By Katrina Belcher (KatrinaBelcher@mmaratings.net)
At the Dynamite!! 2009 event on December 31, 2009, the Lightweight bout pitted DREAM champion Shinya Aoki, against Mizuto Hirota, the SRC Champion. If you saw the fight – you know what happened: Aoki put a wicked arm-bar/kimura/Americana weird sort of combination hold on Hirota – and Hirota didn’t tap.
The result was a wicked sort of arm break, the sick sound of which is still reverberating world-wide. Take a look for yourself, but trust me, if you have a weak stomach, don’t watch the videos below.
For those of you who think his behavior is an isolated incident, think again. Here he is breaking Kuniyoshi Hironaka’s arm in July of 2007. Fortunately Hironaka has gone on and continued to fight, in spite of the arm break.
And yet another arm break – while standing, wherein he took out Keith Wisniewski’s arm with a standing arm lock in January 2005. While he’s continued his fight career, he’s only won 3 of his last 8 fights.
The problem with Aoki is in his attitude – he has no compunture in going for the arm break, and no regrets once he’s completed his goal. Being a professional fighter, you’d think he would care about his opponents’ and their future ability to fight. It’s true that none of them tapped, but I’m not so sure any of them had the opportunity to do so…Hirota, yes, but Wisniewski? He never had a chance.
For me the worst part is his total lack of concern for his opponents’ well-being after the victory dance, not to mention flipping Hirota the bird afterwards – what’s up with that? He shows no sportsman-like behavior at all. I know all the arguments: he went in to do a job and did it; his opponent’s didn’t tap out; his goal is to win the fight, etc., but none of that matters. When the fight is over, win, lose or draw – real fighters, real professional athletes, congratulate each other. It’s kind of like when tennis pro’s are done, they shake hands over the net. At the end of a basketball game, the players line up and shake hands. Those are the signs of true professionals.
Aren’t we trying to get MMA to go mainstream and accepted by those who do not yet understand, accept and embrace this sport? Actions like Aoki’s aren’t going to help.
Breaking arms and wearing freaky multi-colored pants is Aoki’s M.O. If you’re sensitive to bright colors and broken arms – it’s best not to fight this guy. “Armya Aoki” really seems to love the sound of cracking bones.
Hirota could have tapped at any time, Aoki NEEDED to break his arm to end the fight.
You wrote Aoki's problem is: "he has no compuncture in going for the arm break, and no regrets once he's completed his goal".
You do realize that when you apply these locks, you are TRYING to break the arm, right? Arms do not instantly break, unless it is a freak accident (see the Keith Wisniewski vid). He was trying to take Keith down and did not even realize the arm broke. All he did to celebrate was raise his arms to the crowd and take some pictures in the middle of the ring.
Obviously you do not know the story behind the Aoki/Hirota fight, which is disparaging since you call yourself a MMA writer…these two fighters had a war of words prior to the fight, and that is probably why Hirota refused to tap from a brutal lock. Aoki was face with no other option but to break the arm, which angered him.
Fighters know the risks of injury going into any fight. They are told repeatedly to protect themselves at all times. Sometimes to protect yourself you need to submit. There is nothing wrong with Aoki's attitude, or the fact that he (an elite level grappler) has broken arms of his opponents. Are you actually trying to fault this fighter for breaking someone's arm in a grappling tournament? Are you insane? People get injured all of the time from grappling, it comes with the territory.
In short, no, Shinya Aoki is not bad for mma. I think people who write crap like this are.
Katrina, I think your assertion that being a professional fighter involves being a good sport is fundamentally incorrect. Who says that real fighters, real professional athletes, congratulate each other when the fight is over (besides you)? Just because some or most fighters touch gloves doesn't mean all fighters have to, and likewise fighters don’t have to congratulate each other afterwards.
I think its perfectly reasonable to say that you personally don't like fighters who aren't good sports, but that doesn't mean they are "bad" for MMA. One might even make the case that from a business perspective, heels are good for MMA. I'm certainly looking forward to Aoki getting his head knocked off (not that many can do it).
No – the objective is not to break something, it’s to get your opponent to submit. And obviously YOU know nothing about their war of words, because in Aoki’s own words, he didn’t do it because he was pushed to the point of anger as you assume. Per Aoki: “When I had his arm behind his back, I could feel it popping,” explained Aoki in a recent report at Sherdog.com. “I thought, ‘Well, this guy’s pride just won’t let him tap, will it?’ So without hesitation, I broke it. I heard it break, and I thought, ‘Ah, there, I just broke it.’ I was stopped afterward, but even if I hadn’t been, continuing to break it more would have been fine by me.”
My point is that Aoki does not go for the submit, he goes for the break, and he doesn’t care about his opponent afterwards. Do I think that’s not right? Do I think he’s not showing good sportsmanship? And do I think he should be showing good sportsmanship? You betcha’
Basically you’re trying to say it’s the fighter’s objective to break his opponent’s bones, AND, he should be even more motivated to do so if he’s mad at him for saying mean things to him before a fight. Wow – what a cave man. Look – Aoki didn’t NEED to break his arm to end the fight…the ref NEEDED to step in to end it, since Hirota was being so stubborn.
And seriously – you honestly think I’m the only one who feels that, as a professional fighter, one should be a good sport…win, lose or draw? You’re kidding, right? Varner wasn’t such a good sport after his fight this weekend, and people are jumping all over his case for his little talk after the fight. And he didn’t run around flipping off the audience and his opponent with the birdie while the guy was writhing in pain on the mat. In fact Aoki is now getting into a whole heap of legal trouble over this issue.
I think its reasonable to feel that fighters should display good sportsmanship, though that doesn't mean they're "bad" for MMA if they don't, but the story with Varner is a whole different animal and should not be compared. Yes Varner was a bad sport, but the thing that really upset fans – who were mostly aggravated by him prior to the fight – was that he made lame excuses for losing and contradicted himself in doing so. No one wants to hear a fighter say I came to fight and they came to . You need to well rounded enough to counter your opponents style OR be gracious in defeat OR accept the ire of fans. Not to mention that Varner's post fight comments about Henderson's game plan are totally inaccurate or contradictory.