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MMA/UFC Questions for Newbies

scudzilla

Thought i'd start this thread as most other threads at the moment have all sorts of questions from newbies to the sport, and i guess it's only going to grow after the rise of Conor

Hopefully the more experienced and knowledgeable posters can help out, so if you're new and don't understand something, ask in here, sure someone will have an answer

Could we sticky this for a few weeks until people get the hang of it?

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Swashbuckler

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but i'll go ahead and ask anyway. If you pay for a PPV on the UFC.TV app, should you have access to that PPV on the app forever? I paid for the McG v Diaz card but for some reason when I try to access it on Fightpass its saying I have to pay for it? Or do you only have access for a short period of time after?

themandan6611

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but i'll go ahead and ask anyway. If you pay for a PPV on the UFC.TV app, should you have access to that PPV on the app forever? I paid for the McG v Diaz card but for some reason when I try to access it on Fightpass its saying I have to pay for it? Or do you only have access for a short period of time after?

24 hrs

roadrunner16

ok maybe a silly question, but why is cheating not penalized more ?, from what I was reading and watching Jon Jones is know for Eye pokes, and I think it was the second fight between Aldo and Mendez where Aldo grabbed the fence to defend a take down,both of these kind of things could drastically effect the outcome of a fight and I know a point deducted could as well but it seems like having a point deducted is a small price to pay for something like that ???

JustShon

roadrunner16 wrote: »

ok maybe a silly question, but why is cheating not penalized more ?, from what I was reading and watching Jon Jones is know for Eye pokes, and I think it was the second fight between Aldo and Mendez where Aldo grabbed the fence to defend a take down,both of these kind of things could drastically effect the outcome of a fight and I know a point deducted could as well but it seems like having a point deducted is a small price to pay for something like that ???

Out of curiosity, what kind of penalty would you consider appropriate?

I'm not having a go, just wondering what you think would be an appropriate punishment.

TimRiggins

roadrunner16 wrote: »

ok maybe a silly question, but why is cheating not penalized more ?, from what I was reading and watching Jon Jones is know for Eye pokes, and I think it was the second fight between Aldo and Mendez where Aldo grabbed the fence to defend a take down,both of these kind of things could drastically effect the outcome of a fight and I know a point deducted could as well but it seems like having a point deducted is a small price to pay for something like that ???

Eyepokes are accidental (we think) so taking a point for the first time would be harsh. Its more of a fault with the UFC Gloves more than anything. Grabbing the fence is cheating. The problem is, as you said, taking a point changes the whole fight. It was essentially end a fight in many ways, as the fighter who loses it might already be down a round and has to go gung ho. I'd imagine the referees want to stay out of the headlines for the most part.

JustShon wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what kind of penalty would you consider appropriate?

I'm not having a go, just wondering what you think would be an appropriate punishment.

The problem is within the 10 round scoring system. If the system changed to

10-9 for a close round
10-8 for a one sided round and
10-7 for all but finishing your opponent (basically what a 10-8 is now)

this would mean the refs could take a point and not essentially end the fight.

roadrunner16

JustShon wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what kind of penalty would you consider appropriate?

I'm not having a go, just wondering what you think would be an appropriate punishment.

I wouldn't know to be honest hence why I'm posting in the newbie thread !! :P

I would imagine a particularly harsh penalty would discourage it pretty quickly, maybe a monetary fine??, or for a repeated offence in the case of eye pokes or groin shots maybe being forced to forfeit a round, I mean I know that in a lot cases they are accidental, but does that still dosen't mean they should go unpunished??(genuinely unsure about this)

roadrunner16

TimRiggins wrote: »

Eyepokes are accidental (we think) so taking a point for the first time would be harsh. Its more of a fault with the UFC Gloves more than anything. Grabbing the fence is cheating. The problem is, as you said, taking a point changes the whole fight. It was essentially end a fight in many ways, as the fighter who loses it might already be down a round and has to go gung ho. I'd imagine the referees want to stay out of the headlines for the most part.

The problem is within the 10 round scoring system. If the system changed to

10-9 for a close round
10-8 for a one sided round and
10-7 for all but finishing your opponent (basically what a 10-8 is now)

this would mean the refs could take a point and not essentially end the fight.

Ok I see what you mean that makes sense, when I think of it like that and how 1 point can change a round it actually seems a bit more realistic I guess

thanks for the answers!

[Deleted User]

Is there any defined structure of who gets to fight who?

Swashbuckler

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Is there any defined structure of who gets to fight who?

There are two matchmakers in the ufc. Sean Shelby for the lighter weight classes and Joe Silva for the heavier (from welterweight upwards I think). Joe Silva is the guy you'd see coming into the octagon more or less as soon as a fight ends to shake the fighters hands. I'm sure Dana White has an input to the matchmaking and the fighters themselves have an input too. Some fighters like Conor seem to have a lot more input. Other fighters just leave it to the matchmakers.

Easy Rod

Deleted User wrote: »

Is there any defined structure of who gets to fight who?

Not really, i think there's two different matchmakers, depending on the weight class, Joe Silva & Sean Shelby so the majority of time it's their personal choices of who fights who. The only real time objectivity comes into play is if the sanctioning board doesn't allow a complete mismatch e.g. CM Punk was never going to fight someone like Cathal Pendred with a 20-4 fight record or something.

Other factors that would come into it, in no particular order, would be money, timing, bad blood, fan requests, Dana orders, winning streaks (Even the most boring fighter will probably get a title shot eventually if they keep winning).

Strikeforce, Bellator & Pride have all run tournaments at one stage or another which certainly falls under the more structured criteria but UFC hasn't in recent years...Unless you count The Ultimate Fighter and even then they've changed it to make it less structured and more to do with good television.

Devastator

In terms of punishments for eye pokes, grabbing the fence, etc, I think its time for the refs to be harsh. Onbiously the refs speak to fighters in the locker rooms to confirm the rules. During the fight I think 1st offence = 1st & only warning, if they do it again then its a point taken off.

Yes it may sound harsh, but I guarantee you as soon as a fighter looses a fight because of it will be the last time he makes that mistake again. Eye pokes IMO are very easy to wipe out, simply ban fighters from using open handed pawing(cant think of better term?) of opponents. If they move their hands forward they have to use a closed fist. From the grabbling & submission point of the sport they can't really do much with the gloves that would stop it.

JustShon

Simple one with a short yes or no answer: Are headbutts allowed in UFC?

I've been trawling through old fights and never see them being used so I'm assuming it's a no but wanted to ask to make sure.

RonanP77

JustShon wrote:

Simple one with a short yes or no answer: Are headbutts allowed in UFC?

No.

JustShon

RonanP77 wrote: »

No.

Cheers

thought so.

Mellor

Before there was a proper rule set, headbutts weren't specifically illegal. Possibly happened once or twice in the early days. Along with hair pulling and groin strikes.

qrx

Genuine question here out of curiosity, not trying to stir. But what martial arts qualifications do you need to be an MMA fighter? What part of it gives it the title of martial art?

qrx

ASOT wrote: »

Why would you need a qualification to compete in a sport?

Didn't know that at all, its proablly so they can get decent competitors of the winner is getting a shot at MM. They should just do the season with the current roster.

Right but what im asking is as a mix of martial arts, what martial arts does it take its mix from? What martial arts do the fighters train in? What grade do you need to reach in each of these to compete? How specific is it, for example do you have to use a tae kwon do round house or can you use any technique? do you get different styles and techniques from different martial arts up against each other and how are all the different techniques judged? Is there a particular martial art that stands out better than others?

Axwell

qrx wrote: »

Genuine question here out of curiosity, not trying to stir. But what martial arts qualifications do you need to be an MMA fighter? What part of it gives it the title of martial art?

Moved your posts here as they are better suited.

Axwell

qrx wrote: »

Right but what im asking is as a mix of martial arts, what martial arts does it take its mix from? What martial arts do the fighters train in? What grade do you need to reach in each of these to compete? How specific is it, for example do you have to use a tae kwon do round house or can you use any technique? do you get different styles and techniques from different martial arts up against each other and how are all the different techniques judged? Is there a particular martial art that stands out better than others?

Its mixed in the sense fighters come from a number of different disciplines. They don't have to come from specific ones to compete or be a specific level. Most will be very competent in one and then be decent in a few others if they came from a specific style or background. Others over the last few years would be true mixed martial artists and train in aspects of them all.

Usually the main styles they would come from are boxing, muay thai, wrestling, jiu jitsu, judo, karate, kick boxing, and taekwondo.

Fighters compete under the same set of rules in the octagon regardless of their background and its judged on specific criteria.

Here is a list of the rules and regulations used in the UFC - http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/rules-and-regulations

brevity

qrx wrote: »

Genuine question here out of curiosity, not trying to stir. But what martial arts qualifications do you need to be an MMA fighter? What part of it gives it the title of martial art?

Not an expert but once you are good enough in a number of disciplines (MT, TKD, Boxing, JuJitsu, Sambo) then you could be considered an MMA fighter.

Generally there seems to be a combination of grappling and stand up fighting.

Mellor

qrx wrote: »

Right but what im asking is as a mix of martial arts, what martial arts does it take its mix from? What martial arts do the fighters train in? What grade do you need to reach in each of these to compete? How specific is it, for example do you have to use a tae kwon do round house or can you use any technique? do you get different styles and techniques from different martial arts up against each other and how are all the different techniques judged? Is there a particular martial art that stands out better than others?

Qualifications is the wrong way to look at it. But to answer your question. You can base your MMA on any styles you wish. At the very least, you would want a grappling style and a striking style. But a lot of fighters would take aspects from more than one style.

Using your roundhouse example. You can throw a TKD roundhouse, or you could throw a muay thai roundhouse. Some fighter have both in their arsenal

JustShon

Was watching one of the UFC free fights up on youtube last night.

The winner was declared "by split decision." What exactly does that mean? I gather that split decision means the judges were somewhat divided on the scoring but how is a winner declared by split decision?

ASOT

JustShon wrote: »

Was watching one of the UFC free fights up on youtube last night.

The winner was declared "by split decision." What exactly does that mean? I gather that split decision means the judges were somewhat divided on the scoring but how is a winner declared by split decision?

There are three judges, if two choose one fighter and one chooses the other its a split decision. Most of the time it would come down to a close round etc but some of the time it could be that the judges are looking at a compleatly different fight and decide to score one the winner when they shouldn't.

JustShon

ASOT wrote: »

There are three judges, if two choose one fighter and one chooses the other its a split decision. Most of the time it would come down to a close round etc but some of the time it could be that the judges are looking at a compleatly different fight and decide to score one the winner when they shouldn't.

Thanks for clearing that up, this one was a whole close fight, scoring was something like 29/28, 28/29 then 29/28 (if I heard that correctly, does that make sense?)

I'm guessing that's each judge scoring the fighter out of ten for each round?

ASOT

JustShon wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up, this one was a whole close fight, scoring was something like 29/28, 28/29 then 29/28 (if I heard that correctly, does that make sense?)

I'm guessing that's each judge scoring the fighter out of ten for each round?

Yeah its a ten poijt must system. So they score 10-? Depending on who won,damage done etc. There's very few 10-8 rounds IMO there should be more.

Split decisions can also be mad scorsles like 29/28, 29/28 , 27/30 stuff like that is creeping in far to often.

Devastator

JustShon wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up, this one was a whole close fight, scoring was something like 29/28, 28/29 then 29/28 (if I heard that correctly, does that make sense?)

I'm guessing that's each judge scoring the fighter out of ten for each round?

Makes perfect sense, thats usually the kind of scores you'll see in split decisions. Yeah its a 10 point must scoring system like boxing.

I mentioned this in another thread but if you're interested in why/how rounds are scored have a listen to Joey Diaz's recent podcast with John Mccarthy. John's the longest serving ref in UFC(Prob MMA?) and gives a very good breakdown into what scores/what doesn't and talks about how to maybe improve judging in the future.

JustShon

Thanks for the info lads

This was the first time I'd watched a bout go to a decision.

Swashbuckler

Just watching fightpass and something occurred to me that I'm surprised I never questioned before. Why do they grease the fighters faces before they enter the octagon?

Carroller

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Just watching fightpass and something occurred to me that I'm surprised I never questioned before. Why do they grease the fighters faces before they enter the octagon?

I'm pretty sure it's Vaseline to prevent sweat dripping into the eyes and prevents blood flow.

Could be incorrect but I've always thought that was the reason

Axwell

You mean the vaseline before they walk in? To stop fighters getting cuts - helps the gloves glide across their eyebrows and stop friction against the hair on their eyebrows where it would cut easily..same with the skin on their face.