After UFC 331, Andy Foster, the head of the California Athletic Commission, said he wanted to eliminate the oblique kick because it was too dangerous, and UFC CEO Dana White agreed. While I don’t always see eye to eye with Foster, I rarely find myself being ridiculous, but now is one of those times. So let’s discuss Pearl Foster’s mailbags this week.
Blocking oblique kicks
Side kicks are good and bad right but to be damned? I don’t know, but there are too many rules in what the purpose of fighting is if you check yourself all the time. Soon they will kick the calf. When the end!
The origin of MMA is that no competition is precluded. That’s funny before. Since the beginning of society, people wanted to know who the best fighter was, and MMA is the latest extension of that impulse. It is clear, I was introduced quickly, because it is not ancient Rome, and fights to the death are not pleasant forms of entertainment. But every rule for MMA over the past 33 years falls into one of three categories: entertainment, sense, and safety.
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He fights therefore untimely to go around, because fights that only suck with the end to watch and are impossible around the market. You can’t hold a pay-per-view event if the main event could last six hours, and if you’ve ever watched some of the oldest games like this, you’ll know just how boring they are.
Groin shots are banned because they are highly effective, completely ignorant, and completely offensive to the average audience. The reason “low kick” is such a widely used term is that people think it’s dirty, and they don’t want that kind of thing in sports. Ulpianus for biting, fish-hooks, and pulling hairs. These are all maneuvers that undoubtedly work, but the public will not take.
Then there are the health bonds. Obviously, shots in the back are illegal because that’s how people die. Eye gouging is banned because we don’t want Game of Thrones people in a cage. There is no limit to inhumanity, and sticking your fingers into another is certainly over that line.
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But they do not fall into any of these categories. A huge outcry from the public is not a sign of the downfall of civilization. And certainly, the movement is dangerous, but it is not a sincere test. He is fighting; The literal point is dangerous. The question is, is it permissible to be too dangerous? And to this it is clear that no one
No one is going to die by the oblique kick of a flamingo’s knee; no one will change the horrible loss of life. Yes, it can suck that you have a blown knee, but I think we can all see the difference between that – a trunk risk for any athlete – going blind, because your eyes popped. If you’re going to stop kicking because of the risk of long-term damage, why not get rid of leg hair? WAY more people have had their knees pulled out due to a hook kick than a slant kick. But let no one even think of stopping the hair, because they should not.
*Aside: like leg hair, I’m actually OK with banning them for the lower ranks of MMA, like throwing leg hair fights for blue and white belts. But this is a championship level fight we’re talking about, not a white belt NAGA group.
I am old enough to remember when people were asking for calf kicks to be banned because they were too oppressive and no one could stop them. She was an idiot then, and she is an idiot now. a fist is a fist; men to evil. The point is to avoid catastrophic injuries and a blown knee simply does not meet the threshold.
Eddie Hearn is supposed to be a MMA fan
Do you think going to Eddie Hearn’s management as an MMA fighter is a bad idea if you’re going to fight for the UFC?
First, let’s make something clear: to the best of my knowledge, Eddie Hearn does not represent any UFC fighter in the fight negotiation. My understanding is that both his dealings with Tom Aspinall, and with Ian Machado’s dealings with Garry, essentially cover all of his lucrative opportunities. It is true, not to fight the traffic, that is to make a big difference.
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If you hear that he has been hired to represent you, you clearly value his opinion, and you will almost certainly have a voice in any such negotiations, even if he is not sitting at the table with Hunter Campbell and company to hash out the details. And before it’s too long, I expect Hearn to sign other UFC fighters and take a more active role in these things.
Now that everyone is out of the way, let me answer the question: maybe it won’t change things significantly, but it will make your life a little more uncomfortable.
I think I really believe Dana White when she says she doesn’t hold much grudge against Tom Aspinall over Eddie Hearn. But it is white at all a man who holds grudges and this latest twist on Tyson Erinny vs. The Anthony Joshua saga is clearly troubling him. Hearn gets fired up in the media, and White isn’t someone who would ever just take a loss and move on. He clearly despises Hearn, and while every fighter should have management that pushes back against their promoter, there is a point where it becomes too much. At the end of the day, they work together, and if things get too tilted, that can’t happen. Even in the makeup jar.
And the ufc is really driving the part of this thing, because they hold all the power. Dana White doesn’t need Tom Aspinall or Ian Machado Garry. The UFC is contractually obligated to offer fights, but they offer whatever type of fights they want, and mostly just what they want. Aspinale or Garry can only say or not. And if they say no, the contract is extended. Fighters in the UFC have almost no pressure, and White and company decided decades ago that they would rather lose a little money than give an inch to the government.
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This is why so many fighters kowtow to the UFC; It is easier to accept what is given and try and get the benefits of good management than it is to start a new business. The nail that sticks is hammered, however. And if there’s one thing MMA fighters have proven over the years, it’s that they have no intention of nailing it.
In the end, unless they give Hearn the standards of 100 UFC fighters, he has no power to do anything but pin White, and White is more focused on beating Eddie than getting revenge against Eddie’s fighters. But in the last few years, every Eddie Hearn UFC fighter has asked about this story, and that’s gonna be annoying.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who sent in questions! Do you have burning questions about things at least somewhat related to fighting games? Then you’re in luck, because every week I put a prompt in the Feed for your questions. Fire them up there, and I’ll answer the best ones in the Mailbag and try to answer the rest.