Letter writing
"July 23, 2008[Please tell] readers that may feel free to submit comments in writing by September 17, 2008 to:
DAG Nicholas Lembo
NJ State Athletic Control Board
Hughes Justice Complex
P.O. Box 180
Trenton, NJ 08625-0180
Any comments would be welcomed.
We are interested in any comments from any promoters, matchmakers, managers, seconds, trainers, fighters, officials, media, fans or other interested parties.
All comments will be passed on to the Committee for their consideration."
So unlike the majority of mma forum posters, I actually wrote and mailed a letter earlier today.
Rule changes and suggestions for the unified rules of mixed martial arts
Changes needed in mma
1) Include knees on the ground.
2) Include soccer kicks and stomps
3) Do not add more weight classes
4) Change heavyweight upper limit to unlimited
1) A common mma position: Bobby shoots in on Tom for a single/double leg takedown. Tom sprawls and stops Bobby’s shot, but Bobby is able to hang onto Tom’s leg. A stalemate ensues, because without knees on the ground, Tom can’t effectively punch Bobby. And since Bobby has a hold of Tom’s leg, it’s difficult for Tom to circle around and take Bobby’s back. With knees on the ground, there will be a strong impetus for Bobby to MOVE, thus preventing boring stalemates (Example: Andrei Arlovski vs Jake O’Brien, round 1, UFC 82)
Knees on the ground also give fighters another offensive option when they advance to side mount/control.
Are knees on the ground dangerous? Sure they can be, but they’re certainly not as devastating as standing knees from the muay thai plum (where you are simultaneously pulling an opponent’s head down while kneeing them in the head). Like the muay thai plum, there are ways of escaping the above sprawl position or the bottom position of side mount/control, so fighters aren’t defenseless. Knees on the ground really help to reduce boring stalemates by forcing action unless one fighter wants to be kneed repeatedly.
2) Another common position: the butt scoot. Bobby is on his back while Tom is standing at Bobby’s feet. Tom throws some low kicks that do a moderate amount of damage, but ultimately, either a) Bobby quickly scrambles back to his feet, b) Tom goes for ground ‘n pound or c) more commonly, an awkward pause ensues and the ref has to stand it up.
Stomps and soccer kicks gives Tom another offensive move to help prevent the awkward pause that precedes the referee stand up. Stomps and soccer kicks only do serious damage when the fighter illegally grabs the fence or ring ropes. Otherwise, the soccer kicks and stomps throw the offensive fighter (Tom) off balance making it difficult to throw strikes in rapid succession.
When Tom goes for a stomp/soccer kick, this creates space allowing Bobby to:
a) dodge or block the blow and then….
i)Get back to full guard
ii)Get back to his feet
This specifically applies to situations where Tom has the dominant position (side control, mount and back-mount) because Bobby now has the space to MOVE. Example, in past PRIDE events, Wanderlei Silva gave up dominant position to attempt a foot stomp and usually the bottom fighter was able to escape.
3) More weight classes further dilutes the talent pool and ensures more confusion amongst fans (what’s easier to remember? 10 champs or 5 champs?) The additional junior weight classes in boxing are just some awful scheme from the WBC/WBA/IBF to earn more sanctioning fees.
More weight classes will also result in more fighters taking more extremes measures to make the lowest weight class possible. Fighters will always look for the extra edge and hence will usually cut down to the lowest weight class possible. For example, according to the proposed rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions, a welterweight (170lb) will probably try to cut down to the proposed super lightweight class (165lb). Extra weight classes only help the odd fighter that is seemingly stuck between weight classes. (ie. Nick diaz 155/170lbs, Jason “Mayhem” Miller 170/185lbs).
Even if weigh-ins were held on fight-night, fighters would still cut weight even with the risks of same day weigh ins. Fighters will always look for the extra edge
Here are two imaginary scenarios
3 divisions in mma: under 150, under 200 and unlimited.
Weight divisions at every 5lbs between 100lbs and 250lbs.
Based on those 2 scenarios, the second one would definitely lead to the greater number of fighters who missed weight.
4) Past and/or current heavyweight champions under 245lbs:
Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Andrei Arlovski, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Bas Rutten, Maurice Smith, Mirko Cro Cop
There is usually a trade off in terms of speed and stamina for larger heavyweight fighters (245-265lbs). That’s why the majority of heavyweight champs fall between the 220-245lb range. Even the most skilled fighter becomes very vulnerable when he’s tired. The 265lb limit excludes larger fighters from MMA competition in North America because the super heavyweight division is non-existent here. (ie. Bob Sapp from Japan or Nicolay Valuev, former heavyweight WBA champion).
posted by Edward @ 12:42 AM
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