Stagnation is Death.

I’m offended by bad technique. Now, obviously I’m not talking about the average hobbyist or even somewhat serious competitor, my gripe is with professional fighters. 

I hate to see sloppy technique in MMA. Whether it’s the striking or grappling, it’s unacceptable to have mediocre or subpar skills in the UFC. If a fighter is new to fighting or shows significant improvement each fight, then it’s reasonable. But fighters that have been around for years and never seem to improve disappoint me. A professional fighter should always be working on his weaknesses. 

These thoughts came about because I had an argument with a friend about Cain Velasquez before the Werdum fight. Cain has great wrestling and cardio, but his striking is atrocious. He throws a jab and a looping right hand then leads with his face into the clinch, almost every exchange. There’s nothing wrong with playing to your strengths, but when you have a clear weakness, that should be your focus. As a UFC champion, I consider it almost irresponsible of him to not improve his striking. It’s a poor representation of the UFC for the heavyweight champion to be so sloppy. Another aspect pertaining to professionalism in MMA is level of fitness. Again, Cain is a suitable example, because he never shows up to a fight in very good shape. People always talk about his cardio, but he never has visible abs and he’s doing himself a disservice by not being more disciplined. He could take advantage of his natural talents and take it to another level altogether. Werdum has drastically improved his striking in the last few years, and that’s why he won that fight. Because he’s making progress, and Cain isn’t. The altitude excuses are bullshit. 

Fighters like Joanna Champion, Conor McGregor, Mirsad Bektic, and Rory MacDonald impress me in MMA. These people show constant progress from fight to fight and continue to work toward excellence. I admire progress more than anything else. I’m a perfectionist, and while I don’t expect perfection from anyone else, I do expect myself to strive toward it. I may never achieve excellence, but I’ll always be open minded and looking to improve. 

Progress is life. Stagnation is death.