NOOOOO~!!!! Not an April Fools Joke???

Don't be disappointed. It doesn't really matter, does it? Leave it to Dana White to cause some drama on an otherwise quiet, reflective holiday. Bondage, suffering, torture, execution...Dana White? I didn't need him or anything MMA-related this weekend, sorry. The next one is just around the corner, anyway...upset I even watched his silly video. I lived, I watched, I didn't care.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1343471012421742

 

(where did my post go?)

Fergie needs to stop doing his Iron Leg training.

Anyway, Max needs to finish this fight quickly. Khabib has shown that he can go up against longer/taller and way better strikers, but still notorious for having bad cardio/endurance.

 

Can't believe it (though I should be able to given their track record) Holloway is a real warrior for stepping in this late, against pretty much the most dangerous fighter in the weight class above his! Surely would be the upset of the century if he wins.

 

The lack of specific details about the 'accident on set' that tore Ferguson's knee means that this next part is pure speculation, but the prevalence of non-training related injuries that occur so close to fight nights makes you wonder about the standard of credentials among MMA coaches. I'd wager that a substantial proportion of them are not suitably qualified (e.g. having an accredited bachelor's degree in sports coaching), despite having intimate knowledge of the sport. Sadly, knowing how to adapt your fighter's strategy to his/her opponent's game does not mitigate the need to have a sound understanding of the fundamental principles of sports training.

This report helps to highlight this issue:

MMA: Are Fighters Just Bad at Risk Management in Training?

 

I think there are a few scenarios....
A: Tony had a silly accident. One of those things.
B: He'd actually injured himself training (he's been criticised for appalling deadlift technique for example) and is using this "I fell over" excuse to cover that up and deflect more critcism.
C: He'd been injured training but didn't realise it. The trip was the final straw.
D: He was over-training (as many MMA fighters are) and so more prone to a silly injury.
E: MMA is an intrinsically stupid sport where the training needed to compete is too harsh to do for any length of time.

 

One of the popular MMA sites state that, Tony was in a Fox studio fulfilling media obligation. Turned round sharply to say hello he didn't expect to see and...."snap".

I mean, I tore my knee from a)getting foot caught in a mat b) falling down wet stairs c) countering a foot sweep.. I don't feel as silly now.

 

A and C can be attributed to those incidents that can't be prevented no matter how thorough the risk management strategies might be. But B (poor exercise technique), D (poor programming), and E (poor balance between disciplines - Olympic decathletes train across more sports with lesser incidence of injury thab MMA) can be lessened by better educated coaches.

 

I think though there's something different about doing, essentially, 4 different combat sports at once. Rather than 10 "ordinary" sports (obviously not ordinary).
You get the chances of injury from wrestling, boxing, Thai and BJJ and cutting weight too all rolled into one. Honestly I think it's too much to be considered a proper sport.
I mean I could invent a sport where you have to poke a bull elephant in the eye with a sharp stick while riding a horse, while the opposing player gets to stab you with their sharp sticks to stop you. But the training and competing to do such a thing would be entirely unsuitable as a long term sport with (supposed) rankings, belts, title runs and scheduled cards.

 

This will be on MAP Meet 2019

 

I didn't mean to be rude, a lot of people seem upset by this. I was just referring to how annoying it is that Dana White is making such a spectacle about it. It's MMA...people get hurt, sometimes fights get cancelled. Most of us will forget about this in a couple days, but today White is making the media rounds huffing and puffing and swearing he'll never try to make this fight happen again...as if somebody wronged him. The reality is that it was an accident that couldn't have been foreseen or avoided. In Dana-Land it's just more milking to be done. Sorry, I have a real dislike of his kind of "promotion". One of his big promos has an unfortunate event, and instead of supporting his competitors like a sportsman, his response was this.

Dana White will ‘never’ book Ferguson vs Khabib again after UFC 223 cancellation

" “Hell no!” White told ESPN if he would try to reschedule the match up again. “I’m never making that fight ever again. Ever.” "

 

According to the presses, that's exactly what happened. He tripped and fell. MMA fighters aren't superheroes (although I know some people who believe they are), they're human and vulnerable to all the same effects of gravity as the rest of us. It's a shame and lets down the fans but it really does happen in every sport I can think of, combat or not. Some potential Olympians never made it for the same reason. By comparison a single UFC match doesn't seem like such a big deal...until White starts milking it and blowing up my Facebook feed

Report: Tony Ferguson injury caused by simple tripping incident

 

For sure. And your point here would be even more valid if Ferguson's injury had been caused by kicking something hard, as combat sports carry a greater risk of acute impact injuries. But the nature of his latest injury makes me strongly believe it was more likely caused by ligamentous weakness, or knee joint instability, or both, of which chronic overuse or bad programming were contributing factors.

Again, not disagreeing. I provided decathlon as an example because the principles of sports training (as they apply to programming, i.e., sequences of efforts in a weekly and monthly cycle) are the same across all sports. Therefore, if coaches in decathlon (10 sports) can get it right, theoretically, so should coaches in MMA (3 or 4 sports, depending on the definition being used). The reason I think bad programming (bad coaching) is one of the principle contributing factors to the clinically significant injury rate in MMA is because most injuries reported in the literature are of a chronic nature - doing too much, or too often, or in the wrong order, or any combination thereof.

Again, we agree. I think athletes should start their MMA careers with an expiration date in mind (and one which is relatively sooner compared to other sports). The 'old school' mentality of "more is better", and "no pain, no gain", which is present in nearly every martial art, is unfortunately carried over to MMA.

Legit would pay to watch that on TV.

 

decathletes are essentially training against themselves and have a dedicated off season, MMA fighters train year round if they aren't getting ready for a fight then they are helping a team mate prepare, and anytime you have two people training against in an unscripted environment it's inherently more dangerous and more prone to injury than a one person training environment.

I think of of it is down to wear and tear as a result of year round training in as smitfire said multiple combat arts, especially when several of them are grappling arts. hell the injury rates in grappling arts are always higher than the striking arts because you can't really drill takedowns and ground work at a slow pace as you can striking.

Add in the depletion due to having to make weight and you have a receipt for problems

 

I for one would support weight categories based on an average of measurements taken over a long period of time. People would have to fight much closer to their natural weight (which is more realistic) and there would be a reduction in injuries.

 

I don't think its right to Strip Tony of his belt just because he got injured but that's what happened. Couldn't they have replaced Ferguson with a LW contender instead of the FW champ? I think the top ranked contender at LW should have replaced Ferguson.

 

In my brief experience in 2 MMA gyms, I saw so many fights cancelled for the team in my gym, or members of the gym pulling out due to illness whilst cutting weight.
Some of them would have it happen over and over, every time they cut weight they became severely ill about a week or less out. The pressure during cutting is awful, I would much prefer a better weigh in system.

I've done tournaments which would be based on the weight you were that day. I don't see why that a bad setup even for prize fighting.

 

^ people would still cut loads, and then get hit in the head whilst dehydrated and get severe conclusions.

Don't One FC, only allow fighters to cut a small percentage from there walk around weight?

 

Ok, now I see why that would be a really bad idea.
I guess some sort of average check over time.