HARDCORE JEET KUNE DO DISCUSSION FORUMA Pro-Wing Chun/Jun Fan/Original Jeet Kune Do Forum (BY INVITATION ONLY): Hey I think Bruce would be proud of this article.

People dont realize the magnitude of the Pride rules system being scraped really is.

We now have come so far from original MMA/Vale Tudo its not even the same sport.

Once upon a time there was "true" Vale Tudo. In America it was called he UFC and the fighters were weak but in Brazil the WVC/IVC was a thing to behold. As close to real combat as possible with monsters like Igor Vovchanchin(who still fights), Pedro Rizzo, Mark Kerr, Tom Erickson and others.

There was first no time limit then 15 min rounds

Then rules started being put into place. First gloves, then headbutts, groin shots, soccer kicks, knees and stomps were removed here in the states.

In 1997 Pride emerged and passed by the UFC as the premier MMA event in the world. 15 min rounds, knees and kicks on the ground allowed for a wider variety of styles and a more heterogenous mix of fighters and fighting style.

Then Pride cut back to 10 min rounds, then the 10-5-5 system which hindered fighting strategy and hurt the true grapplers.

The UFC went all the way to 5 min rounds/almost boxing type rounds and combined with no kicks or knees seriously hurt BJJ and Kickboxers and paving the way for the official UFC STYLE: American Box/Wrestling.

Soon any top BJJ or Kickboxer types were disapearing from the UFC and pride gobbled up all the international talent.

The UFC continued on this homogenized group of fighter who all essentially fight the same and look the same and are covered by the same sponsor logos.

Boxwrestling continues to be the official style of the UFC with a few exceptions and for the most part we are left with 2 variants of the "UFC STYLE" : The Matt Hughes/Randy Couture type who are better wrestlers than boxers and use boxing to set up their wrestling and the Chuck Lidell/Tim Sylvia type who use their wrestling to set up their boxing.

Pride on the other hand was home to intriguing drama based around a clash of styles due to more freedom in the ring such as the BTT/ Chute Boxe rivalry which has produced some great matchups over the years.

Super grapplers like Sakuraba wowed audiences with grappling technique and strategy that would be seriously hindered under the 5min rounds UFC style.

Chute Boxe fighters like Shogun unleashed all-out ferocity with a number of techniques to combat the superior wreslting skills of his opponents from soccer kicks to knees to stomps that will be forever lost with these watered down UFC rules.

Even Crocop loses important anti-wrestling weapons in the UFC by not being able to knees or kick a guy like Couture and make him pay for failed takedowns.

Truth be told the sport has lost something very valuble: Diversity.

Now legions of tattoed amateur boxers and wrestlers will be filling up UFC/MMA events and it will fall into the trap of boxing or Kickboxing where everone fights basically the same and uses the same techniques.

In end I could care less about the whole Pride/UFC thing, what I care about is that I have been a fan of the sport from the begining and what got me into the sport was the vast number of different strategies and techniques one can use to win.

Right now this sport is just turning into half-assed boxing/kickboxing with takedowns.

Whats the point of that? I can watch better striking in K-1 or Pro Boxing.

Anyone who has been a fan of this sport for some time feels the same concern its only the TUF Noobs who think this is a good thing.

Hey I think Bruce would be proud of this article.

No Interest In Sport