Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit didn’t live up to the hype. It left fight fans wanting. For a while I was one of those fans, still am if I am honest about it. Upon some reflection though I realized it isn’t really Condit or Diaz I am upset with. In reality, I don’t think it is either fighter that anyone is upset with. The fight left a sour taste in our mouths not because one fighter was boring or one fighter didn’t perform up to expectations. No – it left a sour taste in our mouths because it was a technical, professional fight and deep down collectively, we want something else. The fact of the matter is, the fight wasn’t that bad, but it just wasn’t that good either. It had as many significant shots landed and as much action per round as your average boxing match as far as I am concerned. It delivered solid exchanges, the brash Diaz trash-talk, and some high level technical footwork and angles. There was a lot to see! So what was the problem? The problem was the expectation – an expectation rooted in what a fight is and sabotaged by what a fight can be. Professional fighting is cursed by the paradox of excitement versus technique. The two are by no means mutually exclusive but they are often found at odds. Particularly in a sport like mixed martial arts, where the technical skills that go into creating an effective game plan are foreign to most fans, particularly new fans – top shelf technique can seem boring or un-engaging. Whereas the goal of a fight from a fighters stand point is, and should be, to finish ones opponent or otherwise win the fight without suffering damage, the draw of a fight to third party fans is to see maximum mutual damage culminated by a clear victor. More and more we are seeing the goals of the fighter prevailing before the desires of the fans.
To be honest, technique as a “problem” is far from taking over the sport. That is not to say that most fighters aren’t using technique but it is to say that the complexity of the sport and the diversity of those involved create too many variables for there to be consistency on any level in the near future. There will be bad fights and there will be good fights. However, the problem is clear; as the stakes raise and game planning evolves – we are going to see more fighters fight to win decisions. Greg Jackson’s camp has been ahead of the curve in this regard. It is here where expectations will never be met. The word fight does not evoke decision victory. It does not evoke out pointing one’s opponent. It evokes a desire to decisively win, to hurt, and to crush your adversary. The trajectory of game planning and emphasis on technique is not counter to the sport and its rules or even the competitiveness of its participants but to the resonance of the activity, the connotation of the word itself. To be clear, I do not blame a fighter for fighting a smart fight. Some of my favorite fighters are the most patient and get the most heat for their style. However by the same token, I don’t think fighters and trainers can be surprised by fan backlash when they fight for decisions. I am not saying they have to care but they should understand more than anyone the disconnect between certain styles of fighting and the expectations the sport is pregnant with. Most fans, myself included, expected Diaz vs Condit to epitomize professional FIGHTING. Both men had recently demonstrated an aggressive pace and killer instinct. Condit didn’t completely abandon his aggression but it was heavily heavily tempered with smart sideways movement, good footwork, sharp leg-kicks, and a stick and move attack. What can we say? It was successful. He won the fight. He did it within the rules and now he is the Welterweight champion. It is not what he did or how he did it that is particularly significant. Rather it is the light it shed on the space between what happened in those 25 minutes and what fighting summons us to expect, summons us to desire and how we as fight fans will cope with the evolution of the sport – and vice versa.
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