Reminiscing

On the day of its birth, the UFC caught the attention of many fans through its novelty and raw violence that filled the octagon. During its infancy there were little to no rules (no biting, eye gauging or head butting) and with the novelty of an open weight class, audiences were able to witness first hand whether or not size mattered. Fighters from many different disciplines faced off but unlike todays current crop of fighters, many possessed only one skill set and because of that many witnessed the power of Gracie Jiu Jitsu as it dominated the early UFC events.

Now fast forward to today. UFC has changed dramatically, from weight classes to new rules built to protect fighters, the fight game has changed. No longer are fighters asked to battle 4 times in one night (now they may fight 3 or 4 times in a year). With this progression, UFC has been able to hold events all over the country and around the globe but their success has come with a price. Now many fighters view fighting as a sport and has brought in concepts such as game plans and point fighting. These ideas has given birth to fighters stalling by laying and praying.

However, tonight as I watched Diego Sanchez square off against Martin Kampmann, I was reminded of the old days when fighters would stand toe to toe and wail on each other. These kinds of fights are what put butts in the seats and for these two warriors money in their pockets (Fight of the Night Bonus).

Thanks for the memory guys and I hope Diego is able to fix his face because that was one nasty cut.