Two Things That Annoyed Me Tonight (Bellator)

[Ben Vazquez]

The first one I have already addressed before. (Grabbing a No-Arm or Arm-In Guillotine & Pulling Guard from a Sprawl Top Position or Standing) which makes me want to palm strike myself in the head almost every-time I see it done.....I only mention it because it happened a few times & failed over & over again *Eyeroll*


The second is guys going for a Arm-Triangle I keep seeing guys secure the head & arm pass to full side control & then they just stay there & squeeze their arms tired until it fails & they have to give up the choke.

Why are guys getting in full Arm-Triangle position having it completely locked in but they don't circle up towards the head like a clock to finish it properly?

They keep laying in side control just squeezing making it much harder on them self then it needs to be.

This isn't a high level move it's seriously one of the very first things I learned when I got into Jiu-Jitsu, Lock it up circle up towards the head.

Am I missing something?

Jiu-Jitsu in MMA annoys me sometimes I just felt like saying that, Had to get it out! LoL ;-P

[Peter Hirt]

And what is up with the phenom behind 2 high level BJJ guys standing and bangin' with each other like in "Pitbulls" fight? I mean, there must be something to it. Its either a machismo thing, or they're "tired" of the BJJ game and are in MMA in the first place for something different... Or? Do these guys get scared off from being in familiar positions without the gi? I just don't buy the argument that their skills cancel each other out -they never go to the ground to find out! But I know its not the first time these guys have faced stiff, gi-less competition either -so I can't figure it out; but I see it soooo often.

Partial Jiu-Jitsu knowledge in MMA is rampant! I wish I had a quarter for every missed Von Flu. The TUF season opener had Shamar Baily trying the double leg takedown (to an attempted "Guillotine defense" -sans sprawl *Eyeroll*) and landing 2 or 3 times in perfect side control -with his hands literally inches away from clasping, securing the Von Flu, and... a high percentage chance for a win. Then again, maybe he DID know and he just thought laying and stalling would make for better TV (yawn).

[Justin W.]

3 things.

first - mma fighters train boxing, wrestling, and bjj while working on cardio and having a strict diet. not everyone can be an expert on everything and it's a lot to think about while in a fight for your life.

second - when you compete, you will never do everything you know, perfectly. if it were true that you could, then one could just read every tutorial in a few months and be a master. Knowing is easy, doing is hard.

last - (to peter hirt) I don't understand why you would think that two black belts don't cancel each other out. Have you never watched BJJ black belt matches? more often than not, they win by a few points and since you don't really get credit for little sweeps in MMA combined with uneducated refs standing up fighters quickly and "fans' in the crowd booing if there is a stall for even 2 seconds, I can see why BJJ guys would rather stand up. When you stale mate at one thing, why wouldn't you go to something else where you might have a bigger advantage at? Idk, it makes perfect sense to me.

[Peter Hirt]

Good points, JusLove. However, I would think the BJJ black belts would cancel each other out IF they were on the ground; but they don't seem to even go there. And I can understand the pre-fight strategy being such, but like you said -it can feel like a fight for your life. In boxing, a scared or hurt fighter will revert to what they know, not what they've been training for just prior to the fight. Why wouldn't these BJJ guys exhibit the same behavior? I would think these guys have "goto" moves that are their personal favorites, -and I just would have thought that they were Jiu-Jitsu moves instead of left hooks. I'm starting to think that perhaps the "takedown" transition is a wider chasm than it may appear; which again seems to be more in the domain of wrestlers, and less for Jiu-Jitsu guys.

I also think the original frustration generating the thread comes from someone representing the archtype of a martial artist commenting on the "McDojo approach" shown by so many UFC fighters lately. I heard a Grand Master say once that there are many paths up the mountain, but once at the top, the view is all the same. Following your art takes you up the mountain and the intention here is to focus some light on the guys at the bottom of the mountain wandering around aimlessly; going from the start of one path to the next in constant search for a "magic technique". I certainly don't mean to put words into Black-Rain-Ninja's mouth! -But more to explain MY understanding, and where I came from when I chimed in.

[Justin W.]

Good points, JusLove. However, I would think the BJJ black belts would cancel each other out IF they were on the ground; but they don't seem to even go there. And I can understand the pre-fight strategy being such, but like you said -it can feel like a fight for your life. In boxing, a scared or hurt fighter will revert to what they know, not what they've been training for just prior to the fight. Why wouldn't these BJJ guys exhibit the same behavior? I would think these guys have "goto" moves that are their personal favorites, -and I just would have thought that they were Jiu-Jitsu moves instead of left hooks. I'm starting to think that perhaps the "takedown" transition is a wider chasm than it may appear; which again seems to be more in the domain of wrestlers, and less for Jiu-Jitsu guys.

I also think the original frustration generating the thread comes from someone representing the archtype of a martial artist commenting on the "McDojo approach" shown by so many UFC fighters lately. I heard a Grand Master say once that there are many paths up the mountain, but once at the top, the view is all the same. Following your art takes you up the mountain and the intention here is to focus some light on the guys at the bottom of the mountain wandering around aimlessly; going from the start of one path to the next in constant search for a "magic technique". I certainly don't mean to put words into Black-Rain-Ninja's mouth! -But more to explain MY understanding, and where I came from when I chimed in.

I agree with most of that except I think it's easier to get a KO on a inexperienced striker even if you're inexperienced as well, than getting a tap on a guy of equal grappling skills. So maybe that's why they choose to strike regardless if they're losing that battle.