It makes Gatti vs Ward look tame!

[jehoshaphat]

I did watch the UFC 166 card and Melendez/Sanchez was entertaining. But no fight in any sport can possibly make Gatti/Ward 1 look tame unless there is a death match sport somewhere. And it is not a fact that MMA is an easier sport than boxing. That's called an opinion. We should be more sensible enough to stop comparing the two like were in a world where its one or the other. The sports aren't even really to be compared. But to the point of the thread, though you mislead intentionally, that fight was nice to see but you have to admit that it was very low level in the skills department. Melendez is much more polished than that and he brought it down to the level of Sanchez to an all out wild slug fest. You can even hear Joe Rogan admit there is not a lot skill in this one. Though him and the other commentator both called it the greatest fight they'd ever seen. I don't connect the two. My opinion is those wild slug fests are entertaining, I can even see most entertaining, but not the greatest fights. People must have different interpretations of the word greatest. I think what Cain Velasquez did to Dos Santos was far greater.

There's several reasons it's a fact. It's a fact just based on the times set. MMA fights are set for only 3 rounds. 5 for championship fights. At 5 minutes a round it comes out to only 15 and 25 minutes of fighting. Boxing is set for 10 and 12 rounds at 3 minutes a round. That comes out to 30 and 36 minutes of fighting. A lot of the MMA's fight minutes are spent on the ground looking for position or a submission. That's a lot of rest time compared to the no rest time in a boxing match. Really it's not even debatable.

So your whole argument is that its a shorter contest so its easier No state would have legalized MMA if they fought longer. The gloves are only 4 ounces. They would be looked at as death risks and not a sport. They are still having difficulty in New York and I think one or two other states. No rest time while boxing Have you ever boxed? Lets talk difficulty. The gloves are small in MMA so making a mistake and paying for it with a KO is greatly heightened. In MMA you have to train for all strikes, offensively and defensively, from head to toe. Then you have to train for and defend wrestling and submissions. Have you ever wrestled? You couldn't have if you think that's resting. I have and it was more tiring than boxing. You might not be aware of it but you literally have to use your entire body and it tires you out more than boxing. When you're in a fight, including boxing, even if you're not engaging and just posturing you're continually embracing for a possible strike/defense and this uses energy. That is why some guys burn out faster because they haven't mastered when and what to relax. MMA is a much more difficult fight to prepare for man. There are so many arts you have to train in and then also defend. Read some of the things Jeff Mayweather said when he first started training MMA guys. He had to broaden his defensive teachings because the defense he was teaching them was too limiting for MMA.

Them being shorter is just one of the reasons. I've boxed before. I didn't count the minute between rounds as rest time cuz MMA uses it as well. So it canceled each other out. The fact that so many different styles are used in MMA is one of the reasons it's easier. Both are considered combat sports. But only one (Boxing) can only be won by hitting alone. In Boxing you have to know how to punch/strike. There's no way around that. You can't punch/strike you're not gonna win. Hell if you can't punch you can't ever be a boxer. But you can be an MMA guy. Because there you don't have to know how to punch to be successful. Damn near 90% of MMA fighters can't throw a decent punch. Cuz they don't have to. If he can wrestle, he can be successful in MMA. All he has to do is score a take-down and control the action while on top. If he can kick he can be successful. There's several ways one can be successful in MMA. In boxing there's only one way to win. And that's by punching. That's what makes it harder. In MMA it's possible for a rookie like Brock Leshner to dominate it's HOF champion and dethrone him with less than 5 pro fights. Leshner tries taking on Wlad with......you know what? Fuck Wlad. Leshner even tries taking on Audley Harrison with less than 5 pro fights to his name and Harrison sends him out on a stretcher. You can take that as an opinion if you want. I think it's more of a fact.

Nah, I wasn't talking about the 1 minute rest. I said rest "while" you're boxing. There are plenty of times boxers rest in the ring. But the reason you think boxing is harder, because it it simplified, is the reason I think MMA is more difficult. I think MMA is harder because you have to know so much more and you have to train for and be better at more on offense and defense. You're mind must be alert about so many different things that can happen or opportunities. Those MMA guys are better boxers than you discredit them for. You would be making a mistake if you judge someone's boxing ability solely by an MMA fight. The form and technique HAS to be different. Heck, there are guys in MMA who were boxers first and had success in the amateurs like Gustafson and Schaub. Many pro boxers tried their hand in MMA. In MMA you can't just come in with one skill and dominate. Those days are far over. Lesnar was exposed and Dana set that whole road up for Lesnar to succeed because of his draw power. UFC was failing and even had the Fertitta brothers asking Dana to see what he could get for the company on a sell. Coutre was old and on like a 2 year lay off when he fought Lesnar. He got handed a title by lining him up with an old and smaller wrestler. But Brock's drawing power is still unmatched in the UFC. But eventually he had to fight guys who were not suited for him and he got exposed and he admitted himself he is not really a fighter. You know that's same Coutre that obliterated James Toney, right? Before the fight James Toney was talking the same way about how these guys are unskilled and how he can come in with 6 months training and succeed. We know how that story ended. But if they wanted him to succeed they would have set him up with strikers in MMA and for at least those matches he would have been given a fighting chance. Throwing Lesnar in boxing would be equivalent to throwing Wlad into wrestling. Those sports have zero likeness. Any sport can make it easy for a guy to succeed at a faster rate. There are situational gifts, guys get old, weak eras, etc. Leon Spinks won the world title in like a year as a pro. And that was over one of the best who ever done it.