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Written by Jamie Hughes
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Friday, 22 January 2010 19:54 |
 Japanese MMA was once the center of all things great, wonderful, and bizarre about modern mixed martial arts, but recently, it seems that the magic, and to a degree the fan support, has somewhat faded. Gone are the days of attendances breaching 70,000 and millions watching at home in anticipation of the main event of a stacked PRIDE FC card. Don't get me wrong, I am not for one minute insinuating that Eastern MMA is no longer any good, but one cannot but help noticing that the two main promotions, World Victory Road and DREAM, are struggling to captivate audiences and fans as much as PRIDE used to. Perhaps this is down to Japanese fans having more of an interest in K-1 at the moment, as recent viewing trends have indicated. However, in my honest opinion, I feel this disconnect exists between Japanese fans and the sport due to the fact that there isn’t a single, unified MMA body, which one promotion would cover. The talent is divided and, consequently, so is the attention of fans. Simply put, the Japanese MMA scene needs uniformity and cohesion, an antagonistic stance between Sengoku and DREAM prevents this from occurring.
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Read more... [Food for Thought: How to Bring Stability Back to the Japanese MMA Scene]
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Written by Brad Taschuk
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Friday, 22 January 2010 07:48 |
 Missed you last week bodegees since the site had some amazing developments going on with the unveiling of our Hall of Fame (be sure to check that out), but we'll make up for it today. Since there hasn't been a whole lot of awe-inspiring MMA going on since the New Year began, that means there's very little in the way of interesting fights or fighters for me to preview. So instead, I looked to our forums for inspiration for this week's bodega, and it was not difficult to find. You're all probably familiar with my penchant for loving both lighter weights and older fights, and there was a thread dedicated to one of the great early Featherweights in the sport, Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira. Naturally, I zeroed in on this thread, and today's bodega will show off one of Pequeno's greatest fights.
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Read more... [Brad's Friday Fight Bodega - Pequeno vs Asahi 2]
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Written by Brad Taschuk
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Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:02 |
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Despite being such a young sport, Mixed Martial Arts already carries with it a vast amount of history and its development and fusion into mainstream sports culture has occurred as quickly as any sport in history. Less than 15 years ago, MMA promoters were being chased out of towns in scenes reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials, while today the sport receives coverage from every major sports media outlet. That progression is astonishing, and we at FightLockdown feel there is one major element missing from the world of MMA: a true Hall of Fame.
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Read more... [FightLockdown.com's MMA Hall of Fame]
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Written by Brad Taschuk
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Thursday, 14 January 2010 10:29 |
 The longer one watches MMA the more one notices changes in the sport, which is nothing new, as that much is obvious in any sport. However, when looking at a sport like Mixed Martial Arts -- which for all intents and purposes is still a fledgling sport -- the change becomes that much more apparent, and much more far reaching in terms of how competition plays out. One of the old axioms of MMA, going all the way back to the very beginnings of the UFC, is that "The Octagon" (or any cage for that matter) was a fighting confine that favoured the grappler. In the early days of the sport, this couldn't have been more true, yet that may have been due to the sizeable advantages Jiu-Jitsu artists and wrestlers held over their competition in their specific disciplines, and less about the cage itself.
In recent times, there seems to have been a shifting dynamic in MMA, where now the cage seems to promote stand-up battles (or amateur level kickboxing matches, some might argue), while the ring -- which was always a haven for strikers -- now appears more grappler-friendly. Let's explore why this fundamental shift in MMA has taken place.
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Read more... [A Shifting Dynamic In MMA]
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Written by Jack Barrington
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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 17:27 |
 This piece serves our readers as an introduction to FightLockdown’s latest series of articles, as each month our very own Jack Barrington will be bringing you an account of one bona fide boxing legend and their contributions inside of the square circle. Jack will recount the high and low points of their careers, their best fights, and most memorable moments. Whether you’re a new or old fan to the sport of boxing, these articles will take you on a journey focusing on the preeminent stars that spurred the greatest events in the sport’s rich history.
It will come of no surprise to anyone even vaguely familiar with my love of boxing, that Roberto Durán is the center-piece of this series’ inception. It is safe to say, without a doubt, that Durán is my favourite fighter of all time, across all combat sports, and it is even safer to say that my knowledge of both his life and career, borders slightly on obsession. That matters very little here, however, as anyone from his most ardent fans to his most scathing critics will concur that “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”) is most definitely a bona fide boxing legend, having earned every drop of the adulation I am set to decant upon him for your entertainment.
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Read more... [Barrington's Bona Fide Boxing Legends #1: Roberto Durán]
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Written by Brad Taschuk
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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 21:41 |
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Every once in a while, things align perfectly in combat sports for a moment that will be remembered through the ages. Usually it goes something like this: Two men meet in the middle of a ring or cage with the sternest of faces. Neither of them wants to show any weakness, or give an inch to his opponent. Grown men everywhere feel their hair stand on end and their testicles retreat inside their body at this sight. The fighters have a seemingly mutual respect for each other, for only they know what they are about to put the man whose eyes they are staring into through. This is all before the fight actually begins.
In Godzilla movies, cities are always leveled in the wake of two monsters doing battle. Consider this the real-world equivalent. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...
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Read more... [FLD's Sloppy Slugfest Series #6]
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