Comments on: Combat Sports Insider: The Cage vs. The Ring http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/ Your Destination for Insider MMA News and Opinion Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:02:57 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Patrickk http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-91870 Patrickk Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:31:29 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-91870 Great article! My opinion is that the ring is good because of the live view, and because there is minimal interference with the dynamics of the fight. The cage is good because there is virtually no stopping until each bell. The thing about the cage that I really don't like is when a person goes for a takedown, it ends up turning into dirty boxing pretty much all of the time. There is no pure wrestling, and that to me is a bad thing. In a street fight, if someone goes for a takedown, you really aren't going to get in the position of dirty boxing, you'll have to use pure grappling to battle for position. I've seen plenty of times where one person goes in for a sweet double leg, drives through the opponent, and then he gets stuck on the cage and the other guy ends up with superior position. It takes away from the dynamics of a true street fight. Whereas the ring if they get by the ropes during a takedown, or inside the clinch, they get started back in the middle of the ring in the same position. This keeps as many of the dynamics as possible, but it can get pretty annoying if the match keeps going on the ropes. Which it turn causes the events to linger on longer than they should. From a marketing standpoint is the cage, from a spectator standpoint is the ring. From a time management standpoint is the cage, and for pure fighting dynamics is the ring. It all depends on how you want your organization to be perceived. I honestly with they would put a ton of martial arts mats together, and use the whole main floor for fighting room, so they could allow the most pure dynamics of fighting be portrayed. That to me would prove the ultimate fighter. Wrestling gets overthrown because of the cage in the UFC, especially when you have a shot that drives through people, it doesn't leave you any room to do so. And that will cause many different outcomes in these past years of fighting. Great article!

My opinion is that the ring is good because of the live view, and because there is minimal interference with the dynamics of the fight. The cage is good because there is virtually no stopping until each bell.

The thing about the cage that I really don’t like is when a person goes for a takedown, it ends up turning into dirty boxing pretty much all of the time.

There is no pure wrestling, and that to me is a bad thing. In a street fight, if someone goes for a takedown, you really aren’t going to get in the position of dirty boxing, you’ll have to use pure grappling to battle for position.

I’ve seen plenty of times where one person goes in for a sweet double leg, drives through the opponent, and then he gets stuck on the cage and the other guy ends up with superior position. It takes away from the dynamics of a true street fight.

Whereas the ring if they get by the ropes during a takedown, or inside the clinch, they get started back in the middle of the ring in the same position. This keeps as many of the dynamics as possible, but it can get pretty annoying if the match keeps going on the ropes. Which it turn causes the events to linger on longer than they should.

From a marketing standpoint is the cage, from a spectator standpoint is the ring. From a time management standpoint is the cage, and for pure fighting dynamics is the ring.

It all depends on how you want your organization to be perceived.

I honestly with they would put a ton of martial arts mats together, and use the whole main floor for fighting room, so they could allow the most pure dynamics of fighting be portrayed. That to me would prove the ultimate fighter. Wrestling gets overthrown because of the cage in the UFC, especially when you have a shot that drives through people, it doesn’t leave you any room to do so. And that will cause many different outcomes in these past years of fighting.

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]]> By: MMA-LOGIC http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71810 MMA-LOGIC Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:49:50 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71810 I have a few problems with this. So allow me to retort. 1) "For one, it makes for a better fight." Says you! Pride Affliction and other MMA orgs have just as exciting if not more exciting fights in rings. I have watched 99% of all major MMA main cards and to say that the cage makes for a better fight is...wrong. 2) "Unless a promotion is using a big ring, there often isn’t enough of a surface for a wrestler or jiu-jitsu specialist to implement the full range of their game." MMA is mixed martial arts not grappling, you could use this argument in reverse to say rings make it more even for strikers. Striking is just as big a part of MMA as grappling my friend if not bigger. How many grappling based arts can you name and how many striking based arts can you name? Guys who depend on the ground game heavily such as Nog, Coleman, and Saku did very well in a ring. And if people are using the ring to avoid takedowns twice as many are using the cage to takedown. Couture says it is 80% easier in a cage to perform a takedown. 4) "fights are more fluid in a cage" Yeah when a wrestler uses the cage to first takedown an opponent and them pin him to it whilst giving him little slaps for five rds "fluid" is the first thing that comes to mind, I mean that wrestler just avoided a fight rather than participating in one. The pride rules of readjusting the fighters in the middle of the ring was to make the fight more fluid rather than have a ring or a cage INTERFERE with the actual fight. Come on Caplan you must admit the cage has far more influence on a fight than the ring did in Pride. I can't really remember many fighters USING the ring to stop too many takedowns like you imply. P.S. K1, Rings, Pride, Dream, Sengoku, WVR, Pancrase, Shooto, M1 Global, Affliction and me disagree with you Caplan. I have a few problems with this. So allow me to retort.

1) “For one, it makes for a better fight.” Says you! Pride Affliction and other MMA orgs have just as exciting if not more exciting fights in rings. I have watched 99% of all major MMA main cards and to say that the cage makes for a better fight is…wrong.

2) “Unless a promotion is using a big ring, there often isn’t enough of a surface for a wrestler or jiu-jitsu specialist to implement the full range of their game.” MMA is mixed martial arts not grappling, you could use this argument in reverse to say rings make it more even for strikers. Striking is just as big a part of MMA as grappling my friend if not bigger. How many grappling based arts can you name and how many striking based arts can you name? Guys who depend on the ground game heavily such as Nog, Coleman, and Saku did very well in a ring. And if people are using the ring to avoid takedowns twice as many are using the cage to takedown. Couture says it is 80% easier in a cage to perform a takedown.

4) “fights are more fluid in a cage” Yeah when a wrestler uses the cage to first takedown an opponent and them pin him to it whilst giving him little slaps for five rds “fluid” is the first thing that comes to mind, I mean that wrestler just avoided a fight rather than participating in one.
The pride rules of readjusting the fighters in the middle of the ring was to make the fight more fluid rather than have a ring or a cage INTERFERE with the actual fight. Come on Caplan you must admit the cage has far more influence on a fight than the ring did in Pride. I can’t really remember many fighters USING the ring to stop too many takedowns like you imply.

P.S. K1, Rings, Pride, Dream, Sengoku, WVR, Pancrase, Shooto, M1 Global, Affliction and me disagree with you Caplan.

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]]> By: meatloaf http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71779 meatloaf Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:08:18 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71779 Because of all the wresting, take downs, and grappling MMA was made for a cage. Too often in a ring fighters get caught up in the ropes or even were fall through and the action has to be stop and restarted in the ring with a cage there is a continuous flow. Except of course in the Yamma! Because of all the wresting, take downs, and grappling MMA was made for a cage.

Too often in a ring fighters get caught up in the ropes or even were fall through and the action has to be stop and restarted in the ring with a cage there is a continuous flow. Except of course in the Yamma!

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]]> By: hindsightufuk http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71757 hindsightufuk Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:28:59 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71757 meant more of a sport in the ring meant more of a sport in the ring

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]]> By: hindsightufuk http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71756 hindsightufuk Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:28:28 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71756 i always loved the ring, thats why i love dream, senguko, affliction etc. i just think the cage is still a novelty, and also a poor way for mma to become a fully fledged sport, legal across the globe. to some it will always be cage fighting, not mma. and that sucks. i dont have anything against the cage, and i'll always watch mma in a cage. just prefer the ring. just seems like more of a sport in the cage. and there is nothing wrong with having all combat sports in the same arena. boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, mma. they arent the same, and only people who dont give a shit about them may possibly think they are. i always loved the ring, thats why i love dream, senguko, affliction etc.
i just think the cage is still a novelty, and also a poor way for mma to become a fully fledged sport, legal across the globe. to some it will always be cage fighting, not mma. and that sucks.
i dont have anything against the cage, and i’ll always watch mma in a cage. just prefer the ring. just seems like more of a sport in the cage.
and there is nothing wrong with having all combat sports in the same arena. boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, mma. they arent the same, and only people who dont give a shit about them may possibly think they are.

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]]> By: edub http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71734 edub Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:30:03 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71734 Another great article sam. I have the sampe pov with ring in that it is much better for a live mma audience without a big tv scrren at the event. However I think a cage is a must. UltimoShogun said that it is too big of an advantage for wrestlers, and while i agree mostly I think the cage is jkust more fluid. The fact that u can be stacked up against the fence coinsides with the ability to force urself up from sitting on the cage. You stay classy Sam Caplan. Another great article sam.

I have the sampe pov with ring in that it is much better for a live mma audience without a big tv scrren at the event.

However I think a cage is a must. UltimoShogun said that it is too big of an advantage for wrestlers, and while i agree mostly I think the cage is jkust more fluid. The fact that u can be stacked up against the fence coinsides with the ability to force urself up from sitting on the cage.

You stay classy Sam Caplan.

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]]> By: munche http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71726 munche Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:54:59 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71726 When I watched Affliction's card and saw 2 different fights have fighters fall through the ropes out of the ring doing a takedown, that's when I decided that the cage was the way to go. Resetting the fight in the middle of the ring and falling out while shooting a takedown are not good things. I do agree with the point of the article though, in that it is hard to see through the cage when you're at the event live. Unfortunately it makes for much better fights When I watched Affliction’s card and saw 2 different fights have fighters fall through the ropes out of the ring doing a takedown, that’s when I decided that the cage was the way to go.

Resetting the fight in the middle of the ring and falling out while shooting a takedown are not good things.

I do agree with the point of the article though, in that it is hard to see through the cage when you’re at the event live. Unfortunately it makes for much better fights

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]]> By: ultimoshogun http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/19/combat-sports-insider-the-cage-vs-the-ring/comment-page-1/#comment-71684 ultimoshogun Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:49:19 +0000 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=14914#comment-71684 I think the soul purpose of the cage is to give off that aura of danger like the steel cage in pro wrestling or the thunderdome in the Mad Max movie. Some may say the cage is used so that MMA doesn't get confused with boxing or pro wrestling, but I don't buy that excuse. All someone has to do is look at what kinda gloves they're wearing to know if its boxing, kickboxing, or MMA. The cage is too much of an advantage for wrestlers also. I've seen alot of fighters shoot in from the center of the cage, drive their opponent into the fence and then take them down once they had them trapped against the fence. Thats one of the many reasons I chose to watch PRIDE rather than UFC. The ring is a more level playing field. I think the soul purpose of the cage is to give off that aura of danger like the steel cage in pro wrestling or the thunderdome in the Mad Max movie. Some may say the cage is used so that MMA doesn’t get confused with boxing or pro wrestling, but I don’t buy that excuse. All someone has to do is look at what kinda gloves they’re wearing to know if its boxing, kickboxing, or MMA. The cage is too much of an advantage for wrestlers also. I’ve seen alot of fighters shoot in from the center of the cage, drive their opponent into the fence and then take them down once they had them trapped against the fence. Thats one of the many reasons I chose to watch PRIDE rather than UFC. The ring is a more level playing field.

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