Pride FC, the greatest mixed martial arts promotion of all time had absolutely no elbows as one of there rules. The current juggernaut of MMA(UFC), has all the elbows anyone could ask for. Who has it right? Are they both right? Lets discuss they good the bad and the ugly of elbows in mixed martial arts.
THE GOOD
A nicely placed standing elbow can be a thing of beauty and change the momentum of a fight. Muay thai elbow techniques are both technical and brutal when applied correctly in an mma bout. This kind of technique is not one for beginners and takes time to master. Standing elbows can be thrown from the clinch or from a medium range between fighters. These techniques are not always seen in mma due to there difficulty and there lower percentage chance of landing.
THE BAD
While in his opponents guard a wrestler drops his elbow less than an inch onto his opponents face. A deep cut is opened up and blood begins to pump out and cover the face of the bottom fighter. This scenario seems play out in a many mixed martial bouts, and may even be a strategy of some fighters. Many fights are stopped due to a cut. Often times the fighter that gets the loss is perfectly fine to continue, expect for the blood that is flowing into his eyes. Is that really sport? How satisfying is it to win a fight by cut? Was it definitive? Did you really win?
THE UGLY
Have you ever seen a UFC broadcast start and there is a one spot on the canvass that is completely stained in blood. Chances are that a ground and pound elbow was unskillful dropped on an opponent, and the blood started spouting like a fountain. It amazes me that the UFC hasn't taken out grounded elbows. The UFC is MMA and what they do will set a precedent for the smaller shows to follow. How many more people would accept MMA as a sport with out all the blood that comes with it? Granted blood comes with many other techniques, but 95% of the time its from a grounded elbow strike. Is there a huge fan base that is only watching for the blood? Perhaps, but true fans of the sport don't scream for blood or want to see a fight stopped but cut.
THE VERDICT
Standing elbows: Good
Ground elbows: Bad
Will this change in the foreseeable future: HELL NO, I guess I will always have my old Pride Fc dvds.
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