...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"I guess being an exciting wrestler helps, but it all starts with the oldest sport that we almost lost a couple of years ago [from the Olympics]. So, shame on those fans. I hope they get more educated... I got a message for those fans. Without wrestling, mixed martial arts would not be a sport. ... Without wrestling, it would not be here. Without jiu-jitsu, there would be no mixed martial arts... It's not the most exciting all the time. My fights are very sloppy, not very technical by any means. But we're always on the gas pedal. We're always on the throttle."
-Clay Guida reacts to criticism of wrestling after his win over Robbie Peralta at UFC Fight Night 63 (via MMAFighting.com).
Penick's Analysis: And Guida completely misses the point on why a lot of fans don't like his schtick. It's not about lacking appreciation for wrestling. It's not about disliking the skill and the art of wrestling. It's about disliking the lack of offense once wrestling's gained a fighter position. Against Peralta, Guida had one - admittedly close - submission attempt, but the rest of the time his "wrestling" consisted of stalling on the cage or stalling from top position. Plenty of "educated" fans dislike what Guida and other fighters in that vein do on the ground because it's not about advancing position and winning a fight. When there's little other offense outside of control, the criticism is justified, and has nothing to do with disrespecting wrestling itself.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
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.
