John Fitch’s release from the UFC has some confused on what constitutes a good fight.
By: Jon Hunsicker
With former number one welterweight contender, John Fitch, being released (add from the hospital or what have you?) last month after a loss to Demian Maia, some are questioning what a “good fight” entails. As a fan, I’ll admit, I love a good vicious knockout or limb-threatening submission as much as I alos enjoy watching a good ground chess match.
For me, I find it just as exciting to watch constant submission attempts, well planned sweeps and the ability to completely control another fighter. Then there’s another fan base, for them, the fight isn’t worth watching unless someone gets maliciously injured. They boo when an experienced grappler grinds out a devastating striker to wear him down, or when they’re in a power struggle against the cage in the clinch. These elements are all part of a good game plan, you find where your opponent is vulnerable and you capitalize on that. His weakness is not always going to be the fact that he drops his left hand when you feint a body shot, leaving him wide open for a huge right hook or high head kick. Completely dominating another fighter, not letting him use his skill set, forcing him to fight your fight, still wins fights.
That being said, do those types of fights draw a huge crowd, or get everyone worked up and throwing their money at the ticket booth? No. I can understand Dana White’s choices on his latest cuts. He runs a business and is only doing what he thinks will help his business succeed by providing exciting fights. It just disappoints me that more people can’t appreciate the amount of skill it takes to subdue a dangerous striker and take him off his game. Maybe with this mind set it would help the sport evolve even further, having more fighters very aggressively going for the finish and producing more exciting fights instead of leaving it up to the judges. This sport has evolved so much already, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
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