Boxing vs. MMA

The age old debate, boxing versus mixed martial arts.  It's simple and cut and dry.  They are simply two different sports.  There isn't much more to it that that.  The one thing they do share in common is inflicting physical damage and pain on your opponent via strikes.  Other than that, it's like comparing basketball to football.  Sure, they both use a ball, but they don't match up. 

The perfect example was James Toney vs. Randy Couture in UFC 118.  Toney was hot to get into MMA and show the world that he didn't need a well rounded game, all he needed was boxing.  We all know how that ended.  Someone got choked out.  But we all saw that coming.  You can't expect to cross over into a dynamic sport composed of so many different elements from another sport that is completely different.  Is boxing comples, yes.  Is MMA complex, yes.  Can you compare the two, no. 

I could go on all day about just how very different each sport is but here is a short list.  First, the gloves are different sizes, weights and thickness.  A strike to the head from a 4 ounce MMA glove is much different than a boxing glove.  Two, boxing is a stand-up war.  MMA is dynamic.  If you are getting beat on your feet, you shoot for the take down, work the Jiu Jitsu, wrestle.  There are different outs.  In boxing, you're going to have to stand there and bang, you have no other option.  You can lay and pary on your opponent hoping to tie him up enough to regain whatever you need, time or energy.  But, that only works for so long.

Now if Randy Couture stepped in the Boxing ring, the dynamic changes.  There are a whole hell of a lot more rounds and Randy can't drop to the floor for the take down.  He's forced to bang and exchange.  I'm not so sure that's where Randy wants to be.  There are however many strikers in MMA who might just handle their own if not make a name in boxing should they try.  I'm willing to be the same can be said for boxers in MMA.

I can say this, it's not James Toney.  Over weight, out of shape, and no concept of Jiu Jitsu makes for a bad MMA practitioner.  It probably makes for a bad boxer too.  At the end of the day, it's apples to oranges.  You really can't compare the two.  My preference is MMA for many reasons, but that's another article all by itself. 

~ Shane

UFC 117 Fighter Salaries

Wondering what UFC fighters make per fight. Well, here are some of the salary distributions for UFC 117. One thing that I'm going to point out is Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes! Can someone please tell me what is up with this picture? Anderson Silva has defended his belt 8 times with 8 wins. He takes home no win bonus. Why I'm not sure, maybe Dana White didn't find him getting his face smashed for 22+ minutes before being smart enough to trangle Chael Sonnen entertaining enough to award him a couple of extra bucks for pulling off a clutch victory.

Matt Hughes wins. Yay, whooo hoo.. Ok so Matt wins, were used to this. He win's, he loses, he wins, he disappears, he comes back. Whatever, he's a fighter who's been around. But it wasn't a title fight. It was a quick and exciting fight, but not a title fight.

I'm not trying to take anything away from Hughes, but the Silva fight was a title shot. A five round war that ended in a the most unexpected tap with just a few minutes left to go. The Hughes fight was a three round fight. Both earn the same pay out? Something is wront here! Am I wrong?

Medical Suspensions for Fighters

How many of you MMA fans out there knew that the UFC issued Medical suspensions? What is a medical suspension you ask, we'll it's when a fighter is suspended from fighting for a period of time determined by the amount of damaged sustained during a fight.

Here is a link to BJ Penn's site with the list of medical suspensions from UFC 117. This should put things into perspective for you. Especially for those of you who were wondering why you sometimes don't see fighters fight for long periods between fights. Take a look at Anderson Silva's suspensions, 180 days, that's six months. No rematch, no title fights for at least 18 months. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.bjpenn.com/profiles/blogs/ufc-117-medical-suspensions

Daniel Cormier to Fight Jason Riley On Strikeforce Saturday August 21st.

Just a reminder, Ohio local Jason Riley is fighting Daniel Cormier Saturday August 21st. Jason is a local dad/fighter with my support and respect. Let's help him get his ups and watch his fight Saturday the 21st. He's a great dad and a great fighter. He' needs our support, so let's help him out. Be sure to watch the undercard on Saturday August 21st on Showtime!!!!!!

Vale Tudo "Anything Goes" Bare Knuckle Fighting

There are so many people out there who think that the UFC and WEC define what is "sport fighting". What they don't understand is that UFC and WEC are simply brands. Refined, more organized, and arguably safer forms of raw fighting.

Here is some bare kunckle Vale Tudo. Watch for the shoulder locks, head buts, and some of the other things you won't see in UFC or WEC. Also, these boys aren't wearing gloves to protect their hands. Anything goes!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-4jGqMH0gE

Chael Sonnen Taps via Triangle Choke in Round 5 of UFC 117

Chael Sonnen shocked a lot of people with his performance. He dominated Anderson Silva for almost 5 rounds. However, in MMA, it all comes down to the win. Chael got over confident and found himself trapped in a triangle choke he couldn't ground and pound his way out of. So he tapped out losing the fight.

Silva did not perform as many of us expected, but he won as I had expected he would. He had me on the edge of my seat saying to myself "what the hell are you doing". I almost thought he was gonna lose this fight.

However, just like any good fighter, you never surrender. You push through until you have no more. You look for your opportunity and you take it. Although he didn't fight as well as he should have, he found his moment and tapped Chael out.

That's the BJJ game. You could be tied up the entire fight and just when everyone things your down and out, you slap on that choke to win the fight.

I think this fight will humble Silva a little more, but it does show the world what a warrior he is. He was dominated for over 23 minutes before he choked out Chael.

You could say a lot of things, but can you roll for 23 minutes full tilt with someon pounding on your face and body? Better yet, could you take a beating for 23 minutes without surrendering? Could you take a beating for 23 minutes and win the fight with a strategic choke. I bet many of us out there couldn't. We'll most of us couldn't.

I personally know somewhat what this feels like. No more than a week ago I was working on some grappling with a good friend. We rolled around for about 30 minutes. Although it wasn't as intense as this fight, I know how winded and tired I was. Now if my buddy was pounding on my head, I'm not sure I could have lasted more than 10 minutes. Although outsized, I know what it's like to be pushed around for a long period of time. I have a great deal of respect for anyone who can hang in there for five 5 minute rounds and pull off a choke out win.

Say what you want, but The Spider is still the champ!!!

Chael Sonnen Tap Dancing - Oh Wait, Just Tapping Out!!!

Here is a video that I found on Youtube. The video does have some explicit content and offensive remarks (captions). In order to view the video you will have to have a Youtube or Gmail account to login.

http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dc0DLJOMMdjA

In this video you will see Chael "subscribe" to several arbars, and triangle chokes. He did a lot of talking about how his wrestling is going to help him get Silva to the ground. This video shows some of his wrestling skills. He wrestles into a bunch of nice chokes.

UFC 117, although it's just such a huge marketing machine, is going to be a legendary fight no doubt. Either a Sonnen fan or a Silva fan, you have to admit that this is going to go down in the books as one of the best fights ever. If not for the fight itself, but all the smack talking and build-up.

I can't wait to see the outcome, although biased, I think I know who's gonna come out on top!!!

UFC 117 Primer on Sherdog.com

Here is a good primer for UFC 117 which talks about Dana white and his marking evolution. It talks a bit about someone actually testing Anderson Silva and Dana white just may believe that Sonnen can do it. I think he's out of his mind, but that's me.


http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Primer-UFC-117-26119

Has Chael Sonnen perfected his ground game? We'll he had better or Silva is gonna slap a choke on him faster than mommy can lay a diaper on a newborn.

~Shane

Contact Us Via E-Mail at breakingdownmma@gmail.com

Hello,

As everyone who follows this blog knows, and for those of you visiting this blog for the first time now know, this blog is dedicated and designed to provide a communal space for all of us MMA junkies to chat and speak our minds. To rant, rave, and discuss mixed martial arts, martial arts, and sport fighting in general.

Being the creator of this blog, I get the luxury of posing the topics of discussion for everyone to comment on. However, I want to keep it real and allow my followers and future followers to offer up topics of discussion. I want you to be able to break it down. Even though this is my blog, I want to know what YOU want to discuss and point out to the MMA world.

So now, you can contact me at breakingdownmma@gmail.com. Send me your topics, links and opinions. If you have a topic you would like me to post, a video, a picture, another website, blog, or a question, please feel free to contact me. Shoot me an email. I check my email at least once if not several times a day. Your opinion and suggestions are always welcome. Break it down, keep it real, shoot me some mail.

~Shane

Anderson Sliva....That's all I have to Say!!!

Chael Sonnen is clownin. Maybe he hasn't seen this video or maybe he is mistaking the Spider for someone else. This right here makes every point needed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53zdxvajCEs

Jason Riley - A Local Fighter out of Columbus Ohio Gets his Break on Showtime StrikeForce!

Jason Riley, a home town boy from Columbus, Ohio got his break. He'll be fighting for StrikeForce on August 21st. I got the word from my cousin in Ohio who is a big supporter of his local fighters. He asked me to get the word out. This kid deserves the support, so let's give it to him. Anyone who trains or fights knows how hard it is to make it. What it takes to make the big time and this local boy did it. Let's all give it up and show our support.

My cousin tells me he's a real stand-up guy. He's passed through his local area and always taken care of the local kids with autographs and even lets them walk him to the cage.


Here's what I think! Anyone who has worked this hard training and fighting his way to the top from the bottom deserves our support. Anyone who takes time to pay attention to the kids who support the support and goes as far as signing autographs and even lets them walk him to the cage is a good person. Although I don't know him personally, I think that's a real fighter. A respectful fighter who cares about his fans and the future of the sport.

Support him and give him his props. He deserves it. If he's taken time out of his life to show my family some love, he's got my support. Help him out, give him your support.

~Shane