not only do guys in the
military enjoy watching this, little white girls such as myself do too.
for me, the draw of the
UFC is in watching and learning from the diverse
fighting
styles displayed in these
tournaments. as a
martial artist, i can see what works and what doesn't in full contact, no
rules competitions (no rules being a bit of an exageration -- see the rules section below).
the UFC, in my opinion, has proved that in order to
win an all-out, no holds barred fight, one must be proficient in fighting on the
ground, where all fights seem to inevitably wind up. you might be able to
kick like an action star, but when a
wrestler gets you on the ground, those kicks aren't good for much.
Rules
the events may be single
elimination tournaments, or a series of bouts.
bout lengths are at the discretion of the
promoter, but
championship and
superfight bouts are usually 20
minutes.
fighters must wear
mouthguards and
groin protection.
fouls result in
fines and disqualification after any combination of three fouls. fines are $500.00 for the first, $500.00 for the second, and $1000.00 for the third. all of the following can result in a foul:
Winning
a winner is determined by:
Weight Classes
Heavyweight................200+ lbs
Middleweight...............170-199.9lbs
Lightweight................150-169.9lbs
there are oftentimes specialized bouts where different weight classes fight against each other such as the "David versus Goliath" bout which pitted small against big.
Interesting Characters of the UFC
Dan "the beast" Severn (9-3) and Don Frye (9-1) seem to be cut from the same mold, they look quite a bit alike and have the same
magnum p.i. moustache and itty-bitty
speedo style shorts. Both are highly
aggresive wrestlers who have shown
dominance in gaining
control of their opponent on the
ground.
Tank Abbot (8-7) appears at first sight to be nothing more than a a
huntington beach street
thug who decided he was
bad ass enough to take on large scale competitions. he is, admittedly, a
tough guy, but winds up being beaten because he hasn't got the
stamina (he's got a distinct
beer belly) to continue fighting for long periods of time and seems unable to handle himself well on the ground. his style is listed as "pitfighting".
royce (pronounce "hoyce") gracie is easily one of the most
famous UFC fighters in the history of the competition. a record of 11-0-1 makes him stand out as the most accomplished
UFC fighter of all time. his
stamina is
huge, and he could continue fighting for hours until an opportunity for a joint lock or
choke hold presents itself. he is a
slight man, however
gracie jiu-jitsu focuses on conserving
energy which has helped him to overcome much
larger opponents (such as Dan Severn).
and of course, the wonderful
referee, Big John McCarthy is a
UFC staple
personality. he starts every match shouting "
Let's get it on!" and has a great attention to the well-being of the fighters.