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A lot of people say that wrestling is the dominant discipline in mixed martial arts. The truth is that there isn't a true dominant discipline in MMA. Wrestling helps you get and avoid takedowns, but if you don't have other skills you can only get so far. It's the same with striking, you can knock out opponents and avoid getting knocked out, but what happens when you get taken down? Being able to apply and defend submissions is great, but you have to first get the fight to the ground.
Being one-dimensional can get you to the upper-midcard level and maybe, if the division is lacking challengers, even a title fight. However, the second you run into a more well-rounded opponent you're made to look bad as he destroys you.
The only reason I bring this up is because of what happened to Joe Warren this past weekend at Bellator 51. Warren is a great wrestler, but he doesn't really have a well-rounded game. In his defense, though, Warren has only had nine MMA fights, including this past Saturday when he lost to Alexis Vila. I'm not singling out Warren to trash him, he's merely the most recent example of a great one-dimensional fighter losing to a more well-rounded fighter. Vila won a bronze medal in the Olympics in 1996, he's obviously a great wrestler in his own right. Vila is 10-0, with seven of those wins by knockout and two by submission. That means he's more well-rounded than Warren is.
My point is that if you want to be considered an elite MMA competitor you have to be well-rounded. Being great at one thing is a good foundation, but you have to build upon that to go far.
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I expected Josh Koscheck to beat up Matt Hughes at UFC 135. I would say most expected that to happen. I've said many times before that I never want to tell a guy when to retire, but we've now reached the point with Hughes where he has to seriously consider retiring for his long-term health. Hughes has suffered two brutal knockouts in his last two fights. It might be time to concede that age has caught up to him. If Hughes wants to keep fighting, then he'll have to move into that Special Attraction territory where he only fights other older fighters who won't knock his head off.
The legacy of Matt Hughes is secure and nothing can change that. The lowlights towards the end of your career don't diminish the highlights you gave at your peak. When people picture Michael Jordan they don't imagine his run with the Washington Wizards, they think of his title runs with the Chicago Bulls. In a few more years, people will mainly remember Chuck Liddell's knockouts and highlight reel finishes, not the way he went out. People don't forget that stuff, but it's not the first thing that springs to mind when they think of that athlete. The same will even be true of Ken Shamrock, whenever he decides to give it up. About five years or so after Shamrock retires for real, people will mainly remember the good, not the bad.
I don't want to force Matt Hughes to retire, but he needs to take a serious look at himself and what he wants from life after his fighting career is over.
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Jon Jones is beginning to show the signs of becoming the dominant force in MMA that we all think he'll become. It's a long road for him to get to the same level that guys like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are on, but it's looking like only a matter of time now. Jones and his ridiculous reach of 84 inches makes him very dangerous in so many ways. The first thing you think of is his ability to punch you while keeping himself out of harm's way. He can jab you to death, or throw punches from crazy angles to keep you guessing. Jones is also able to utilize his long limbs to apply submissions that guys with shorter arms and legs wouldn't be able to.
There's no question that Jones has been blessed with many physical gifts. However, being physically talented will only get you so far. If Jones puts the work in, and all indications are that he is, he can become the best fighter in history. That's a big if, but it's an exciting prospect. The fight world is full of guys with tremendous physical ability who never realized that potential. If Jones is able to fulfill that potential, we could be looking at the best of all-time.
Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com
Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo
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