Do Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz Represent a Trend of MMA Going All Floyd Mayweather?

Or is it the fact that they avoid getting hit that bothers people?

does it have to rhyme? Aren’t we tired of that?

Well, they’re fighter really hard fighters to finish. I know that’s a bit of a copout, but Dominick’s last 3 opponents had never even lost a fight until they fought him. Frankie’s had one gimme in 2 years and he finished him too. No one else is finishing the Benavidez’s and BJ’s of the world. It’s part of the game at the lighter weights – less finish. That’s just another reason why BJ was so good.

Again, probably a bit of a copout though.

…the standards of Wand will be tough to beat.

At the top of the divisions, 15 minutes often isn’t enough.

death and decay..sorry for the warcraft ref….

and still have styles they prefer to watch. From an athlete’s perspective, I have a ton of respect for anyone willing to put in the effort and discipline necessary to follow a game plan and use their strengths, whether it be lay n pray, stick and move, dirty boxing, etc . However, certain fighters bore me to tears (Cruz, Fitch, O’Brien, etc) and I tend to zone out when I’m forced to sit and watch them work. I would rather watch mindless youtube clips than be forced to sit through Couture-Vera again. I could be a snob and pretend to enjoy the admittedly technical nature of their clinch work against the cage, but I’d rather be honest about my aesthetic fight preferences. That said, I would argue that I’m far from a “half ass fan.”

Dominick Cruz has an extremely slight frame, and throws strikes from mid-air, there is no ass behind any of his strikes. the only way he could ever rock any good fighter would be to stop spazzing out for a second, sink his feet into the mat, and launch one from the hip Gomi-style

He may not hit like Demacio Page with his hands, but he was certainly tagging Bowles with that right and making some marks with it. And the way he steps in and runs with his leg kicks is brutal.

Also worth noting is the last guy he’s fought who has ever been stopped by anybody is Ian McCall.

It’s not really fair to assume that Edgar could have gone out there and finished Penn if he’d just tried harder or something. I’m not trying to slam him. But I think the basic idea in Nate’s post is interesting – what about fighters that fight to out point their opponents rather than finish a fight? (Whether or not you accept Edgar is one of those guys – and I think Edgar is great).

Perhaps the point is – if you can’t finish fights, it will come back to haunt you eventually (a la Chael Sonnen). I guess we’ll see.

I think 98% of fighters make an effort to finish. Some fans would just rather they completely open up and fight recklessly to do so which is just stupid.

Can you expound on that? Both Edgar and Penn agreed going in that a decision was a valid way to win the fight, and that fights would be scored on a round-by-round basis using the ten-point must system. I don’t see how that’s manipulation.

I wish we could neg post here.

Still, basing their inability to finish on fights with guys that ae almost impossible to finish is kinda unfair to both of them

I don’t know that they are “point fighting” as much as they are

avoiding as many direct blows to the head as possible.

I am sure there are a number of fighters that fight with judges score cards in mind, but fighters like Cruz, Edgar and GSP don’t strike me that way…

Nate, you know I love you brother, but I find it strange that you wouldn’t want to see higher level striking in MMA. Remember, we’re talking lightweights here. They aren’t going to be putting a hurting on fools most times. Once we see these techniques work their way up to the higher weight classes, you’ll see more guys get brutally knocked out simply because one man will be able to accuratley land punches on the chin of his opponent while avoiding being hit himself.

Personally, I thought the Edgar vs Penn 2 fight being a bit flat was more on BJ not showing up to fight more and not really offering anything in response than Edgar putting on some sort of technical snoozefest. I personally enjoyed watching Edgar’s technical prowess. I enjoy watching great fighters fight, and I love seeing high level techniques.

No judges. No time limits. Tap, snap or nap ……. or towel.

While he didn’t earn a finish, there are no lose ends to tie up here – Edgar dominated BJ for five rounds.

I’d rather have great five round fights like that were a guy plays to his strengths and looks impressive than every fight being a Jorge Gurgel, abandon your talents event where wrestlers get knocked silly to appease people who refuse to accept this sport in it’s totality.

I was gonna pick Maia/McDonald though.

no, that’s not what Nate is saying. he is annoyed at gameplans that have no intention of attempting to finish. Maia went for submission after submission, I’m sure nate appreciates that.

I do hate that. GET PUNCHED FOR MY AMUSEMENT DAMN IT!

I’m talking about the style MMA. I assumed that including the part about keeping the fight standing would have made that obvious.

In boxing you can stick and move all day long if you’re quicker than your opponent. Try that with Randy Couture and he’ll bull rush you into the fence. Chael is Chael. Really just using his style as an example of what one can do if the opponent is jabbing and running.

disagrees

But funny! I’ll rec it. ;)

He definitely does but in a weight class most of us passed when we were 14.

Man what a boring fight!

agreed, part of the reason they use this jibjab/jive/dancedodge style is because they aren’t devastatingly strong men. unfortunately for most guys not named Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar also has better wrestling than them, so Gray is probably the only one who can walk through the punches and grind him down. everyone else is gonna get Sprawl’n’JibJabDanceDodge’d

hey dave, highnoon didn’t reference or say anything about a boring lay/pray fight. I agree with you that BJ/edga fights were less than amazing to me but i dont see any reason to dis someone who enjoyed it more than I do.

Because that’s the prototype you just laid out. Honestly, I’d put money on Guillard at +200 or better.

Interesting that you mention Machida, since I almost brought him up as well. Kenny’s reminded me more and more of Lyoto in the past two years. He’s obviously faster on his feet, but Kenny thrives when he jabs and leg kicks you into rushing in, then drives back into you with a counter, using your own momentum against you with a punch, knee or elbow. Frankie uses that momentum to trigger a takedown, rather than trying to blast you with one hard shot.

:(

I find Maynard waaaaay less fun to watch than Edgar

Roy Jones … when they are comfortable, they are jsut fine by cruising to a decision, because they are/were so good at landing their shots, and avoiding their opponents.