WTF are you talking about ??? I believe this is the one he is talking about, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXkcYul1LRo looks like a K1 fight to me. As far as true MMA, I don't think that Mercer has had his 1st fight yet !!! I may be wrong but his MMA record is showing 0-0-0 on sherdog here, http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=22389.
'Boxing fights are pretty BORING. Two guys circle each other and then trade punches for three minutes. How the hell can that compete with the excitement of MMA over the long haul???:huh:-(' Just to show you how a point of reference means nothing if you try to draw bold conclusions from it.
For your information , the joke is on you... Mercer never had a single fight under MMA rules.. You're probably talking about Mercer vs Musashi...that was under strict Kickboxing rules... and to top it all...Mercer was getting owned in that fight...His opponent was just raining low kicks after low kicks..it was just a routine victory for Him...
Do you understand that there is a vast amount of skill and technique involved, or do you think that it's just unskilled wrestling and laying?
5 joint Jujitsu locks against trained opponents are as difficult as landing 5 punch combinations against trained opponents, they don't recognise that. Zakman does, he's just being Zakman.
The mouth breathing public has started to understand and cheer groundfighting, to the point of booing standups.
It's a trend right now, but it won't sustain it's momentum. While I respect it (and actually am interesting in learning a martial art) it's boring. When they are doing stand up (which is agreed to be the most exciting part and what are they usaully doing is Boxing/Kickboxing) that's alright but it always goes down to the floor and a decent fight turns into a stinker because the pace slows down drastically. I know it's much more "real" that way, but it's BORING. That is why there will never be an exciting Mike Tyson type person in MMA or a Hagler vs. Hearns type fight, it doesn't allow for it because of always going down to the ground and slowing the pace. You can forget about any toe to toe exciting wars because all you have to do is get taken to the ground and that's over and done with and a highly regarded powerhouse can just be taken to the ground and put in an arm bar and lose the match and his credibility (hence no chance for a dominant long term fighter like Ali). Boxing allows for fighting to always go at a fast pace (for the most part) and deliver what most people want to see, knockouts. I think ground game and submissions can only be appreciated by those who train in those particular martial arts (the majority of UFC viewers are laymans and cross over WWF people) and once the veil gets lifted (that being the UFC trend isn't "cool" anymore), the majority of people will stop trying to fool us and themselves. I always point these things out to "fans" of UFC (usually these people never had interest in combat sports to begin with so I know they are just watching cause it's cool) and they agree but keep watching anyway. I laugh at them and one of the few things I can't stand are trend following sheep.
Stephan Bonner versus Forrest Griffin Anyways, I vehemently disagree. Just because you find it boring, and that is more than fine, doesn't mean the public at large does. Also, I disagree with your statement about knockouts. As I said earlier, as far as fueling people's desire for barbarism, the UFC does a lot more. When their fights do end in knockouts, they end in brutal knockouts. Compare, say, the "knockout" of Corley at the hands of Cotto. The "knockout" of Judah at the hands of Cotto. The "knockout" of Vargas at the hands of De La Hoya. Compare those to the knockout of Griffin by Jardine. Or the knockout of Lidell by Jackson. Or the knockout of Cro Cop by Gonzaga. UFC knockouts are VICIOUS compared to boxing stoppages. I think MMA is here to stay. I LOVE boxing, I love it wholeheartedly, but I recognize that MMA is also a thing of beauty and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I have watched the Bonner fight and yes that was exciting (it's the one that they always air on that channel with that slogan that says the chnanel is aimed for men or something like that). And yes, I have seen Cro-Cop with his patent kicks that lay out people, but those are in the minority. We can cherry pick explosive and brutal fights all day and night for both sports, but the UFC has the less of the two and that is prone to the fighters going down to the ground. You're almost guarenteed a knockout in boxing or kick boxing as opposed to MMA in which the majority of fights end in a submission or a choke. That's not to say I think MMA doesn't have it's place or anything. I think it's competitive and the fighters there are very well rounded in the art of fighting, but I think the particular rules doesn't allow it for being as exciting as Professional Boxing (For the most part). I also think because it's the "big thing at the moment" a lot of people just go follow it because of herd mentality, not because they actually appreciate what their doing.