Issue 050
June 2009
Fourteen contests, 14 wins. Then Lyoto Machida reveals that he drinks his urine every morning as “natural medicine”, a tradition he has inherited from his father. And they say never piss into the wind (for obvious reasons).
Just as we were getting used to the idea that fighters and methods in mixed martial arts were evolving on a daily basis, and indeed as fans and critics alike have begun to warm to the Brazilian Machida’s unique karate-based fighting style, he let’s his urine go in a torrent from downwind.
Will ‘Pee-gate’ overshadow the build-up to his UFC light-heavyweight showdown against Rashad Evans in Las Vegas? Will Rashad, if he beats him, celebrate by cocking his leg? Will placards on the night say ‘You’re Taking The Piss, Lyoto’? Will hacks be tempted to ask him for the intricate details of usi ggeorng pipettes; whether he waits midstream and uses his pelvic floor muscles to control the flow; how he dilutes the matter; what quantity he uses; whether he avoids asparagus or beetroot for that matter; and what time of day he passes the water?
I could go on. I won’t. I will not be requesting a one-to-one with him on the subject. Seriously though, Machida is actually replacing lost electrolytes (I’m reliably informed by a crank / medical expert).
Microbiologist helps Hardy rub salts into his own wounds
Talking of shifting the paradigm of training and preparation, rising British welterweight Dan Hardy revealed several things to me that indicate why he has the drive and tenacity, not to mention ability, to get to the very top.
The 26-year-old will work with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, prior to his tough test in Cologne against Irish-American Marcus Davis at UFC 99. For those who have never entered the Wild Card Gym at 1123 Vine St, Hollywood, it has that smell of sweat and work that we all respect. Roach lives one side of the yard. The gym is the other.
Forget the crap anyone tosses at Roach. He is one of the finest boxing strategists in the world. He will prove an asset to Hardy’s preparations. Hardy is another mixed martial artist versed in unusual methods. He spent time with the Shaolin monks in China, and on a long night out in London’s West End, brim-full of pubs, clubs and theatres, Dan and I conversed and drank. Hardy drank one thing: Green tea. He has not touched a drop of alcohol for nine years.
He also revealed he has undergone blood testing and works with a renowned microbiologist in the United Kingdom who specializes in advising elite sportsmen and women. Among other things, it has led Hardy to use small quantities of salt to combat fatigue in his long training camps. Intriguing, yet clear signs of the consummate professional fighter.
The 10-point must system
Does the 10-point must system need re-working for MMA contests? Does it fit the MMA model? There is one school of thought that it does not work for MMA, which has evolved since that judging system was adopted. Obviously it was created for boxing, with four-to twelve-round contests in mind.
Dominance in distinct rounds should be rewarded in a three-round contest. Would it not meet the needs of the fighters if a more liberal application were encouraged of judges? Clear criteria should be forged within the hybrid of fighting skills, demarcating the award of a round from a very close draw (10-10) down to a 10-8 or 10-7 round to indicate dominance, be it through knockdowns, clear slams or strikes. An ineffective takedown that does not hurt an opponent could be scored as equal to a strong jab. This is just touching the tip of the iceberg in a subject that requires clear debate and ever-clearer thinking, but it should be looked at.
WAMMA: self-appointed inflated world title nonsense
Finally, what is it with WAMMA, the self-styled World Alliance for Mixed Martial Arts? What suddenly gave them the right to create a ‘world alliance’ body to hand out titles independently and assign world champions? They hand out a heavyweight title to Fedor Emelianenko, which is correct, but he is hardly ‘undisputed’. There are at least two UFC heavyweights Fedor should fight (Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar) before being granted such status.
Just to press home their point, they award the biggest belts imaginable for a worthless title, and a $20,000 ring. Yet the crass misjudgment of WAMMA is that if Fedor is undisputed, then so too are Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, in the UFC middleweight and welterweight divisions respectively. Perhaps even more heinous is placing Shinya Aoki as the undisputed lightweight ‘king’ when he has never fought UFC champion BJ Penn. Utter nonsense.
WAMMA lists its goals as “promoting the integrity, legitimacy and longevity of mixed martial arts” through unified rule sets and rankings. The organization’s logo is ‘One Belt, One King’. Poppycock. It smacks of similar situations transpiring within boxing, which have created diluted divisions, fractured world championships and rival promoters delaying fights the fans wanted to see. It means that today, in boxing, some alphabet titles are worthless. MMA should not be forced down the same narrow corridor. It will only weaken the sport.
Gareth A Davies is Boxing and MMA correspondent for The Daily Telegraph
