Sissy

Those who know me well know that I am a big MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fan, especially the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). UFC is not the only big MMA organization the the world, there are others (K1, Pride, MFC, Shooto, etc) but it is the one that is most accessible to me in this area. Lately the UFC has started importing fighters from other MMA organizations to "liven up" the heavy weight division. A few of the names being pushed are Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring. Thursday evening, Spike TV aired the debut of Heath Herring to the UFC. He went up against a young and undefeated "Irish" Jake O'Brian. Jake is a former Purdue wrestler who has only been in MMA for a couple of years. Heath is also young (although 6 years older than Jake), but he has been in MMA for years and is also a world renowned Mixed Martial Artist. However, what I saw on Spike TV the other night was a huge disappointment.

First, Heath knew he was going up against a wrestler so he positioned himself to avoid take downs at the expense of his striking ability. Jake would wait until Heath missed with a big punch and then he would take Heath down and mount him. This same scenario was played out over and over again the first two rounds and most of the third until Heath finally started slugging like a real fighter.

After the match was over and Jake was declared the winner, Joe Rogan interviews Heath and asked him about the fight. The comments that came out of Heath's mouth were embarrassing. He said that he tried to give the people a fight but all they saw was a wrestling match. Earth to Heath, it is called MMA, not boxing or kick boxing. If you expect a grappler to stand toe to toe with a striker and trade hits, you are dumber than you look. MMA is about COMBINING more than one Martial Art into a unique fighting style. If all you want to do is punch, EXPECT for your opponent to take you to the ground. My only regret was that Jake did not do some ground and pound on him.

I guess what really irks me is all the hype that the UFC did for this fight. If the Rampage Jackson and Cro Cop fights are not any better, then I do not think that PRIDE has much to offer. If all they do is slug, it ain't MMA.