By Ryan Harkness.
It’s been a hard year for us old fogies who have been following the sport for years. As time inevitably marches on, the heroes and supermen of years gone by continue to fight, and, as their challengers get greater and (more importantly) younger, they’re starting to lose more and more.
MMA is a young sport, but it’s no longer young enough that we aren’t being exposed to fighters who once shone like the sun but are now well beyond their best years. ‘First generation’ fighters from the inception of the UFC are still rattling around like peas in a can. Ken Shamrock is the best example of this, but is by no means the only one. Dan Severn, whose first MMA fight was in 1994 at UFC 4, still spends a lot of time fighting, going 7-1 in 2007 alone!
But success for these guys is a rare thing. Ken is on a five-fight losing streak, all coming via knockout or TKO in the first round. Another first generation fighter, Gary ‘Big Daddy’ Goodridge, is on a similar losing streak with losses in both MMA and kickboxing. Unlike Ken Shamrock, his losses are long and brutal, which has led many fans to call for his retirement before he ends up badly hurt.
Still, the number of elder statesmen of MMA is pretty low at the moment. But the situation is only going to get worse and worse as years go on. We are just entering a point now where a number of second-generation fighters have passed their glory days. It’s hard to argue that it isn’t all downhill for guys like Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi, Minotauro Nogueira, Mark Coleman, and countless others. For every Igor Vovchanchyn (who retires once he sees that he’s no longer the fighter he used to be) there are several Mark Kerr’s out there who refuse to quit, if only because they need the pay check.
Even if you don’t agree with me on my list of fighters who are on the downswing (and, hey, I’m hoping I’m wrong too, as I love these guys), the truth is that time does not go backwards. These guys aren’t getting any younger, and the sport is not kind to those who are not on top of their game. You can go from indestructible conqueror to has-been in record time, as displayed by Chuck Liddell over the past year. Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva were two of the most feared fighters in combat sports back in 2006. Now all we have to remind us of this are pixellated highlight videos on YouTube.
MMA is still developing at breakneck speed. We watched as it went from individual styles of traditional martial arts, to hybrid styles, to what we have now: the ‘true’ mixed martial artist, a fighter of all styles and none. Kids once grew up learning karate. Now they’re being enrolled in pure MMA courses at the age of eight. Apparently Randy Couture has a couple of ten-year-olds who he thinks will be future champions. What will these kids look like in the cage, and how will they change the future of the sport?
We fans are going to have to get used to watching our favourite fighters go down in flames. This is already a sport where the longest UFC winning streak is eight in a row, and defending your belt more than four times (like Anderson Silva) makes you a legend. The turnaround time for the fighters’ place at the top of the pile is only going to get shorter.
But things aren’t all bad. While we will have to experience the pain of seeing former world beaters getting dusted by the latest winner of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, there’s no denying that as the old stars fade, new ones shine to replace them. Just look at some of the young fighters who have come into their own this year. Shinya Aoki has redefined the definition of what a jiu-jitsu ace really is; Gegard Mousasi went 6-0 in 2008 and won the Dream middleweight Grand Prix (and all this at the tender age of 23); the unassuming Dustin Hazelett has become a sure-fire future welterweight contender; and Nate Diaz has proven himself to be not only as talented as his older brother, but also more disciplined. Then there’s Thiago Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, Eddie Alvarez, JZ Calvancanti … The list goes on and on; young guys with bright futures, the next generation of MMA superstars.
Next time you feel depressed after watching another of your old favourites get the snot beaten out of him by an up-and-comer, take heart. MMA might be a dog-eat-dog sport, but the constant turnover of talent and rise of a new generation of stars is what keeps things healthy and progressing forward. We’re the envy of all other combat sports, where boxing is still obsessed with Oscar De La Hoya, and K-1’s biggest names are all closer to 40 than they are to 30. That can’t really be a bad thing, can it?
Ryan Harkness is one half of the brains behind Fightlinker.com, MMA’s most notorious satirical website
