Combat 8 "Mixed Martial Arts VS Boxing No Excuses"

Interested just to see how pure boxers try to offset wrestling shoots and grappling technique with their own skill set.

 

You read my mind.

 

Les Piper named as main event for Combat 8 Debut

https://www.facebook.com/Combat8Dominate

 

Sounds silly...

I will not waste my time with this.

Lynchburg

 

I don't think its a bad as it sounds. 30 seconds is plenty of time for a trained ground fighter to submit a pure boxer. The standup is also enough time for the boxer to get the KO. It would be interesting but, nothing big.

 

Yes COMBAT8 is a new company approved and registered by the ACA as Modified Mixed Martial Arts. Like any new company in any industry we have a marketing hook, that marketing hook is designed to spread the name and create debate/conversation. Enter Boxing vs MMA. I am the first person to say that Boxing and MMA are two completely different sports like Rugby League and Rugby Union but what a lot of you are getting confused with is the fact that this is just our marketing hook and it does not resemble our thoughts on the style in any way. In fact after the first tournament the Boxing vs MMA tag will most likely be gone. The reason this tournament is tagged Boxing vs MMA is because I have matched a Boxer against a MMA fighter in nearly every bout.

Regarding the style: Its not about about whats fair to the MMA fighter or the Boxer because any fighter who competes in a COMBAT8 tournament understands the rules and spends time preparing for the tournament. All fighters know the rules and agree to compete which makes it fair. If you want to get technical, yes a MMA fighter can not kick, knee or elbow and they will need to work faster when looking for the submission but a boxer has never been confronted with pick ups, slams, take downs and in boxing when two boxers clinch the ref says break. COMBAT8 refs will only call break if the clinch is a non active clinch used to rest.

Fighters from an MMA background are experienced in the cage whereas boxers have never been grind against the wire mesh which will be a shock to the system if they are not ready for it. 30 seconds per round is not a long time, I agree but for a boxer against a trained professional MMA fighter 30 seconds is a life time and I guarantee that no boxer will be feeling confident when he or she is taken down.

I have seen this style in the gyms with many fighters and sparring partners of all different backgrounds and it flows. The boxers use all the tools they have to keep the fight on its feet and the MMA fighters stalk and strike but when fights are matched evenly neither fighter is fearless but more so extremely pre cautious of the others attack.

I believe the fighter with well rounded skills of both striking and grappling/wrestling will stand up above the rest. I also believe that this style is a great stepping stone for any fighter wanting to make the transition from one sport to the other. I believe combat8 is able to match fighters from the two different sports against each other offering fights that will be highly antisipated and I believe based on what I have seen in the gyms through the development period this style is explosive and will definitely entertain the fans that come to watch the fights.

In closing this style is not for everyone and only time will tell if its for you or not and I would like to add that since the beginning of UFC they have made over 100 rule changes which is common in most sports. If COMBAT8 feels we need to look closely at some of the rules to better the style for the fans, fighters or COMBAT8 we will.

 

You are auuming all MMA fighters are coming form a ground work background which isn't always the case. What if the MMA guy has a Muay Thai background as alot of fighters do?

 

You make a good point there Boran :good

This thing is still sounding like UFC with it's balls removed.

 

BoranBkk: Even Muay Thai fighters rely heavily on their hands, punching with both orthodox style striking and spinning back fists which are all legal strikes in COMBAT8. We have used Muay Thai fighters in the development of this style and they excel. Muay Thai fighters are at home to physically holding and moving their opponents into position to attack.

The COMBAT8 Co-Main Event is kickboxing and Muay Thai legend Greg "Pretty Boy" Foley taking on Tui Leveni over 5 explosive rounds. If Greg didn't think he could compete in this style he wouldn't be as keen as what he is to take this fight.

 

Fair points Nath, I agree witht the purple bit, but the green bit not really. Spinning backfists and relience on hands are more common in kickboxing than MT. In pure MT see or use a spinning bf and are less relient on your hands, but I realise that's got nothing to do with your format.

 

That actually sounds really interesting...sort of running long jump but with a bar you have to clear...longest, Highest Jump wins... :think

 

You sound like a natural for this Combat 8 stuff

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38jP0fYfH44[/ame]

 

I'm not keen on what I've read of this so far. But interesting lineup of names. Les Piper is a former Australian titleholder. Tui Leveni has 12 wins from 15 bouts and is a local Newcastle boy. Oscar Telemaira is 42 years old. Has a dismal boxing record, and must be just making up the numbers.