My Problem With MMA!

 The past few weekends I have found myself watching a ton of MMA on Saturday Nights...

 Normally, this would be a cause for joy and happiness, after all very few things make me happier than kicking back with a plate of chicken wings, an ice cold beer and watching the fights at a crowded sports bar.

 However, the terrible quality of the few events ( UFC 111/112, Strikeforce on CBS and WEC 48) have really thrust into the limelight my major problem with Mixed Marital Arts:

There is a distinct lack of killer instinct among all the champions, regardless of weight class or organization.

 I remember screaming this at the TV during the entire GSP-Dan Hardy fight, which was followed up by a sea of  best pound for pound fighter love for GSP despite the fact that he COULDN'T finish a clearly inferior opponent.

 Anderson Silva followed this up with the debacle at UFC 112 where he danced around a guy he could have knocked out for 3 solid rounds. On this same card, BJ Penn (another name bandied about in the best P4P ratings) came out flat and fat, while losing a controversial decision to Frankie Edgar.

 On the Strikeforce card Moussassi (The Most fun name to say in MMA) came out looking completely uninspired and lost his belt to the underwhelming King Mo. Followed by Jake Shields' complete inability to finish fights being unleashed on Dan Henderson. Watching Shield's punches from the mount looked like watching a big brother mess with a little brother. Zero power or bad intent behind those punches....

 Lastly we come to WEC 48 where I actually shelled out the 44.95, under the misguided idea that Jose Aldo was a beast(16-1 with 6 KOs in his last 6 fights) and would not disappoint me during his fight with Urijah Faber. But alas, Aldo instead leg kicked his way to an easy win, while showing WAY too much respect for Faber who by the 3rd round could barely stand and was waiting to get knocked out.

 And that's when it hit me....

 With all this talk of dominant champions, NONE of them is a killer.

 What I mean by that is there is a noticeable lack of that gene we see in other sports. You knew when The Patriots were going for the jugular in 07, or when the Jordan led Bulls stole a game 7 from the younger more athletic Pacers in 98. Hell, you could even see it in pre-sex scandal Tiger Woods on Sundays.

 But let's look at the supposedly untouchable champions of MMA:

 Starting in the UFC:

 Brock Lesnar- Kind of a killer, but still lacking the overall game to really punish people and end fights in a multitude of ways. Brock is a big beast, but not quite a killer yet...

 Lyoto Machida- Not a killer, a skilled technical counterstriker, who doesn't put a lot of pressure on his opponents( See Shogun Rua)

 Anderson Silva- Could be the greatest closer in MMA as evidenced against Forrest Griffin, but mentally "Big cocky boy" as I like to call him would rather coast and crow.

 GSP- So not a killer, it's getting ridiculous. When was the last time he finished a fight?

 Frankie Edgar- Not a killer, but has potential.

 Going across to Strikeforce:

 Fedor- Fedor actually is a killer, as we saw with Brett Rodgers, but he misses the cut cause he doesn't actually fight anyone we've ever heard of anymore.

 King Mo- Not a killer. Only has 7 fights.

 Jake Shields- Lacks power and striking abilities to end fights if his BJJ fails ( Though whose to say it will)

 Gilbert Melendez- I like Melendez but he tried to finish Aoki and failed miserably.

 What we need is a guy who RELISHES being the champion and fights not just to win, but to win in the fastest and most brutal way possible. Someone who realizes this is a combat sport and it's not cool to be friends with your opponent. Someone who looks at every fight as a chance to prove himself.

MMA needs a guy like Jordan or Kobe who pushes himself with perceived slights whether they are real or imagined.

Because for all of Dana White and the MMA community's hype about how these guys are the best fighters in the World too often they do not deliver dominant championship performances and the sport will NEVER crossover completely until it gets someone whose sheer dominance attracts people in the ring, not the interview room.

JL