In a recent interview on Sherdog.com’s radio network, current Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren went on a tangent that was pretty impressive. The conversation came about while discussing the perception that fans have about a lot of the fighters who are involved with mixed martial arts. The current champion had some stiff words for anyone who was in ear shot that afternoon, and I tend to agree with those words.
The discussion turned to the lack of finishes that occur at the upper echelon of mixed martial arts. Askren went as far as to say that the fans who boo or are upset when someone doesn’t get a KO or submission victory are “stupid.” I laughed at how vehemently he said it, but he then began to discuss why. Askren stated that fans do not understand how difficult it is to finish an opponent at any point in a fight. His goal as a mixed martial artist is to win, not to go out and put on a great show. While fans may get upset with how he wins, the fact is still that he wins. I’ve always believed that to be the main goal in every sports realm today.
Fighters such as Jon Fitch and even champions Georges St. Pierre and Frankie Edgar are faced with such criticism daily. When I review posts on forums or discussion boards about how fighter X is boring and shouldn’t be praised for how he fights, I find it to be a tad ridiculous. MMA is one of the most physically taxing sports around. For instance, look at this point that Askren went on to make: if you ever seen or been in a fight in public, they may last about 20 to 30 seconds tops before both individuals are spent and gasping for air. How much harder is it then to fight for 15 or 25 minutes against another highly trained martial artist?
On every card you will hear some type of fan disgust, from booing to shouts of “stand them up,” which is understandable. In my opinion, those actions can be attributed to a true lack of understanding of what’s actually going on inside the cage. However, what’s unfortunate is that these fan reactions may begin to influence the judges as to which fighter is doing more during the battle. This is a sad and sobering thought, especially with today’s judging conundrum.
Are knockouts and submissions exciting? Yes, they certainly are. Still, as fans of the sport and its fighters, let’s not disrespect them by downgrading their victories when they take 15 or 25 minutes. If they didn’t win in the first place there’s a very good chance we wouldn’t be their fans at all.
My favorite part of the Askren interview was the very beginning when he was presented with the notion of fighter's prioritizing the need to put on a good performance, to which he replied "sounds like losers". This was all in reference to an ongoing dialogue about Eddie Alvarez's performance against Pat Curran at Bellator 39, to which Askren stated that he thought Alvarez was very aggressive in that fight.
He also mentioned that as the quality of competition increases it becomes more and more difficult to finish opponents.
He also addressed fighting teammates, stating that during the course of a fight he might have to hurt his opponent in a way that he would not want to do to a friend.
My favorite part of the Askren interview was the very beginning when he was presented with the notion of fighter's prioritizing the need to put on a good performance, to which he replied "sounds like losers". This was all in reference to an ongoing dialogue about Eddie Alvarez's performance against Pat Curran at Bellator 39, to which Askren stated that he thought Alvarez was very aggressive in that fight.
He also mentioned that as the quality of competition increases it becomes more and more difficult to finish opponents.
He also addressed fighting teammates, stating that during the course of a fight he might have to hurt his opponent in a way that he would not want to do to a friend.