I Don’t Care About Fighters Under 175lbs
I know that this article might alienate me among some MMA fans, but I could care less about watching small guys fight in MMA. “Small” is defined as less than 175lbs, and even that is kind of small for a fight between men. For maximum entertainment value, the fighters should be no less than 185lbs except in rare circumstances. In American MMA, there are just way too many small weight classes to give the little guys a chance to fight.
“But wait”, some people will say, “little guys are faster and usually are more technical fighters than bigger guys”. I don’t care about that. What I care about is WHO ARE THE BADDEST MEN ON THE PLANET? When you fight at 175lbs or below, there is no way in hell that you can be considered among the baddest men on the planet. I’m defining the “baddest” as men who can beat up pretty much anybody in the world in a Pride fight (I chose a Pride fight rather than Vale Tudo because Pride has the best combination of liberal rules while maintaining safety for its fighters.)
This is one thing that made Pride events so great. Entire cards would consist of fighters 200lbs and above. The smaller fighters were segregated to their own events, the Pride Bushido series, which I largely ignored unless they had a token “big guy fight” in the card.
Unfortunately in today’s MMA (UFC), smaller fighters are intermixed in the event card and we are lucky to have 2 or 3 fights on a card that has guys 195lbs or above. This makes things much more boring.
Why are the bigger guys the best to watch in MMA? Because they really are the biggest, most powerful guys in the world. Combine that with a big guy who also has technical and grappling ability and you have a very dangerous man. You can weigh 160lbs and have all the technical fighting skill in the world, but you will be no match for an averagely trained MMA fighter at 200+lbs.
I don’t buy this “pound for pound” best fighter in the world crap. There is no way to truly compare. An average skill level MMA fighter will beat a guy who weighs less than him by 30lbs over 95% of the time. Take George St. Pierre for example and have him fighting big names in MMA at 205lbs and he will get destroyed.
In regards to that, Pride was the last major MMA organization to allow fights with significant weight differences. These could be extremely entertaining if the smaller guy could hold his own. Or they could be a one-sided massacre if the smaller guy could not. I have nothing but respect for the smaller fighter to even get in the ring, and especially if he holds his own in the fight. Wanderlei Silva held his own against Mark Hunt, who outweighed him by 80lbs! Dan Henderson vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria is another good example.
Also in the early UFC’s when Royce Gracie beat multiple guys larger than him was impressive. That was when MMA was still new and the bigger guys Royce was fighting were not at the skill level as heavier fighters are at today.
Now do I think that small guys should just give up participating in MMA? Not at all. There seems to be a market for the little guys, particularly among smaller men and women who watch MMA.
But for guys who just want to see the best, the baddest, and the most lethal; nothing under 175lbs is acceptable. It’s not about giving the little guys a chance, it’s about seeing the best fights. Where is the entertainment value of watching some 150lb’ers?
I do think that little guys should still learn and train in MMA though. It will provide them with real life fighting skills, discipline, and confidence. A small guy who trains in MMA should be able to beat up most bigger guys who are out of shape or are untrained fighters. Having that knowledge is a confidence boost for any man.
I just don’t think it is as entertaining or as badass to see little guys fight in MMA. Pride Fighting Championships apparently agreed with me; it was awesome seeing entire fight cards packed with fighters 200lbs and above, and the little guys neatly segregated to Bushido events. I would love to see UFC do something similar. Or at least get rid of all the ridiculous weight classes under 185 lbs.
What do you think? Do you like watching little guys fight? I would say most people here would say no. After all, this is a Pride Fighting Tribute.
Written November 2012
I know that this article might alienate me among some MMA fans, but I could care less about watching small guys fight in MMA. “Small” is defined as less than 175lbs, and even that is kind of small for a fight between men. For maximum entertainment value, the fighters should be no less than 185lbs except in rare circumstances. In American MMA, there are just way too many small weight classes to give the little guys a chance to fight.
“But wait”, some people will say, “little guys are faster and usually are more technical fighters than bigger guys”. I don’t care about that. What I care about is WHO ARE THE BADDEST MEN ON THE PLANET? When you fight at 175lbs or below, there is no way in hell that you can be considered among the baddest men on the planet. I’m defining the “baddest” as men who can beat up pretty much anybody in the world in a Pride fight (I chose a Pride fight rather than Vale Tudo because Pride has the best combination of liberal rules while maintaining safety for its fighters.)
This is one thing that made Pride events so great. Entire cards would consist of fighters 200lbs and above. The smaller fighters were segregated to their own events, the Pride Bushido series, which I largely ignored unless they had a token “big guy fight” in the card.
Unfortunately in today’s MMA (UFC), smaller fighters are intermixed in the event card and we are lucky to have 2 or 3 fights on a card that has guys 195lbs or above. This makes things much more boring.
Why are the bigger guys the best to watch in MMA? Because they really are the biggest, most powerful guys in the world. Combine that with a big guy who also has technical and grappling ability and you have a very dangerous man. You can weigh 160lbs and have all the technical fighting skill in the world, but you will be no match for an averagely trained MMA fighter at 200+lbs.
I don’t buy this “pound for pound” best fighter in the world crap. There is no way to truly compare. An average skill level MMA fighter will beat a guy who weighs less than him by 30lbs over 95% of the time. Take George St. Pierre for example and have him fighting big names in MMA at 205lbs and he will get destroyed.
In regards to that, Pride was the last major MMA organization to allow fights with significant weight differences. These could be extremely entertaining if the smaller guy could hold his own. Or they could be a one-sided massacre if the smaller guy could not. I have nothing but respect for the smaller fighter to even get in the ring, and especially if he holds his own in the fight. Wanderlei Silva held his own against Mark Hunt, who outweighed him by 80lbs! Dan Henderson vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria is another good example.
Also in the early UFC’s when Royce Gracie beat multiple guys larger than him was impressive. That was when MMA was still new and the bigger guys Royce was fighting were not at the skill level as heavier fighters are at today.
Now do I think that small guys should just give up participating in MMA? Not at all. There seems to be a market for the little guys, particularly among smaller men and women who watch MMA.
But for guys who just want to see the best, the baddest, and the most lethal; nothing under 175lbs is acceptable. It’s not about giving the little guys a chance, it’s about seeing the best fights. Where is the entertainment value of watching some 150lb’ers?
I do think that little guys should still learn and train in MMA though. It will provide them with real life fighting skills, discipline, and confidence. A small guy who trains in MMA should be able to beat up most bigger guys who are out of shape or are untrained fighters. Having that knowledge is a confidence boost for any man.
I just don’t think it is as entertaining or as badass to see little guys fight in MMA. Pride Fighting Championships apparently agreed with me; it was awesome seeing entire fight cards packed with fighters 200lbs and above, and the little guys neatly segregated to Bushido events. I would love to see UFC do something similar. Or at least get rid of all the ridiculous weight classes under 185 lbs.
What do you think? Do you like watching little guys fight? I would say most people here would say no. After all, this is a Pride Fighting Tribute.
Written November 2012