If former boxing champ James Toney wanted to find out how tough mixed martial arts is, he certainly found out when Randy Couture slapped an arm triangle on him during the first round of their bout at UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday.
Toney tapped out and Couture, a legend in the sport, won, just one of the highlights from the UFC's first trip to Boston.
This is proof of a couple things in the world of MMA. One is that not just anyone - no matter the background or how tough he thinks he is - can just walk into the cage and win a fight. Dana White, the president of the UFC, has said numerous famous athletes have approached him about fighting. Toney was at the top of that list, so White finally decided to give him a fight and it didn't go so well for the former pugilist.
There is a lot more to the sport than what appears on the surface. There is strategy, defense, a lot of thinking and endurance. Fighters always have to be aware of where they are, their body position, what their opponent is trying to do and any possible submission moves. It's not just going toe-to-toe and slugging away.
The second thing Saturday night proved is that MMA is popular in New England, and hopefully this will open the door for more local fighters. For years, the MMA scene has been growing here, but it hasn't received the national recognition because Massachusetts, the state with the best venues in the area, did not sanction the sport until last winter.
Now that is has been sanctioned in the Bay State and the UFC has expanded its kingdom to the TD Bank Garden, more fighters from the area should get a chance to fight on the preliminary card and possibly earn a contract with the UFC, or other companies in ths sport.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment