When the cage door shuts, or you step through the ring ropes, you are there alone. You can’t tag your partner like pro wrestling. You can’t wave to the bullpen to send in the relief pitcher. It’s you against whomever is standing across from you; one on one. Mixed martial arts is an individual sport. So why is the word “teammate” becoming so relevant?
A search of Dictionary.com defines the word teammate as “an individual on the same team.” So if MMA is an individual sport, why do members of Team Alpha Male, American Kickboxing Academy, and Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting consider themselves teammates? An interesting question, especially when UFC President Dana White claims that they are nothing more than training partners and that’s that. In recent weeks a lot has happened that can be considered a victory for those that agree with White.
Light heavyweights Jon Jones and Rashad Evans were once great friends. Now, the animosity seems to be growing between the two as they set to face off. Evans, one of the original members of Greg Jackson’s MMA team, has decided to leave the organization to prepare for the fight, and he has no intention of returning. The repercussions of this decision will be felt throughout the gym, as fighters and coaches must decide sides, even if they don’t want to. I believe that this development will affect how teams move forward in the future.
One scenario I see playing out is that more big name fighters will take the Brock Lesnar and BJ Penn route to fighting. Instead of joining a well known team, they will create an organization that is based solely on their needs as a fighter. Instead of intermingling with other fighters, experts in particular fields will be flown out to specific locations just to give fighter A what he or she needs to become the next big thing. I understand why some individuals do this, however I do not believe it to be an effective method of training in the long run. Personally, I believe the most growth is obtained not only when you are training at your hardest, but when others who are working towards similar goals are pushing as well. The budding, friendly competition is always good in the heat of training.
Another scenario is that I see a lot of the largest fight teams becoming splintered into smaller organizations. Instead of being a location that houses 20-30 fighters, these smaller groups will be 5-10 individuals. These groups will consist of people who fight in different organizations and different weight classes to avoid the possibility of being asked to fight each other.
While it is true that mixed martial artists fight alone each time they are in competition, I believe that each one of them will name a number of training partners who have helped them get to their highest points. They may not fight together in actual physical location, but they are all with each other in spirit. That alone makes them teammates in my book.
Teammate vs. training partner is all semantics and I agree with White that technically they are "training partners", however, I do not think that changes anything materially as far as them being able to not fight each other.