Observations from Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson
by Zak Woods on Mar 6, 2011 12:49 PM EST
in Strikeforce Event
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While it is quickly becoming cliché to demand that cage side judges be given monitors to watch fights -- I can almost recite Jordan Breen's traditional post-fight controversial judging rant from memory now -- and considering the events on Thursday night, I decided to engage in an experiment: watching a round cage side while staring at a monitor vs. watching without a monitor.
The verdict?
Your own personal HD monitor is a much better way to watch the fight. You pick up all the ambient sound of being near a live fight but you see it in 1080pi, which is such a richer visual field than -- well, reality. In this writer's humble opinion the "issue" of whether judges should have monitors is academic.
Sticking with the theme of monitors cage side I noticed that the announcers table had a giant Compustrike monitor providing instant stats for each fight.
I know there is a debate in the MMA community about how useful Compustrike is as a statistical tool (everyone seems to have a Chi-square test crush on Fight Metric) but I thought it was an interesting peek behind the curtain for the Showtime play-by-play staff.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson
- Dan Henderson still commands a tremendous amount of goodwill with MMA fans. Throughout the fight with Feijao chants of "HENDO!" were audible. When asked about why fans gravitate towards him Henderson was humble saying, "I have been doing it for awhile. I guess I wear on people." In the words of Samuel L. Jackson and Dr. House, allow me to retort. It probably has something to do with this.
- While Strikeforce is traditionally mum on future match-ups following an event there is now a clear path to Henderson vs. Mousasi title fight that many thought would happen last year. Of course Gegard needs to defeat Mike Kyle and considering Strikeforce's 205 division that is no guarantee.
- During the press conference someone mentioned that the Strikeforce light heavyweight title has yet to be successfully defended. Henderson responded dryly, "I am not superstitious at all."
- If taking a fight on a week notice isn't bad enough Liz Carmouche had to deal with finals at the same time. If John Hughes was still alive he'd make a movie out of this. Probably starring Mila Kunis.
- Carmouche she seemed to be the big winner tonight. The press couldn't stop asking her questions and the fans really responded to her tremendous effort. When asked where she would go from here Liz responded, "I’ll be back to training on Monday." Sounds like a Marine.
- Speaking of the military there was some buzz about Strikeforce expanding their relationship with the U.S. military. Tim Kennedy would be the obvious point man and Kennedy described himself as a "conduit" for the relationship going forward. Liz Carmouche could be another valuable asset especially as the United States officially reviews the role of women in the military.
- Marloes Coenen appeared to have an ankle injury after the fight.
- I am incredibly torn on the referee microphone that Strikeforce employs. On one hand it's nice that the stadium audience can hear what the referee is saying rather than being left in the dark over potential rulings or point deductions. On the other hand the constant chorus of, "let go of the fence" during grappling lulls makes a quiet stadium feel like a ghost town.
- The Ohio crowd was fantastic for the undercard. Then they got a few drinks in them and decided to boo whenever the violence wasn't up to snuff.
- Fans like to criticize Strikeforce for outsourcing their undercard but in this case it wasn't that bad. Nationwide Arena quickly filled up albeit with specialty seating and the fans were passionate about the local fighters. Cincinnati native Roger Bowling looked like a possible addition to Strikeforce's welterweight division.
- Meme Material: Dan Henderson "Deep Thoughts" (click here for the raw picture and post your own Meme on the Facebook page!)
- Best entrance music: Jason Riley walking out to Conan the Barbarian soundtrack
- Fan comment of the evening: "Release the Kraken!"
- Fan comment of the evening #2: "Diaz! I got some weed!"
- Ironic moment of the evening - When Arnold Schwarzenegger explained why mixed martial arts is so appealing he mentioned that the fighters, "talk really well". The great state of C-A-L-E-E-F-O-R-N-E-E-A agrees.
- Awkward moment of the evening - The crowd's reaction when Coenen and Carmouche were in north-south position. *sigh*
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MMA needs a telestrator for replays too.
That way the announcers can draw all those cool yellow lines on the screen breaking down the fight.
Just Breed!
He couldn’t draw a circle to save him from his braces.
I'm Don Frye and you're not - Don Frye
by MrTechnique420 on Mar 6, 2011 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
If those braces were going to work they would have worked by now.
by fitefan on Mar 6, 2011 3:36 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
And a rec for you, sir
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Editor, HeadKickLegend.com
Contributor for CagesideSeats.com and Bloody Elbow Radio
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 6, 2011 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
Explain this to me
It is unacceptable for judges to sit ringside and judge without the benefit of monitors, but we should all applaud Compustrike for counting punches with the same vantage point?
I don’t see how those are comparable at all. If the stats were used by the judges or had an impact in determining the outcome they should be held to the same standard, but they aren’t.
All sports use video and replay technology much more to keep track of stats than they do for helping judge and officiate the sports.
Compustrike sucks.
Bolts from the Blue // "It's a league game, Smokey." - Walter Sobchak
Bloody Elbow // "Everybody underestimates the kick in the groin." - Bas Rutten
1080pi
but you see it in 1080pi, which is such a richer visual field than — well, reality
The real benefit is that it gives the judges a second vantage point for those times when their viewing angle is less than ideal, or when a zoomed in view helps discern the grappling game without the cage in the way. It’s not the resolution. Reality comes in higher resolution than a monitor, HD or not.
As far as Compustrike goes, I would worry about judges over-relying on it instead of taking in all of the nuances of the fight not captured in the simple stats. It defeats the purpose of having 3 judges if they’re all basing their decision on the same numbers they see on a screen. As far as I’m concerned, a takedown isn’t worth a great deal if the fighter doesn’t manage to do much with it, and especially if the opponent gets up quickly… but you’d never know that from the stats.
by Meeaaat on Mar 6, 2011 1:20 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
yep.
Get monitors for a better vantage point, but NO REPLAYS, and for the love of god, NO COMPUSTRIKE. That’s for the announcers, and the audience at home, not the judges.
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 7, 2011 2:11 AM EST up reply actions
I object to the judges getting the TV feed. Then you have the director influencing the judging by which camera he chooses. I’d be ok if they had a multiple feeds from static cameras.
"an excellent example of why most MMA "journalism" is a joke. Pseudonyms like "toxic" and shitty writing like that dopey article"--- Joe Rogan.
"Roger Bowling looked like a possible addition to Strikeforce's welterweight division"
He already is and has fought for them several times.
The judges using monitors is a great thing, and much better than trying to look through the cage at canvas level. Having Compustrike available is, however, a terrible idea. It’s useful to look at after a fight, but it is in no way a fair judge of even the striking portion of a fight, and will simply be used as an out for judges. It’s a ready made excuse to abdicate responsibility for scoring the fight. Hey Compustrike said Fighter A landed the most strikes, so they must be the winner. Stats are fun, but the best judge of who wins a round is always the eye of trained people watching the fight.
What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?
by Kwisatz Haderach on Mar 6, 2011 2:31 PM EST reply actions
Ironic Write-up of the evening
Ironic moment of the evening – When Arnold Schwarzenegger explained why mixed martial arts is so appealing he mentioned that the fighters, “talk really well”. The great state of C-A-L-E-E-F-O-R-N-E-E-A agrees.
Arnold, a HUUGE public figure gives props to MMA, and the way fighters can break down a fight in techical terms, and in return his accent is made fun of.
To hand the writer back his own words regarding immature crowd reaction: “SIGH”
Agreed
When Zak can speak accent-free German, then he make fun of the Governator’s English. Until then, he should shut his cake hole.
by Steve4192 on Mar 6, 2011 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
GET DU DE CHAPPA!
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Editor, HeadKickLegend.com
Contributor for CagesideSeats.com and Bloody Elbow Radio
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 6, 2011 4:11 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Ankle injury?
Maybe it was from the foot stomps on the cage. They should really change the rules on those because it seems like you could easily break someone’s foot with it.
It's a fight
We’re already limiting other striking techniques, we don’t need more
Dear audio diary: Today I may have accidentally registered myself as a sex offender! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY LIFE
- T-Rex
dumb
maybe they should get rid of armbars, heelhooks, kneebars, etc. too?
Shit, he should have started last year. It ain’t going to compare to my mustache. I shave mine every morning. About a half hour later it’s already fully developed
Foot stomps are like a poor man’s leg kick; they won’t win you the fight on their own, but when landed in volume they can really reduce an opponent’s mobility and explosiveness.
by MS_Dos_Santos on Mar 6, 2011 3:20 PM EST up reply actions
I personally love the foot stomp
I think it is grossly underused in cage stall situations. Give ’em a few solid heel stomps on those crunchy little metatarsals!
I consider myself a softcore fan.
You pick up all the ambient sound of being near a live fight but you see it in 1080pi, which is such a richer visual field than — well, reality.
There are a few different resolutions and formats in the video world. HD monitors are 1080p. TVs are most likely 1080p but older models may be 1080i. In the case of TVs the main difference is the way the signal is displayed. P means progressive and is shown as a complete picture. i stands for interlaced and is shown in alternating fields. Most likely Showtime is recording a 1080p signal so the TVs they would be giving to the judges would hopefully be that as well.
1080p monitors might solve the judging problem.
1080p 3D monitors with glasses included definitely would solve it, but I’d on an IMAX screen with Dolby 7.1 just to be safe.
Just Breed!
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![Tim Kennedy speaks to Sherdog Radio about his loss to "Jacare" Souza and his plans to KO Melvin Manhoef on March 5th at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Feijao:
"That [Jacare] fight was totally crap," Kennedy said. "I sat there for 25 minutes and stalked the guy around the cage as he would peck me with the jab or throw an overhand right. Repeat for 25 minutes. That sucks. I, as a fan, would get bored with that fight. For crying out loud, come forward and fight me. You’re the greatest grappler on the planet. So I stuff you on a couple of takedowns, maybe try for a third one. If I take you down, maybe try to submit me. Don’t sit there and ride out a decision doing some fancy footwork for some so-called judges that are boxing judges. That’s stupid. If you’re going to win a title, come into the cage to fight."
"I’m not that kind of fighter," he explained. "I want to fight. I know everybody cares about who gets the W, but the fans want to see exciting fights. … Of course I like winning, but I like fighting. Fighting’s the essence of the sport, and that’s what people pay to see. If I’m going to take him [Manhoef] down, I’m going to pick him up and I’m going to slam him. I’m not going to stay tight for a close submission. I want to knock him out. That’s what fans like seeing and that’s what I like delivering."
Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Feijao coverage
Photo: Showtime Sports](http://cdn1.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/178462/jacare_kennedy_small.jpg)
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