressive record of 9-1, with his only loss coming from a recent DQ against Matt Hamill, whom he dominated before delivering illegal elbows.
While I do appreciate prospects like "Bones" Jones, Cain Valasquez, and "King Mo" Lawal, who take their time and slowly move up the ranks, some fighters receive criticism for competing several levels below where their skills belong.
Pro wrestling and MMA superstar, Bobby Lashley, for example, has recently come under fire for allegedly "ducking" his originally proposed opponent, undefeated Shane Del Rosario (9-0-0), in favor of his currently scheduled opponent Jimmy Ambriz (14-12-1).
Prior to settling for journeyman fighter, Ambriz, Bobby Lashley agreed to fight Yohan Banks (2-1) who had trouble getting cleared to fight Lashley by the Florida State Boxing Commission. The commission's reasoning for not clearing Yohan was that they didn't feel it was a competitive fight for Lashley.
While I don't understand constant comparison between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar (hey, same initials), and I certainly don't entirely condemn Lashley for wanting to ease into the sport, at 4-0 against questionable competition, a fight between Lashley and the 9-0 prospect is certainly more appealing to fans than against the 14-12-1 journeyman.
With success stories like Brock Lesnar and Joe Warren, the bar has been raised for newbie MMA participants everywhere. While there is some entertainment in seeing monstrous competitors like Alistair Overeem and Bobby Lashley crush opponents, it just isn't as impressive as it should be when the fights in which they crush their opponents are as lopsided as they usually are.
Pacing is key in MMA, and some wins like the ones Lashley and Overeem get, can feel as hollow and disappointing as the losses Sokodjou receives.
[Brock Lesnar photo by Koichi Yoshizawa (c) MMATorch]
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