MMA/UFC Questions for Newbies

scudzilla · 12-07-2015 7:14pm #1

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?

mailburner · 13-07-2015 12:41am

great idea scud and perfect timing

hopefully this will encourage more folks to post and stop clowns telling newbies to fcuk off for asking a question to which the answer is obvious to a lot of us who've been watching for years
no place for that sh1t in any forum

[Deleted User] · 13-07-2015 12:48am

Why are some fights 5 rounds?

What does full/half guard mean when they're on the ground?

scudzilla · 13-07-2015 12:53am

partyjungle wrote: »

Why are some fights 5 rounds?

What does full/half guard mean when they're on the ground?

Championship fights are 5 rounds, if a main event of a card is not a championship fight then it is also 5 rounds (that's a relatively new thing)

mailburner · 13-07-2015 12:54am

partyjungle wrote: »

Why are some fights 5 rounds?

What does full/half guard mean when they're on the ground?

all title fights are 5 rounds and all main events are five also e.g thompson/ellenberger tonight

some of the other lads will be able to explain the full/half better than me

Axwell · 13-07-2015 1:02am

partyjungle wrote: »

Why are some fights 5 rounds?

What does full/half guard mean when they're on the ground?

Championship fights where a belt is on the line are 5 rounds, main events are also 5 round fights, the others are 3 rounds.

Full guard is the where the fighter on the bottom would have his legs wrapped around the waist of the fighter on top (who is positioned between his legs and facing him) trying to control his posture and stop him moving away. The fighter on top usually is trying to transition to to a better position, such as a side guard or full mount.

Half guard is the top fighter lying on the bottom fighter moved to the side from full guard, but one of his legs trapped or entangled by the bottom fighter to stop him fully moving to a side guard or full mount.

Mr. Manager · 13-07-2015 9:51am

Probably easier to explain full guard and half guard with pictures imo or at least add pictures to the text for a visual

Full guard

Half guard

Shy Ted · 13-07-2015 10:58am

There has been lots of talk about Mc Gregor cutting weight to 145lbs to compete for the interim featherweight title.
Some sites are saying he lost 27lbs in 8 days, but was Aldo not 145lbs anyway? (His UFC stats say so)

Why leave it so late to drop weight?
Apart from dehydration, how would you drop that kind of weight in such short notice?
Surely there would have been serious repercussions to his level of fitness...

[Deleted User] · 13-07-2015 11:55am

Cereal Rapper wrote: »

Probably easier to explain full guard and half guard with pictures imo or at least add pictures to the text for a visual

Full guard

Half guard

Which is advantageous for who?

What's full mount and side guard?

I really haven't a clue what they are doing once they are on the ground.

cletus · 13-07-2015 11:58am

Shy Ted wrote: »

There has been lots of talk about Mc Gregor cutting weight to 145lbs to compete for the interim featherweight title.
Some sites are saying he lost 27lbs in 8 days, but was Aldo not 145lbs anyway? (His UFC stats say so)

Why leave it so late to drop weight?
Apart from dehydration, how would you drop that kind of weight in such short notice?
Surely there would have been serious repercussions to his level of fitness...

Aldo's listed weight refers to the weight class he fights in rather than his actual weight. He is known for having hard cuts

MacGregor is not losing weight in the traditional sense in the last days leading up to the weigh in. He's not trying to reduce his body fat or anything. It's more correctly known as a weight cut than weight loss or drop.

Dehydration and exercise would be two of the main methods, along with restricting calories to some degree.

He is probably only 145 for a very short amount of time, so although not a great thing to be doing in general, it's not long term dehydration. The main thing is that he rehydrates as quickly as possible after weighing in. By the time he steps in the cage at fight time he is probably 160-165 again.

Done badly, weight cuts can have a detrimental effect on performance

cletus · 13-07-2015 12:08pm

partyjungle wrote: »

Which is advantageous for who?

What's full mount and side guard?

I really haven't a clue what they are doing once they are on the ground.

Bjj, submission wrestling etc is extremely nuanced, so the following is very general.

Full guard. If you are on your back the best position to be in is the full guard. This allows for some control of your opponents posture and hips. It also allows you to possibly submit or sweep/reverse your position, meaning that you end up on top of posting on your feet.

Half guard. If you have a person in your full guard, that is you on your back, them between your legs, your opponent may try to' guard pass', get past or out of your guard. They may look for side control, where you have no legs around them, and they are lying perpendicular to your body, chest to chest. The may also look for full mount, where they sit straddled on your chest. Both of these positions are bad for the guy on the bottom, so often, during a guard pass, the guy on the bottom will end up retaining one of his opponents legs with both of his own. Again, sweeps and reversals are possible from this position

brevity · 13-07-2015 2:05pm

Does gassed mean winded?

IrishAlice · 13-07-2015 2:38pm

This might seem like a silly question but here goes.

In the Lawler McDonald fight both fighters were seriously busted up. McDonald broke his nose in the first round and Lawler was staggering around the ring after getting the knee in the head.

Why didn't the ref call a halt to this fight sooner? It seemed like both of them were a lot more injured than Mendes was so I'm just wondering what the difference is. Is it because Mendes stopped defending himself?

Hazys · 13-07-2015 2:43pm

brevity wrote: »

Does gassed mean winded?

It means the fighter is starting to feel the effects of their opponents flatulence offense.

Famously used by John Howard in UFC168

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrqA1DNGaVA

Yes gassed means winded

Hazys · 13-07-2015 2:47pm

IrishAlice wrote: »

This might seem like a silly question but here goes.

In the Lawler McDonald fight both fighters were seriously busted up. McDonald broke his nose in the first round and Lawler was staggering around the ring after getting the knee in the head.

Why didn't the ref call a halt to this fight sooner? It seemed like both of them were a lot more injured than Mendes was so I'm just wondering what the difference is. Is it because Mendes stopped defending himself?

You answered you're own question, Yes it was because Mendes stopped intelligently defending himself and didn't try to fight back. Mendes went into turtle mode where Conor would have just kept battering him the ref had to protect Mendes as he wasn't protecting himself well enough but while Lawler and McDonald were seriously hurt, they were still reacting to and defending their opponent's offense.

soundmangar · 13-07-2015 2:50pm

IrishAlice wrote: »

This might seem like a silly question but here goes.

In the Lawler McDonald fight both fighters were seriously busted up. McDonald broke his nose in the first round and Lawler was staggering around the ring after getting the knee in the head.

Why didn't the ref call a halt to this fight sooner? It seemed like both of them were a lot more injured than Mendes was so I'm just wondering what the difference is. Is it because Mendes stopped defending himself?

Yes. Once you stop intelligently defending yourself the fight is stopped. A fighter with a broken nose is very capable of winning a fight. Mendes turtled which is not intelligently defending, Lawler and Rory were still throwing bombs trying to win the fight.

IrishAlice · 13-07-2015 2:51pm

Hazys wrote: »

You answered you're own question, Yes it was because Mendes stopped intelligently defending himself and didn't try to fight back. Mendes went into turtle mode where Conor would have just kept battering him the ref had to protect Mendes as he wasn't protecting himself well enough but while Lawler and McDonald were seriously hurt, they were still reacting to and defending their opponent's offense.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if what Mendes did constituted defending himself or not so wasn't sure.

Does it generally happen that as soon as a fighter drops into this position the fight is stopped?

IrishAlice · 13-07-2015 2:53pm

soundmangar wrote: »

Yes. Once you stop intelligently defending yourself the fight is stopped. A fighter with a broken nose is very capable of winning a fight. Mendes turtled which is not intelligently defending, Lawler and Rory were still throwing bombs trying to win the fight.

Their fight was insane! Really enjoyed it once I got over all the blood

Connavar · 13-07-2015 2:53pm

Hazys wrote: »

Yes gassed means winded

When I hear winded, I think of a hit to the chest/back. But I would equate gassing more with being tired/out of breath(can also be caused by a hit)

ibrahimovic · 13-07-2015 3:13pm

Maybe not the right thread, but could any one link to some well regarded mma video training/tutorials for beginers to get the fundamentals to do at home, me and a mate want to try. I heard Mendes mentioning some Bas rutten ones in the conference.

Hazys · 13-07-2015 3:14pm

IrishAlice wrote: »

Thanks, I wasn't sure if what Mendes did constituted defending himself or not so wasn't sure.

Does it generally happen that as soon as a fighter drops into this position the fight is stopped?

No, not as soon as the assume that position but from what i remember was Conor threw two punches while Mendes was in the turtle position, the ref wasn't going to leave Conor have a third because Mendes didn't even move on the first two.

If Mendes had taken the first and maybe the second punch in the turtle position then scrambled into another position or tried to grapple with Conor (well basically if he did anything other than stay in the turtle position) the ref would have left the fight continue but he didnt. So going into turtle isn't an automatic stoppage or any other position where you don't try to intelligently defend yourself, the ref will give you a chance to comeback.

Herb Dean is the best UFC ref and he made the correct decision to stop the fight. Maybe another ref may have left it gone a few seconds later and Mendes would have been saved by the bell but i think that wouldn't have been the right decision and people are only talking about the stoppage because it was so close to the end of the round but for the Refs the clock plays no part in insuring a fighter's safety. If Mendes went into the turtle position with 30 seconds left we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Hazys · 13-07-2015 3:15pm

Connavar wrote: »

When I hear winded, I think of a hit to the chest/back. But I would equate gassing more with being tired/out of breath(can also be caused by a hit)

Yeah sorry you're right. Gasses would mean ran out of gas aka tired more than it would mean winded.

raze_them_all_ · 13-07-2015 4:07pm

ibrahimovic wrote: »

Maybe not the right thread, but could any one link to some well regarded mma video training/tutorials for beginers to get the fundamentals to do at home, me and a mate want to try. I heard Mendes mentioning some Bas rutten ones in the conference.

go to a gym. They are all over the country and safe and you will actually learn technique. The learn from videos was when the sport was in it's infancy

IrishAlice · 13-07-2015 4:26pm

Hazys wrote: »

No, not as soon as the assume that position but from what i remember was Conor threw two punches while Mendes was in the turtle position, the ref wasn't going to leave Conor have a third because Mendes didn't even move on the first two.

If Mendes had taken the first and maybe the second punch in the turtle position then scrambled into another position or tried to grapple with Conor (well basically if he did anything other than stay in the turtle position) the ref would have left the fight continue but he didnt. So going into turtle isn't an automatic stoppage or any other position where you don't try to intelligently defend yourself, the ref will give you a chance to comeback.

Herb Dean is the best UFC ref and he made the correct decision to stop the fight. Maybe another ref may have left it gone a few seconds later and Mendes would have been saved by the bell but i think that wouldn't have been the right decision and people are only talking about the stoppage because it was so close to the end of the round but for the Refs the clock plays no part in insuring a fighter's safety. If Mendes went into the turtle position with 30 seconds left we wouldn't be having this conversation.

I heard everyone talking about how good the ref is so figured it was the right decision but just wasn't totally sure as to why the situation differed from Lawler v McDonald.

Thanks for the responses, it makes things a lot clearer!

Dtp1979 · 13-07-2015 8:45pm

ibrahimovic wrote: »

Maybe not the right thread, but could any one link to some well regarded mma video training/tutorials for beginers to get the fundamentals to do at home, me and a mate want to try. I heard Mendes mentioning some Bas rutten ones in the conference.

You'd really be better off going to an MMA beginners class. Not being smart, but if your trying techniques or heaven forbid even submissions without the watchful eye of an experienced instructor , you or your friend will end up hurt if something goes wrong

BOHtox · 25-07-2015 12:12pm

Is there an age or physical condition that's too old or too unfit or too small (:o)to start? Living in south Dublin too, what would be the best gym to give a ring? I also have zero experience of any form of martial arts/self-defence etc.

I'm taking the McGregor train by storm and have been really watching enjoying UFC the last two years or so

MartyMcFly84 · 27-07-2015 2:13pm

We have people in their 60s training with us and some people with lifelong physical disabilities.

There is no too old , or too weak. Don't think you will need "to get fit first" as this is often as an excuse to put things on the long finger. Only small % of people who attend MMA gyms actually fight and an even smaller % fight at a high level. In our gym 90% is made up of people who just want to exercise, learn some new skills and try something different than a regular gym.

You will get the fitness required by attending classes. Most gyms have dedicated beginners programs. Get on google and check out gyms that you can make it too easy enough, and decide how far you can realistically travel on a regular basis. No point picking a gym that will be pain to get to and a deterrent to going to class.

Try a few different gyms out and see what ones you like the most, and start going to classes.

cowzerp · 27-07-2015 2:26pm

IrishAlice wrote: »

I heard everyone talking about how good the ref is

In general if Joe Rogan says someone is the best people just run with it, Personally I think he'd ok and often times just awful

Like the other day 2 fighters had to walk away without him stopping the fight as he did not get in fast enough, That is not high class reffing by any standards.

But again if Joe Rogan says it, it must be true :rolleyes:

jcd5971 · 30-07-2015 4:42pm

cowzerp wrote: »

In general if Joe Rogan says someone is the best people just run with it, Personally I think he'd ok and often times just awful

Like the other day 2 fighters had to walk away without him stopping the fight as he did not get in fast enough, That is not high class reffing by any standards.

But again if Joe Rogan says it, it must be true :rolleyes:

How dare you

.... Plus rogan has often said big John mccarthy is best ref in mma.

Anyway it's all nonsense I think we all know Steve mazaggati is best ref in mma

MartyMcFly84 · 31-07-2015 9:25am

jcd5971 wrote: »

Steve mazaggati is best ref in mma

I think Cecil Peoples will have something to say about that, that was... until he was shot by an American dentist in Africa.

jcd5971 · 01-08-2015 11:13am

MartyMcFly84 wrote: »

I think Cecil Peoples will have something to say about that, that was... until he was shot by an American dentist in Africa.

I don't get the reference, what has Mazzagati got to do with some stupid lion... I'm sure I'm going to look stupid now if you point out an obvious link :-)

MMA/UFC Questions for Newbies

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