I was just rewatching arlovski vs rothwell...(it was arlovski's first fight inside a ring)...Didn't seem to cause him any problems at all , he was actually looking better than in his last 2 or 3 ufc fights... Some ***** about the fact that the ref has to constantly change the position of two fighters who are too close to the ropes (they'll never do that inside the cage)... But as far as i'm concerned. I think the ring format is better. 1 the cage gives a bad image of the sport. (ironically it' ufc's trademark combat zone and no one can imagine a ufc fight without it)....but it's no wonder that we have dumb pricks who know **** about mma calling it "barbaric" comparing it to "caged animals" etc... 2 the ring works for boxing & kickboxing so why not mma ?...Some of the most important fights took place inside pride's ring (nogueira vs fedor , saku vs gracie , wanderlei vs jackson , crocop vs fedor , barnett vs nogueira , Gomi vs Kawajiri , Arona vs shogun etc....to name a few ) 3 the ring gives you a better view of the action. And anyone who bitches , saying that it is somehow , easier to cheat (because you can grab the ropes)...guess what ? same **** happens when a fighter grabs the fence.
Ring by far is the better arena. I absolutely loved the size of Afflictions last night too. I agree with the fact it gives mma a bad image, but most of what the UFC does gives mma a bad image. The blood splatter graffics at the start of every show, the heavy metal music, Dana White. I mean the list goes on and on. Dana needs to get a cleaner image going on. He swears like a sailor in ALL his interviews, he talks down to people, he got very little class. Dana is a good business guy but not a good rep. for the company. back to the ring/cage deal. Sorry for that rant. I think the ring makes it feel more like an open area for the fighters, they say they feel less restricted and if you are on the ground and can't get up then why should you be able to use the cage to help you, I mean you can't grab it to help, so why can you use your feet or back? I don't know I just think it would bring alittle more legitamacy to the sport.
I don't like ropes. Anything that alters a fight like that, isn't a good thing in MMA. Plus, it's a safety hazard with guys falling through. An MMA fight makes more sense with two guys locked in a cage... with no outs, and restarts due to ropes.
the ring is far better than the cage, i thought affliction got it perfect yesterday, a cage is more suited to wrestlers and lay and pray.
Cage I think because it keeps fighters closer, so no space to run. Safety for another reason because some fighters do fall through the ropes and when on the ground they can stop action by crawling through the ropes. The ring has its good points as well because wrestlers cant use the ropes for leverage which in the cage can pretty much dictate the fight. The ring also had alot less lay n pray. Verdict: edge to cage because more used to seeing it
The cage is better. 1) Restarts suck. Restarts suck BAD. SO often fighters restart and try to get a slightly better position than they actually had. Watch hughes versus Tito in ADCC (although that was a mat, not a ring) and watch Tito's "restart" position. It isn't always fair and it sucks to stall the action. 2) Fighter safety. No one wants to fall out or get thrown out of a ring. 3) Corners. A ring has corners that you can back your opponent into, which to me personally, causes it to not feel expansive. It also changes the dynamic of cutting off the ring in a way that I don't prefer. 4) Weird japanese guys. How many times have I watched some weird japanese dudes trying to push guys back into the ring when they are groundfighting right by the ropes. That **** has to be distracting to a fighter, and I know it isn't very aesthetically pleasing.
None of your reasons are actually meaningful to the fight Image - obviously hasn't hurt the image at all, look at where the sport is right now Boxing and Kickboxing - they don't take place on the ground, thats why it works for them View - again, not related to the fight. The cage is simply the better option, its safer, keeps the action between the two fighters, and if you you've ever had to grapple in a ring, there is just no comparison, the cage is the obvious choice.
The huge ring is some sort of middleground between the Pride ring and the octogon. As an avid Pride fan it pains me to say I think I probably prefer the cage (for TV viewing, anyway)
I've always preferred the ring format to the cage. That said, I think the refs at Affliction were not yet accustomed to working with a ring so the fights didn't go as smoothly as they should have.
