Issue 039
July 2008
This piece was inspired by a huge argument on a leading MMA message board. A forum user started the whole debate by making derogatory remarks about the standard of British MMA - and by extension, British mixed martial artists.
It was claimed that UK MMA is well behind in comparison to the US, Japan, Brazil and even Russia. Wrestling and grappling, in particular, were singled out as areas in which British fighters are generally found wanting, and it was also pointed out that Britain has not produced any top-flight champions in international promotions.
Sweeping assertions like this may seem at least partly accurate, but they don’t stand up in the face of certain key facts. First, the UK is a relatively small country when compared to gigantic population centres such as the USA. It stands to reason that a bigger country will produce higher numbers of elite fighters. They have a much bigger talent pool to draw from.
Second, the profile of mixed martial arts MMA is much higher in places like the USA than it is in Britain and it is far more widespread. There are shows taking place all over North America, making it easier for fighters to gain experience and exposure, whereas in the UK the mixed martial artist has to work harder to make a name.
Also, consider the fact that America is a notoriously insular country. US audiences on the whole prefer to see native performers or athletes performing. Organisations such as the UFC are well aware of this. The majority of their talent pool is made up of fighters from America, which can make it difficult for overseas fighters to gain exposure. True, UK fighter Michael Bisping is a big name in MMA mixed martial arts, thanks largely to appearing on, and winning, the third series of The Ultimate Fighter. But when you see the ratio of US fighters to international fighters that take part in that show, you can see how difficult it can be for someone from the UK to get a shot at the big time.
So with there being less opportunity for British fighters to take to the world stage, do the skills of British fighters justify being overlooked?
Granted the UK doesn’t have the grappling pedigree of the US, where wrestling is available at most high schools and Brazilian jiu-jitsu schools abound. But the UK is catching up - Bisping gave noted wrestler Rashad Evans a hard time at light heavyweight, while Paul Daley, Dan Hardy and Terry Etim have all shown considerable grappling skills in their fights on the international stage.
It is also worth remembering that to the British, boxing is the leading combat sport. Aside from the far larger payday that awaits successful professionals, the sport itself looms large in the national psyche anyway and has, until recently, utterly dwarfed MMA in terms of profile.
Thus British fighters may lean more towards boxing than wrestling, and even the ones that do choose MMA show a marked tendency to favour striking over grappling. From the fans’ point of view, this is no bad thing. Watch two UK fighters against each other - like Paul Taylor and Paul Kelly at UFC 80 - and you are almost guaranteed explosive action.
Compare that with a grinding methodical wrestling match like Jake O’Brien (recently dumped by the UFC) and Heath Herring - I know which fight I would rather watch. Most fans would lean the same way.
The purists among us enjoy the technical matches as much as the scraps and the wars, but when it comes to entertainment, it doesn’t get much better than two fighters coming out and looking to finish the fight from the first punch. British fighters generally provide that, which is at least part of the reason why the scene is so healthy at the moment. There are promotions all over the country staging regular shows and you should be able to find one to attend with little difficulty.
Some of these are really stepping their game up at the moment. Cage Gladiators in Liverpool recently secured a deal with ITV4, while the production values at FX3 in Reading are slicker even than mid-level US show like King of the Cage. Midlands outfit Cage Warriors, one of the earliest UK promotions, have gone one step further and taken their show abroad, recently staging their first ever US show.
The increased professionalism of the promoters matches that of the fighters. Some years ago Britain had few names to offer as top flight MMA internationals, now there are too many for me to even list in this article. Fighters like Bisping, Daley, Hardy, Etim and Jason Tan are showing their dedication by travelling the world to find the best training. By feeding that knowledge back into their home gyms, they are helping to raise the overall standard of UK MMA.
Fan support of the domestic scene provides a platform for British fighters to step up onto the world stage. The future has never looked brighter for UK fighters and, if things keep going the way they are, it is only a matter of time before a major belt is brought back to these shores.
Follow the big leagues by all means, but don’t miss out what is happening on your own doorstep. The local shows have got bigger, the local fighters have got better and there has never been a better time to buy British.
