20 MMA Cliches We Never Want to Hear Again

There are cliches and then there are cliches so heinous and widespread that they evoke intense feelings of nausea and lunacy.

Well...maybe they're not that bad, but they're bad for sure.

Whether it's an overused phrase, a false belief about a fighter or group of fighters, or axiomatic truths that don't deserve the name, we hope that MMA evolves past these horrific cliches and that we never have to hear them again.

The Gracie Myth

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Those ignorant to MMA history hear the name "Gracie" and are immediately enamored.

While the Gracies did help to create the modern MMA scene, that wasn't their intention.

The UFC was created as a showcase for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and just that. It wasn't a noble experiment with the intentions of starting a martial arts revolution and creating the greatest combat sport known to man.

But that's what happened and some credit the Royce and the other Gracies for it.

The brilliance of the Gracies was not in their jiu-jitsu but in their marketing; they showed themselves subduing hapless strikers and sold it is if they were somehow gods among men for doing so.

The notion of the Gracies "creating" MMA and being innovators is a cliche and is flat-out wrong.

The Zuffa Myth

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Zuffa did many positive things for MMA, but not as many as they'd have you believe.

They didn't "invent" having rules and regulations. In fact, most of the rules in the modern UFC were present when Zuffa purchased the company from SEG in 2001.

The "Zuffa = MMA Savior" myth has some truth and more truth than the Gracie myth and Emelianenko myth, but it's still overused and wrong in some senses.

"Lay and Pray"

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Anyone who uses the term "lay and pray" to describe Jon Fitch, or any wrestler for that matter, proves only their own ignorance as well as their inability to appreciate the mixed aspect of mixed martial arts.

Wrestling is arguably the most effective combat sport known to man; casual and hardcore fans alike would do well to remember that.

This term is used far too often by fans and its continued use is only a detriment to the sport and to the reputation of wrestlers in MMA everywhere.

"Grind" in All of Its Variants, Including "Grinder," "Grinding Style," Etc.

"Grinding" in action.
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Again, lots of casual fans and non-fan observers view MMA as almost borderline-sensual.

Words like "grind" don't help assuage their errant sensual beliefs.

"Wall and Stall"

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"Wall and stall" is the name given by fans for holding an opponent against the cage and imposing your will on them.

This term is abhorrent for the same reason that "lay and pray" is.

Many use this pejorative phrase to describe the fighting style of fighters such as Randy Couture and (sometimes) Rashad Evans, as well as other wrestlers.

Terms like this need to die and in their place approval of wrestling tactics needs to rise up, lest the sport become infested with whiny, depressed Pride fans who malign modern MMA and can't look forward, only back towards a dead promotion and a dead era.

"Pound-for-Pound"

Chael Sonnen gives the best reasons that anyone has ever given and may ever give for why "pound-for-pound" is an asinine term and why debates about it should stop.

Just click the play button and hear the greatest anti-pound-for-pound rant of all time.

"Human Cockfighting"

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This one is a bit different than the others because it's not used by MMA fans but the term and the idea that MMA is a bloodsport and is somehow inhuman and awful is a cliche amongst the minds of the uninformed public and it's certainly one we never want to hear again.

"Nut Hugger"

He's not smiling due to the several dozen "nut huggers" weighing him down.
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The instant you say something positive about a fighter on a forum when the general consensus is negative, you will instantly be branded a "nut hugger" of that fighter.

Do you think Chael Sonnen just had a bad weight cut against Michael Bisping and that's why he looked so bad? If so, you're a Sonnen "nut hugger"—congratulations!

So prevalent is the term that a common insult has become: "Get off [fighter's] nuts!"

How sad.

War References

A great fight but not a "war."

MMA is intense and scary, but it's not war.

Referring to MMA fighters as "warriors" and referring to a fight as a "battle" or a "war" denigrates what real soldiers do, so the MMA community would do well to stop it.

"Virtually Identical"

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This cliche is a favorite of UFC commentator Mike Goldberg and is used whenever each fighter's tale of the tape is, well, virtually identical.

There's nothing really annoying with this one other than the fact that Goldberg has used it so much. It would be nice to hear a different phrase when the two fighters have a similar tale of the tape.

"In the Mix"

I don't see any fighters in the mix, do you? (Photo courtesy Nancy Mueller)

When a fighter is nearing title contention they are always referred to being as "in the mix."

Can't Goldberg and Rogan find another way to say it after all these years?

"Bang" in All of Its Variants ("Banger," "Stand and Bang," Etc.)

Leonard Garcia, the poster boy for "banging."
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MMA is sensual enough without having the shirtless men saying they want to "bang" with one another. 

Why can't we just say that fighters who prefer to throw strikes do exactly that—prefer to throw strikes?

"World Class"

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NCAA Divison I accolades do not equal world class. Winning a regional leg of a NAGA grappling tournament does not equal world class.

These accomplishments are commendable and admirable, but there are some that are simply on a different level (Olympics, ADCC, etc.)

This phrase is used too often by Joe Rogan and, while sometimes it is warranted, it's usually an exaggeration of the fighter's skill(s).

Of course, none of this is to poke fun at Rogan or deride him (or Goldberg either).

"Never Leave It in the Hands of the Judges"

Photo courtesy Sherdog.com

This one is good advice in the sense that judges frequently don't know what they're doing, but it's just repeated so much that it becomes annoying.

Also, it implies that fighters choose to let the fight go to decision. Knocking someone out may look easy but it isn't; asking a fighter why he/she didn't just finish his/her opponent is like asking a quarterback why he didn't just throw more touchdown passes—it's not that easy.

"BJJ Is Useless"

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Whether or not Brazilian jiu-jitsu is useless has already been covered in detail so I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say that BJJ being the most useless of the three main disciplines has been a popular theory of late that's too often repeated.

"Wrestling Is the Best Base for MMA"

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This cliche is different in the sense that it's actually true, but it will eventually fall by the wayside as MMA evolves.

Why?

Because as time goes on, the children who would've wrestled from age five will have done MMA from age five and will be that much better for it.

"Rocked"

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When a fighter is hurt, the word that's almost always (and I mean always) is "rocked."

Nothing against Rogan and Goldberg, but do they have something against expanding their vocabularies and therefore expanding the MMA lexicon as a whole?

Underrated Ground Game

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This phrase is infamous and perhaps the most well-known cliche on the list.

It was made famous by Joe Rogan who uses it to describe the jiu-jitsu abilities of many UFC fighters but specifically Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz (you'll hear him say the phrase dozens of times when they fight).

Fedor Emelianenko Being the Greatest of All Time

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Fedor Emelianenko was a great fighter but not the greatest.

And regardless of whether Emelianenko or Anderson Silva is the greatest, both men's accomplishments will be eclipsed within the next decade because of the higher level of athleticism present in the sport and the fact that most fighters in the next decade will have trained in solely MMA for their entire lives.

Continuing to mention Emelianenko's name like he's a god among men is an annoying cliche that's considered to be irrefutable fact by Pride fans who still think it's 2003.

Many a brain cell have been wasted debating about Emelianenko and his legacy; such debates need to stop.

"Greatest of All Time" ("GOAT")

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While on the subject of Fedor being the "GOAT," the phrase "GOAT" or "Greatest of All Time" is itself a cliche.

Whenever a UFC champion wins (or Fedor beats someone who hasn't been relevant in years), he is the GOAT. Whenever a UFC champion wins but doesn't look good, some other fighter is the GOAT.

Unfortunately, the cycle seems endless.

 

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