(Don’t play that shit around Senator Harry Reid. This is the man who *invented* invisible lat syndrome.)
As the editor of an MMA website, I’m constantly bombarded with images of tattooed skinheads engaged in gay foreplay. And yet, there are times when I’m faced with an image that even makes me uncomfortable. Check out 25 of the most chillingly awkward MMA photos in the gallery after the jump, laugh nervously, then avert your eyes in shame…
As the editor of an MMA website, I’m constantly bombarded with images of tattooed skinheads engaged in gay foreplay. And yet, there are times when I’m faced with an image that even makes me uncomfortable. Check out 25 of the most chillingly awkward MMA photos in the gallery after the jump, laugh nervously, then avert your eyes in shame…
Sports fans are typically a pretty realistic bunch.Look at fans of teams like the Cleveland Browns, who are lousy, know they are lousy and don’t try to pretend otherwise. Entire industries have sprouted up with the seemingly sole purpose of critic…
Sports fans are typically a pretty realistic bunch.
Look at fans of teams like the Cleveland Browns, who are lousy, know they are lousy and don’t try to pretend otherwise. Entire industries have sprouted up with the seemingly sole purpose of criticizing athletes and coaches, pointing out all of their flaws, humanizing what were once mythical creatures. A separate cottage industry exists to mock and deflate the sports media. Sociologically, it’s fascinating stuff.
Mixed martial arts fans? We’re that beast of another color. Hope springs eternal in mixed martial arts.
It’s a place where fans can, in all seriousness, suggest that an athlete with no wrestling background, no discernible proclivity for wrestling, and a decade of ignoring his fundamental flaws in the area, can become a master of the discipline simply by switching training camps.
The idea that certain people simply aren’t good at something never seems to cross a mixed martial arts fan’s mind. In the insular community of super fans, training is always the answer.
Got beat up by a guy who’s been kickboxing his whole life or a prodigy with amazing hand speed and reflexes? Just travel to Holland or Thailand and book some time with a handful of grizzled kickboxing coaches. Problem solved!
Other sports don’t have these fairy tale fans. When a quarterback comes out of college and can’t make the deep throws, no one suggests that spending the summer with Dan Marino will make the kid into the next Jeff George. There’s a more sophisticated understanding that success in high stakes athletics is a product not just of rigorous training, but of innate ability as well. MMA fans are more democratic than that. In fact, athleticism rarely comes into the equation when discussing fighters, or at least certainly not with the frequency you see skill sets mentioned in pre- and post-fight analysis.
Part of this disconnect is a product of the sport’s rise to success in America. Royce Gracie was MMA’s poster boy, not despite his lack of athletic skill but expressly because of them. Gracie’s uninspiring physique and average speed and strength made it all the more impressive when he dispatched opponents with shocking ease. The UFC at the time was less athletic contest, more infomercial for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. It made sense to emphasize the technique over the technician. After all, that was the product they were moving.
None of that, of course, explains why Tim Tebow supporters live in a fantasy land. Football fans have had decades to grasp the prerequisites for success as an NFL quarterback. Making good decisions under pressure and the ability to accurately throw a football where you want it to go are key. If an athlete can’t do these two things at an otherworldly level, he is going to fail in the professional ranks. Period.
There’s no examples of successful quarterbacks who fail in these two simple areas. There are copious examples of system quarterbacks, and make no mistake that Tebow—who was just traded to the Jets today—is every bit the system quarterback a kid from Texas Tech is, failing to make it against more complicated defensive schemes and better athletes.
Yet Tebow fans remain undaunted. He just needs seasoning. Some time under the wing of a veteran quarterback who can show him the ropes. He needs time.
His fundamental flaws? An inability to throw the football quickly or where he wants it to go? Never part of the discussion with his millions of rabid fans.
Maybe Tim Tebow’s ultimate home is MMA? It will be the perfect home for his fans, a place where hope springs eternal and you are just one miracle coaching session away from glory. A place where his mythical ability to win and legendary will power will be more than enough.
After all, according to MMA fans, a couple of months at Golden Glory and a stint at Greg Jackson’s fantastic gym in New Mexico is all it takes to achieve your dreams in the fight game. It’ll be like taking candy from a baby.
MMA fans have been spoiled in recent years with the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva. In the good ole days, we were satisfied when two guys stepped into the cage and just swung for the fences.Now we’re seeing…
MMA fans have been spoiled in recent years with the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva. In the good ole days, we were satisfied when two guys stepped into the cage and just swung for the fences.
Now we’re seeing front-kick knockouts, flying triangles and athletes springing themselves off the cage, throwing cinema-like spinning kicks that actually connect on their opponent’s chin.
These athletes have incredible, natural physical gifts and have begun to take over the sport. Not only that, but they have truly changed the direction that it will head in years to come.
No longer is technique alone good enough to be the best. To be the best, fighters will need that rare combination of technique and natural ability.
But it hasn’t always been that way and for many fighters, it wasn’t anywhere near this easy. These five fighters had to make use of what they were given, and in some cases it wasn’t all that much when compared to some of their opponents.
Inside the Octagon, Ian McCall is a force to be reckoned with. For anyone who tuned in on Friday night to see the debut of the flyweight division, you can clearly see that McCall is not just a fighter, but an entertainer as well. Between his in-cage an…
Inside the Octagon, Ian McCall is a force to be reckoned with. For anyone who tuned in on Friday night to see the debut of the flyweight division, you can clearly see that McCall is not just a fighter, but an entertainer as well.
Between his in-cage antics and his own personal brand of humor, McCall will always stand out from the pack. One of the tools that McCall uses in order to be remembered is his unusual, but undeniably memorable, choice of nickname: Uncle Creepy.
This is a look at some of the best nicknames in MMA. Some of the monikers on this list qualified because they are tremendously fitting. Some make the list due to pure badassery. That’s a word, right? If not, it should be.
If you were to ask 100 MMA fans to define mixed martial arts in a word, their responses would differ greatly. If you asked the same census group to define the sport in a name, nearly all would give you the same answer: Gracie.
While some would likely say that Rorian and Royce — having respectively founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship and won three of its first four tournaments in decisive fashion — were the impetus behind their answer, most would likely point to Gracie jiu-jitsu originators Helio and Carlos Gracie as the reason for their response.
Carlos and Helio were innovators, who, although they didn’t invent the art of jujitsu, or it’s “successor,” judo, they did arguably revolutionize the hybrid fighting art, making it more effective than both, especially when used by smaller combatants against larger opponents.
To the brothers, their variation of the centuries old Japanese martial art form, now known universally as “Brazilian” or “Gracie” jiu-jitsu, was not just simply efficacious in competition; it was equally as useful in self-defense and street fighting scenarios — a point they have stressed since introducing it to the masses more than 80 years ago.
Decades before Rorian and Royce made history with the UFC, their father Helio represented the Gracie name and defended its honor in scores of challenge matches designed to prove that GJJ — an offshoot of Kodokan judo, which was taught to them by Japanese immigrant and judo master Mitsuyo Maeda, was more effective than any other form of martial art.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/RootsofFight)
If you were to ask 100 MMA fans to define mixed martial arts in a word, their responses would differ greatly. If you asked the same census group to define the sport in a name, nearly all would give you the same answer: Gracie.
While some would likely say that Rorian and Royce — having respectively founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship and won three of its first four tournaments in decisive fashion — were the impetus behind their answer, most would likely point to Gracie jiu-jitsu originators Helio and Carlos Gracie as the reason for their response.
Carlos and Helio were innovators, who, although they didn’t invent the art of jujitsu, or it’s “successor,” judo, they did arguably revolutionize the hybrid fighting art, making it more effective than both, especially when used by smaller combatants against larger opponents.
To the brothers, their variation of the centuries old Japanese martial art form, now known universally as “Brazilian” or “Gracie” jiu-jitsu, was not just simply efficacious in competition; it was equally as useful in self-defense and street fighting scenarios — a point they have stressed since introducing it to the masses more than 80 years ago.
Decades before Rorian and Royce made history with the UFC, their father Helio represented the Gracie name and defended its honor in scores of challenge matches designed to prove that GJJ — an offshoot of Kodokan judo, which was taught to them by Japanese immigrant and judo master Mitsuyo Maeda, was more effective than any other form of martial art.
One of our new favorite MMA clothing brands, Roots of Fight, who just happen to be fans of the site, have just released a new line of shirts from their Bloodlines collection celebrating the Gracies and their contributions to grappling and MMA, and it is awesome.
Inspired by the passport received by new members at the original Gracie Academy, the soft tri-blend heather green shirt is simple, yet stylish.
The Academia Gracie T-shirt
Featuring super soft, hand-drawn prints on premium cotton vintage t-shirts and sweatshirts also inspired by the Gracie Academy members’ passport these variations features a throwback “AG” insignia and the Gracie name to celebrate the roots of the Gracie JJ Academy.
The Academia Gracie Crew Neck Sweat Shirt
…and our personal favorite, which was released today:
An off-white, premium vintage tri-blend shirt commemorating the historic 1951 bout between Helio and judo master Masahiko Kimura, the T-shirt captures the spirit of what a fight T from the epic bout would have looked like back then.
ROF has graciously furnished us with one of each of the shirts above to award to one lucky winner. We’ll get to the details in a minute.
If you aren’t able to watch the video above at work, make sure you bookmark it for later. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed. Rener Gracie does a bang-up job as always breaking down the fight between his grandfather and Kimura.
Now, we know you’re not all MMA historians like the guys from Roots of Fight and CagePotato.com are, so we’ve put together a brief Gracie primer below for those of you who are unfamiliar with the story of how Helio’s game-changing bout with Kimura came about, and what it meant for the family. For the rest of you, skip to the bottom to find out how to win the fantastic shirts from our friends atRoots of Fight.
In 1932, at the age of just 18, Helio faced a Japanese professional wrestler and judoka by the name of Takashi Namiki and fought through to a draw after three 10-minute rounds. The match proved a decent litmus test of the young Brazilian’s skill after training in the discipline with his brother since he was 14. After going undefeated for 19 years, including draws and submissions of several traditional judo players from Japan, the Japanese masters began to take the Gracie’s claims that theirs was the most effective offshoot of jujitsu seriously.
In 1950, Masahiko Kimura, Japan’s best judoka of the era traveled to Brazil to lay down the gauntlet. He told the Gracies that he wouldn’t waste his time fighting Helio as his country’s second and third best would wipe the mats with the gangly 37-year-old and that they would prove as much in a few months.
Finally, on September 6, 1951, Helio Gracie and Yukio Kato, who was considered the number two judoka in Japan at the time, squared off at Maracana stadium in front of a raucous crowd. After three back and forth rounds of furious action the match was declared a draw. Kato was more aggressive in the first round and repeatedly tried to finish the fight in the frame with spectacular throws. Helio weathered the storm and took control of the second round by taking his opponent to the canvas, where he worked for submission after submission. Dominating the third round as well, under today’s rules Gracie, who had a 14-pound weight disadvantage in the bout, would have been declared the winner, however because neither man submitted or knocked the other out, the match was called a stalemate.
Confident he would take the rematch, Kato challenged Helio to another bout one month later, under the stipulation that this time the match would take place in a ring with ropes to avoid escapes.
On Saturday, October 29, 1951 Kato and Gracie fought for the second time, at Pacaembu Gymnasium in São Paulo. after a couple of spectacular throws in the opening minutes, Kato attempted to finish the fight on the ground with a choke while passing the guard. Gracie, aware of the dangerous position he was in, managed to roll out of the hold and used his flexibility to recover his guard, where he was able to apply a front choke from his back. The choke was tighter than Kato assumed and the Japanese judoka was rendered unconscious just eight minutes into the first round of the bout. Helio had won the bout and proven that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was legit.
In an effort to regain judo’s glory, Kimura relented and challenged Helio to a bout, which went down in front of more than 200,000 of Gracie’s compatriots on October 31, 1951 at the Maracana Stadium — a massive soccer arena.
Outweighing the Brazilian by over 75 pounds, Kimura boldly boasted to the local media that if Helio could last more than three minutes, he would be declared the winner of the bout. The huge size and strength advantage proved to be too much for Helio. Although he was able to survive through the first 10-minute round using his defensive style and skill off his back, three minutes into the second round Carlos would step in to stop the match when he felt his brother would be risking major injury by refusing to tap out to a shoulder lock. He had escaped the submission several times in the bout and felt that he would once again be able to get out of it, but never got the opportunity. The lock from that point on became known in jiu-jitsu circles as the “Kimura.”
Although he had technically lost the bout due to forfeiture, Helio had proven that he could hang with arguably the best grappler in the world at the time and had “won” according to the stipulations set out by Kimura.
After the fight, Kimura, who endorsed Helio as a fourth-degree black belt in judo, publicly praised Gracie’s unique ground fighting technique and invited him to teach in his dojo in Japan — a gesture which was nearly unheard of at the time since martial arts in the country were traditionally taught strictly by Japanese grandmasters. The bout and the subsequent seal of approval from the judo legend was the watershed moment for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and although the techniques haven’t changed a lot over the years, GJJ has continued to dominate the fight game ever since.
Now that you have the back-story, if you were one of the few who didn’t already know it, here’s what you need to do to win some amazing clothing from one of the sport’s newest and most promising clothing brands so you can rep GJJ with equal parts honor and style:
Tell us in 80 characters or less what the Gracie name means to fighting — be it jiu-jitsu, MMA or otherwise. Write about whatever strikes you, from your introduction to GJJ or the first time you saw Royce dominate at UFC 1, to the grace and honor the name evokes. It doesn’t have to be Hemingway-esque as long as the message is sincere and from the heart.
Tweet your entry to @RootsofFight @GracieBrothers and @CagePotatoMMA with the hash tag #THEGRACIENAME and follow all three accounts on Twitter. One entry per person.
That’s it.
Contest deadline is Friday, March 9, 2012 at 5:00 pm ET. Good luck.
If you don’t think you have the writing ferocity to win the contest, or if you simply aren’t the lucky winner, all of the shirts will be available this week for order on Roots of Fight’s website or at MMAWarehouse.com.
(Bones’ unorthodox stand-up proved too much for Rashad.)
We’ve all seen street “fights” like the one below when we were younger, where the two combatants spend more time circling and jawing at each other than they do actually settling things the way boys do: by sloppily throwing haymakers until they both gas out.
Apparently in this hood, beef quashing is a community initiative as you can see by the mother screaming encouragement while several adults and kids look on as these two young men nearly get it on. Their stand-up makes Royce Gracie’s look like Badr Hari’s.
(Bones’ unorthodox stand-up proved too much for Rashad.)
We’ve all seen street “fights” like the one below when we were younger, where the two combatants spend more time circling and jawing at each other than they do actually settling things the way boys do: by sloppily throwing haymakers until they both gas out.
Apparently in this hood, beef quashing is a community initiative as you can see by the mother screaming encouragement while several adults and kids look on as these two young men nearly get it on. Their stand-up makes Royce Gracie’s look like Badr Hari’s.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/100kr001)
Seriously. Put your elbows down, boys. No wonder you’re so tired.
The highlight of the brief altercation, besides the mom giving her kid a pep talk in the middle of the fracas, has to be the the other kid telling the crowd that if he didn’t drop his foe with a punch, then they could shoot him. Homie plays for keeps when it comes to street fighting. Where I come from, acting like that would get you put over your mom’s knee in front of everyone. Wait, no. That was an episode of Good Times I saw once.
Sports fans are typically a pretty realistic bunch.
