Stall Tactics and MMA

I have attended a number of local Amateur and Professional MMA events throughout the years.  Some of these fights have disappointed me as a fighter and a paying customer.  If I am paying at least $20 or more to see some fights, then I want to see the fighters do one thing: FIGHT! 

I am fairly certain that other spectators want to see the same thing as well.  Who would want to see two punches thrown in order for one combatant to press the other against the cage for the majority of the match. Or even worse- a fighter takes the other guy down and does nothing while in the dominant position.  He lays on the other guy for 3 rounds and pulls out a decision win.  Typically after a less than stellar performance, you would hear the crowd ‘booing’ and obnoxious chanting to express their thoughts about that fight. I cannot blame them for acting this way.  They paid good money to see fighters put their skills that they have worked on to the test.  I have to say seeing this, which I call “stall tactics” pisses me off as a fighter and I am sure it pisses off the fighter that loses. 

As a Muay Thai practitioner, I appreciate and love watching a great stand-up match where the two guys slug it out.  It may appear as if I am downplaying other disciplines such as wrestling or even BJJ, which I have grown to love. I am not implying that. A fighter will stick to his strengths.  A wrestler will do what he knows best.  He will take his opponent down, position himself in a dominant position and may follow up with either a “ground and pound” or a submission. 

I am not knocking that at all.  I just hate seeing fighters work so hard in their training just be taken down or press the guy into the cage and be complacent with just staying there. Or a Jiu-jitsu practitioner, who may fight well off his back, be complacent with pulling guard and controlling the other fighter.  While controlling the fighter is good he does not go for the dominant position or attack with any submissions.  As a fighter, I always want to advance to the dominant position and from there look to finish the fight!   There is too much at stake if you do not finish a fight, especially if you are presented with opportunities to win.

The fault does not always lie with the fighter. The referees have a hand in this too.  It appears at times that some of these referees are inexperienced because they do not know when to stand fighters up or break them apart.  This is done in the boxing world.  So how come it is not done in these local MMA events?

Stalemates happen in a fight. However, a fighter shouldn’t work towards a stalemate. The fighter should work to advance.  Even though a fighter may have a phenomenal record, they may not progress because promoters lose money on boring fights.   Sometimes a stalemate occurs because of their training style.  If the fighter is not versatile with their training, then they will use only one method to win.  That fighter will continue to use that method, regardless of its effectiveness, because it’s all that they know. 

During a striker vs grappler match, the grappler typically spends the majority of the fight trying to take down the striker. The grappler is applying what he knows best.  But if the striker has trained takedown defense during his fight prep, then he will not go down so easily. The grappler will continually attempt another takedown but ends up pressing the striker into the cage glued against their opponent.  I have seen this first hand in a professional MMA fight.  

Instead of trying the same technique, the grappler should utilize their skills and switch to a different takedown tactic.  Or, they should strike their opponent first and then attempt a takedown. This small change can change the pace dramatically in a fight.  It will throw the opponents game off and the wrestler will probably get the takedown. 

But then again, stall tactics are often used in the UFC.  So, how can we not expect to see it occur so often in the local scene?