MMA versus Boxing

[M2]

Originally Posted by Steve4192

That is because every time one discipline started to look like the answer, someone changed the question.

First it was BJJ with Royce Gracie. Just when everyone thought BJJ was unbeatable, one-dimensional wrestlers like Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, and Mark Kerr emerged and started destroying people with ground & pound. Then strikers who could sprawl like Pedro Rizzo, Vitor Belfort & Maurice Smith started recording brutal knockouts of the one-dimensional wrestlers. Then wrestlers like Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz & Randy Couture learned enough striking to set up their takedowns and enough BJJ to avoid submissions and started to dominate. Finally, after it became clear that no one discipline could succeed by itself, everyone started to cross-training and the modern MMA athlete was born.

Yep, it's really become an interesting hybrid. I think that's its success. Something unexpected and new has emerged. What I like is it's unpredictable. UFC thought it had four supermen in Arlovsky, Liddell, Franklin and Hughes. Turns out it didn't. The sport's progressing so quickly that no one gets to stay on top for too long. The Gonzaga-Cro Cop fight is another example. It was supposed to be a showcase for Cro Cop, but Gonzaga destroyed him. In fact, that whole card was a blast. It's pretty cool when the announcers are constantly being taken by surprise.