Gymbo Knows

Who is the pound for pound best mma fighter in the world right now?

You can argue all night as to who should be known as the pound for pound best fighter in the world. Some say its Fedor, others say its Anderson Silva. I feel there are four fighters right now that are at the top of their game and can equally be called the pound for pound best fighter in the world.

Anderson Silva - He has been lights out. Even though people may argue and say he hasn’t faced the highest level of competition he deserves to be mention as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. I would say Anderson lost two rounds since coming to the UFC ( First Round Vs Travis Lutter and First Round vs Dan Henderson) and after those rounds he came out and finished the fight in the next round. Anderson Silva is the best striker in MMA right now and his ground game is top notch. Silva just might be the most complete of a fighter in the world of MMA.

Fedor Emelianenko - Fedor is the best heavyweight in the world and he just dismantled Tim Sylvia, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion in 36 seconds. Fedor is one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA. Fedor can wrestle, grapple and strike. He is excellent in the three major aspects of MMA and there isn’t a heavyweight in site that stands a chance with him right now. A showdown with Randy Couture seems inevitable and hopefully they can get rid of all these legal battles and schedule a date for this historical event.

B.J. Penn - Penn’s ground game is second to none. His only weakness is his conditioning and that seems to be corrected. He’s been focused and in the best shape of his life since dropping down to 155. I can’t see any 155lber beating B.J. Penn right now. Looks like we’ll get to see Penn vs St. Pierre II, now thats going to be a great fight.

Georges St. Pierre - The best welter weight in the world. I can’t see anyone beating St. Pierre at welterweight right now. He dismantled Jon Fitch this weekend and proved that he is on a totally different level. The rest of the welterweight division has a lot of catching up to do. Pierre gets better every time out which is scary. Pierre I’d say is the most complete fighter in MMA right now.

What do all four of these fighters have in common? They are the most well rounded fighters at their respective weight class. If they have any holes in their game you are gonna need a magnifying glass to find them. These guys are complete fighters and that’s what makes them so hard to beat. These four fighters are perfect examples of what every mixed martial artist strives to be.

Should Mixed Martial Arts be allowed on Prime Time Television?

The sport that was once called “human cockfighting” by Presidential candidate John McCain, finally made its national television debut on Prime Time television. It was a major step for the sport of mixed martial arts, but MMA still isn’t getting the respect it deserves. Should MMA even be allowed on broadcast television?

Of course Mixed Martial Arts belongs on network television. MMA fighters are some of the greatest athletes in the world and they deserve to be seen by the world just like every other athlete. There is nothing wrong with two professionals going toe to toe in the ring or the cage. It’s a sport and it deserves national attention just like every other sport in the world.

Is MMA to violent for national television? There are hundreds of violent shows regularly on network television. Why all of a sudden is MMA too violent? You flip through your basic cable channels and you will find plenty of violence. I’ve seen stuff 10 times worse on a regular news broadcast.

Most of the old school sports broadcasters like (Bryan Burwell) refuse to give the sport a chance. They make comments like “The sport is too violent. People are kicking one another in the head.” That right there is just an uneducated statement. These ignorant columnist like Bryan Burwell are just stuck in their old school views. I bet Bryan Burwell has never actually been in mixed martial arts gym or fighting gym. Bryan Burwell hasn’t seen the dedication and skill required to get in the cage. He thinks these guys are all bar room brawlers with no training.

Here are a couple paragraphs taken from Bryan Burwell’s article Lastest Bout with Insanity Comes to CBS:

—”This crazed, unrestrained violence allows men with thinly padded leather on their fists to pummel each other nonstop, even when your opponent is on the ground. It allows you to knee your opponent in the groin, then while he’s prone on the ground, pound him in the head, choke him, or squeeze his torso with your legs locked around him, attempting to rupture kidneys and squeeze the air out of lungs.”—-

Obviously his statements are from someone who knows nothing about the sport.

1. The fighters are not aloud to pummel each other non stop for one. Their is a referee and he steps in to stop the bout just like boxing when one fighter is unable to defend himself.

2. Two the sport does not allow groin shots. If someone is hit in the groin they are allowed ample time to recover just like in boxing. MMA use to be anything goes but has evolved since the days of UFC 1.

3. Squeezing someones torso with your legs is really not that painful. Its uncomfortable but obviously Bryan Burwell has never grappled or wrestled before so he wouldn’t know the feeling.

Heres another quote from Bryan Burwell’s Article:

“Ultimate fighting and all the other ultimate fighting leagues want the world to embrace their bloody human cockfighting as a replacement for boxing as a real combat sport, and now they have CBS as a co-conspirator in this fraud. They reason that the world has proclaimed them as legitimate, simply because their barbarism is now on network television.”

1. Boxing and Ultimate fighting can coexist in the world. They are two completely different combat sports. Boxing is the sweet science and it will be around forever. MMA is a combination of all the martial arts in the world. Boxing enthusiast are obviously threaten by Mixed Martial Arts.

2. Mixed Martial Arts actually involves more skill then Boxing. MMA fighters must train in multiple disciplines of martial arts. Boxers only have to train for one martial art. MMA fighters are not barbarians, they are highly trained athletes.

3. Boxing enthusiasts should put more energy into talking about their sport of boxing rather then bash mixed martial artist. Columnist and Broadcasters should actually study the sport and know what they are talking about before they go on rambling ignorant comments.

MMA belongs on network television, its been in the dark far too long. CBS was the only network brave enough to broadcast mixed martial arts on national television and it will pay off for them in the long run. Mixed martial arts is the combat sport of the future and look for it to stick around for a long time.

Related articles:

• CBS to broadcast first live MMA fights on May 31