I miss this type of shit from early ufc days… Like they used to just put muy Thai vs karate masters and it was interesting as hell to see. I get why it happened but now it’s all mma vs mma… Not as fun imo.
Edit- I’m remembering seeing a few sumo dudes too. I’m thinking this was the 90s
Wasn’t there a fight between an american boxer and a japanese sumo wrestler? and it was just the most epic fucking thing I’d ever witnessed. now it’s all domestic abusers with a BJJ hobby
Yeah I remember as a teenager I rented VHS of UFC 4, 5, 6 and 7 and it was the best thing I ever watched. I was trying to find the first 3, but it was hard to do in early 90s
Pretty sure they are free on YouTube. This was a Pride event though, Melvin Manhoef vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama.
I dono this might be too interesting to be a shitpost
Looks at first the boxer had the judo(ist?), but once the judo(ist?) finally got grappling he took him down! I was surprised he won!
All fights end up on the ground. Judo excels at getting them there faster and BJJ at ending it once horizontal.
All fights end up on the ground.
Fights end up wrestling, or someone gets knocked out on the way to wrestling.
Either way, all fights end up on the ground.
Unless your opponent has a weapon.
I consider a gurney or a mortuary the ground.
Yea judoka had no striking game and boxer had no wrestling game. Under these conditions the grappler could just wait out the striker until catching a grapple, then win. This is why the Gracie family pushed UFC in the 90s, because karate-and-boxing-obsessed US audiences were constantly surprised by these matches, and it led to more people signing up for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!
I don’t know much, but “just wait out the striker” is a skill too, no? The judoka seemed good at feinting and dodging punches, which isn’t something you practice in judo.
Yea that wasn’t meant to downplay the skill required to hang. But relatively speaking, defending with a goal to clinch up takes a ton less effort and risk than pursuing an offensive striking game.
Looking from the other direction, it is incredibly difficult to actually knock someone out who is only defending and waiting to get close to you.
Things literally turned around at the halfway mark where the boxer attempted to throw the judoka and he somehow ends up on top of him lol.
*Judoka.
How is this a shitpost?
That extra knee to the head after the tap out made me laugh; was not expecting that.
It made me angry. Its poor sportsmanship to do a strike after a tap out.
Debatable but it really looks like he does it accidentally while scrambling off his opponent.
Looked accidental
Good catch. It looks like his foot gets caught by the ref so he ends up slipping.
Just as planned jk jk lol
Yeah any of these fighting styles without a “fighting on the floor” component just lose once the other guy brings them on the floor.
That was wacky
I don’t think the Thai boxer is very good at his art. Looks like a street brawler to me.