Bleacher Report - Articles by Brad McCrillis

Small Circuits And B-List Fighters: This Fan Weighs In

Brad McCrillis — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:23:01 -0400

This weekend a new MMA Circuit, UMMAXX, opened. The main draw of this card was Junie Browning’s little brother, Robbie “The Heartthrob” Browning.

Cleveland has had two MMA circuits that I have actively followed in the past: Golden Lotus, which runs a small circuit on the west side of Cleveland and the bigger NAAFS circuit, which is televised locally. Both of these groups have very active followers.

I have trained with camps from both of these circuits, and I am currently training with a school that is in the NAAFS.

Most followers know the fighters, friends, and family, or they are people such as me that train with them at the same schools, gyms, or clubs.

These smaller circuits concentrate more on their own backyards; they know where their bread is buttered, so to speak. They stay with fighters from the area that will bring their own “fans” to help fill the arenas.

UMMAXX's event held UMMAXX 7, “Out of the Cage,” recently.

Although this was the first event, it was extremely well run. When one fight was over, the next was ready to go. There was no dead time and the 11 or so pro fights were all very competitive.

That is the good news. Of course there is some bad news.

The event, although well publicized by local radio stations, fell far short of the intended crowd.

The expected draw of the B-list Browning frankly did not happen.

For his part, Browning played his trailer trash self to a tee. Piggy-backing off of his brother’s foolishness at the UFC House, Robbie carried on the family name.

He played the bad boy act to the cage. Once in the cage, he showed that he might have hope as a fighter, winning decisively—albeit over a rather inexperienced opponent.

When the fights were over, I was left with a series of questions.

Are the Browning’s really ahead of everyone in understanding that MMA is heading towards pure entertainment value?

Professional Wrestling has its “Heels” or Villains. Of these types of “Heels” in Professional wrestling there are various types. Crazy Heel, Comic Heel, Cowardly Heel: The Browning’s play, the Delinquent Heel.

Isn’t that what they both remind you of? A couple of juvenile delinquent punks that seem more interested in getting drunk, causing trouble and acting the tough street punk more than acting like a professional fighter.

I think we are being played.

I suspect that both the Browning’s have followed professional wrestling and at heart understand the role of the “Heel”.

No, I do not think they are choir boys, but I think they are playing their role to the max.

And it has worked.

Could Robbie Browning, with time and experience, actually become a good UFC-caliber fighter?

I will admit that Robbie Browning looked to be a totally different fighter in person than he showed on the Ultimate Fighter Series. His punches looked crisp and had some pop to them. He looked to be in total control of the stand up part of the fight.

This control continued to the ground and Browning showed very good, deliberate technique when turning his dominate top mount position into an arm bar.

I did not see the same fighter that I saw on the TV show. Was Browning so into playing the Heel that he lost focus of the fight itself?

Based upon what I saw I believe this to be the case. Although even at cage side you could hear Robbie Browning stating that he was going to drop down to 135.

That weight would put him out of the UFC.

While the UFC Ultimate Fighter Series has helped the growth of the UFC and MMA, has it actually started to undermine the sport itself?

Before the last few episodes of the Ultimate Fighter I would have stated an unequivocal yes, Each new cast seemed hell bent on out drinking, out punking and out vandalizing the previous cast.

In fact, watching Robbie Browning stand on the balcony and in a drunken stupor tossing eggs at his fellow fighters had me convinced that this would just be one more season of idiocy.

However, the other fighters then banned together. Team USA and Team Britton set ground rules and both sides supported Jason Dent in his quest to defeat Robbie Browning.

For one of the first times I saw the attitude that I so commonly see in MMA clubs. People frankly do not like to work with knuckle heads. There have been multiple times that I have seen the MMA people collectively drive them out.

Finally, I saw this collective effort on The Ultimate Fighter. For the first time in a few years I have hope that the TV Reality Series will resemble what I see in real life.

UMMAXX 7, a one-shot wonder or will it withstand its initial obvious cash loss and return with UMMAX 8?

This may be a one and done situation. To build a local following takes a great deal of effort, time and patience. If the promoters do hang in there I think the word of mouth of this event will spread.

Of all of the people that I spoke with after the fights there was one comment that was consistent. The event itself was well run.

If there is another card for this circuit, will it stay with the same pro fight card or have a mix of local amateurs?

I think there should be some amateur fights with the next card. Once the local MMA Community saw the quality of the event itself I do not think the promoters should find the need to draft as much outside talent.

If there is another card for this circuit, will it stay with the same pro fight card or have a mix of local amateurs?

The local MMA fans follow by the MMA clubs, the local fighters, word of mouth, and quality of the events. If there is another UMMAX, I suspect the turnout will be much better.

Is it possible that the MMA fans stayed away from the event as a statement about what is wrong with the sport when a Robbie Browning is the main draw?

As much as I would like to say that yes, this was the issue I know it was not. It comes back to gaining the trust of the local MMA fans. Building a following and stay in for the long haul.

That is how the other local MMA circuits have been built. Not with a big splash, but with consistence and time.

Traditionalists Take Issue With Mixed Martial Arts

Brad McCrillis — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:11:59 -0400

With a background in both traditional and mixed martial arts, I at times find myself in the cross hairs of traditional martial artists.

Don’t get me wrong, just because someone is a traditionalist does not mean that they disrespect the mixed martial artists. Many of my fellow Black Belts in fact rabidly follow the UFC.

There are many other traditionalists that feel that MMA is the worst thing to happen to the Martial Arts.

Many traditional martial artists in fact look down upon those that do MMA. One needs only to have read some of Bill “Super Foot” Wallace’s articles in Black Belt Magazine to understand the depth of the Traditionalist's distaste.

You no doubt have heard a few of the tired arguments. It is not real self-defense.

Other Traditional Martial Artists (TMA) take more of the aesthetic viewpoint that the tradition of the Kata is what made Martial Arts last throughout time.

I hear these arguments and it makes me question the true knowledge and understanding of the people making these statements.

Many MMA practitioners have some type of Traditional Martial Arts. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is taught with their students wearing a Gi and has a belt ranking system. Muay Thai is a Martial Art that has existed for centuries.

The Kata was a way to practice the art form and was a way of exercise. What better description could there be for the countless drills that I have participated in for BJJ class?

The same traditionalists that often put down MMA for its fighting will puff up over their own version of fighting. In Karate, this is known as the kumite or “Point Sparring” matches.

This is a maddening argument for me, as the “Halo” and excessive contact rules come into play in kumite.

The Halo rule is a Professional Karate Commission (PKC) rule. Imagine an invisible helmet that extends around the head. All one has to do is to enter a strike into that invisible area to gain a point.

In other words to gain a point in kumite, it is possible to do so without ever actually making any contact.

To explain the excessive contact rule in kumite, imagine being disqualified in a MMA bout because you hit someone too hard.

I know this article sounds like I am very down on TMA, which could not be further from the truth. There are many worthwhile benefits of TMA styles and I hope to explore those in a future article.

MMA: More Than Just a Spectator Sport

Brad McCrillis — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:48:58 -0400

Mixed Marital Arts seems to just keep gathering momentum and gaining a larger fan base. Many people these days follow the sport and even know the names of the fighters. Not just the big time events and organizations though, even the smaller ones.

For every UFC there seems to be dozens of smaller organizations. Here in Cleveland, there are two that I follow on a regular basis. One is televised locally, and the other is a much smaller group.

However each of these organizations has their own following. The fans that follow them tend to often be involved in the sport itself to various degrees.

I would be one of those involved fans, though you might never guess that when meeting me.

You see, I am the “old guy” at the gym.

I am 48 years old. My original back ground is in Traditional Martial Arts. I teach and participate in a Traditional style called Kempo. Unlike some traditional Martial Artists however I embrace MMA.

Twice a week I take a MMA/no-gi style grappling class. Now I find myself also teaching submission style grappling at our Kempo School and at another local MMA school.

I find that participating in this sport adds to my enjoyment of watching the fights. Of reading what these fighters go through for training. Even on days like today when I struggle to walk down the stairs from yet another muscle draining workout.

MMA has also become a family affair.

My one son recently fought in his first MMA bout. Our youngest is 16 and has a goal of having his first cage fight while still in high school.

When we go to fights people will often ask my wife, Laurie, if she is nervous. She laughs and responds, “Do you know how long I have been watching them do this”?

While Pro Football has High School and College Football to generate its grass roots interest in the Sport. MMA has all the various levels of fighting and training available to the rest of us.

Even us “old guys.”

Packer Nation: A Land Divided

Brad McCrillis — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:28:43 -0400

Ask a Packer Fan for his opinion on the General Manager of the Green Bay Packers and you are sure to get a black or white opinion.

When it comes to General Manager Ted Thompson there are no shades of gray. Fans either think he has done a great and courageous job or they think he should be immediately fired.

The Packer Fans that disprove of Thompson have many talking points. The most obvious is his perceived ill-treatment of Green Bay great, Brett Favre. There are draft day bust, most notable Justin Harrell, and the seemingly backwards play of A.J. Hawk.

There is also Ted Thompson’s failure to pull the strings on trade opportunities such as the Tony Gonzalez deal, or his refusal to use free agency to improve the team. The switch to a 3-4 defense this year might have had many a GM moving to pick up some stop gap defensive players, not Ted Thompson however.

Ted Thompson’s supporters will quickly point out that just two years ago this team was in the NFC Championship game. That this team is loaded with young talent that will be around for many years and should be given time. Also Thompson’s supporters will point to the fact that Ted Thompson had to take over a cap ridden and over rated team that was well into its decline.

And on and on it goes.

One side of Packer land is split to an almost anti-Green Bay fanatical state, while the other side finds itself drinking the kool-aid. No middle ground can seem to be found between these two fan factions.

One thing is very clear though. Just as Carmen Policy stated about then Cleveland Browns Head Coach Butch Davis, “He will wear the crown or bear the cross."

As Easter Passes on this Sunday afternoon those words will come to pass in Packer Land. If you like or dislike Ted Thompson, as always in the NFL, the answers will be provided on the field.