Issue 107
November 2013
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of UFC 1, we ask the FO universe should the Unified Rules be tailored to allow for flashback events?
YES
Campbell McLaren
Executive producer who worked on UFC 1 to UFC 20
Open-weight matches were the whole point of this thing when it started out. When MMA was martial art vs. martial art there was no talk of weight divisions because it was a test to discover which fighting style was the most effective. Today I still don’t see the point of weight divisions and I’ve heard some fighters, including Georges St Pierre, agree with me. The only reason weight classes were introduced was because of the amount of political pressure we were under at the time. But the best martial artist will win a fight, regardless of size, through sheer technique. I agree with the Gracies’ original concept of open-weight fighting, and I’d love to see it return in the future.
NO
Marc Goddard
International referee who officiates regularly with the UFC
Much like the often-asked question of a return to Pride rules, I have the same opinion of open-weight contests in today’s competition. The sport has evolved, for good reason, and everything contained within it also. We have come on leaps and bounds in such a short time and strived for acceptance of mixed martial arts as a bona fide ‘sport.’ Open-weight contests, freak fights and sensationalist ‘side show’ antics or going back means that today’s heavily endorsed and commercial stars, now widely considered as athletes, lose the gains we have made and the very struggle we overcame begins again. I doubt the global network TV stations would welcome such a move either.
What you had to say on the matter...
NO: “The sport has done a lot to move away from the human cock fighting tag. Open-weight would move it back to those days.”
@Grant_C87
NO: “The short answer is no, in old days the small guy usually had a skill advantage to even it up that wouldn’t be the case now.”
@SamNicholaides
NO: “No they don’t the sport has worked hard to get away from the ‘cockfighting’ stigma it would just rekindle that flame.”
@BennyLuch
YES: “You could have the opportunity to see someone in prime physical state rather than having to cut/gain for a weight division.”
@JamesTedWard
