Issue 193
November 2020
In the high-pressure environment of the world’s toughest cages sometimes sticking to the Unified Rules isn’t as easy, or necessary, as it seems. FIGHTERS ONLY investigates
If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying’ is a famous adage used by athletes in the modern age from baseball all-star Mark Grace to the late, great pro wrestler Eddie Guerrero. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was never shy of calling on the phrase and used his win-at-all costs style to get right to the pinnacle of mixed martial arts. With Hall of Famers like Ortiz trying to find an edge in any way they can, why should the competition be any different? A new generation of fighters have also found a set of techniques to help them gain advantages. And they have become familiar parts of watching mixed martial arts at all levels. These can vary from simply bending the rulebook to tearing the thing to shreds with moves like Anthony Pettis’ ‘Showtime’ kick and Edson Barboza’s spinning wheel knockout.
1 Cage Climbing
There are a number of different ways a fighter can seize the initiative and change the game plan into a form that suits their style and strengths. One method of hanging on under fire that has become commonplace in the Octagon, is grabbing the fence when under pressure. José Aldo infamously used this technique to evade a takedown in his title defense with noted wrestler Chad Mendes at UFC 142, and went unpunished.
Spectators and analysts regularly complain combatants get a free pass when they hold onto the cage, and UFC referee Marc Goddard admits that fighters will try and take advantage of any blind spots in his viewpoint in a constant game of cat and mouse.
He told Fighters Only: “People need to realize that inside the cage I only have one vantage point. Clever fighters understand if I’m on one side and move around, there’s a small window of opportunity there. And I can’t call anything I don’t see.
“If he’s holding onto the fence with two hands, Tom and Jerry style, obviously I’ll intervene. If you’re doing something that’s causing a reaction I have to step in. But I also understand that it’s a natural reaction to throw an arm or leg out when you’re falling.”
2 Stealing Trunks
Another trick of the trade that has fighters and referees playing their own version of ‘catch me if you can’ is an old favorite: grabbing the opponent’s shorts. Falling ‘short’ of borrowing a pair of trunks from Dennis Hallman, this is a technique which is hard to defend and can be equally problematic to detect.
Cheick Kongo’s frustrating scrap with Travis Browne at UFC 120 in London ended in an unsatisfying draw when the Frenchman was deducted a point for persistently reaching for the Hawaiian’s shorts.
Kongo got numerous warnings for the offense, but finally lost a point in the final round, a penalty which ultimately cost him the fight. Cheick’s plight that night should serve as a valuable lesson: all things in moderation. After all, if you’re going to steal from the cookie jar, at least clean up the crumbs.
3 The Sleeper
One method of imposing your technique on an adversary that divides opinion across the sport is what’s become commonly known as lay ‘n’ pray. The art of controlling the fight in top position using a strong wrestling base gets results, but soon produces a chorus of boos from an impatient crowd baying for action.
An exchange on the subject with Goddard quickly reveals that the topic is a real bugbear of his, and not for the reason you may think. “Lay ‘n’ pray is in no way bending the rules. It might not be the most attractive but it’s a fair tactic,” he explains. “When I hear fighters complain about being taken down it drives me mad.
“If what really floats your boat is to stand and bang it out for as long as it goes, there are sports which will cater to that. It’s part of the game, you’ve signed up for it, so deal with it!”
Sorry fight fans, if Rocky and Apollo really went hell for leather like that for 15 rounds, Creed would have retired long before his fateful demise in the fourth movie. It pays to stay smart.
