- MMA gloves - No leg strikes of any type - Takedowns permitted, Ground and Pound permitted, but you only get 10 seconds as soon as you hit the ground to do the damage, you can do it as many times as you want but at 10 seconds, you stand. Also throws permitted to do damage like in Thai fights. - No time limit on clinch fighting, obviosuly. - Both guys get good time to prepare and prepare well. ............................... I think with the proper preparation, this would be an interesting bout. Obviously John L's mastery of dirty boxing would be a level up on most's standards and John L did wrestle quite a bit and wouldn't be out of his element with the 5 minute ground spurts, even though Couture is several levels up. Who do you take?
Couture. Sullivan was quite good, but his skillset doesn't transition well to a ground-and-pound environment. He took on the American Greco-Roman champion in an MMA at one time and was slammed onto the mat. On the other hand, the version who fought Kilrain (Sullivan was trained with that same Greco-Roman champion for the fight) may do a lot better. In that case, I'd pick Sullivan. After the fight, Couture decides to train with "Team Sullivan" to add yet another layer to his boxing.
