Reflection

Fighters' trash talk before fights and ambitious comments afterwards are often easy subjects for media when creating articles. I don't think that's wrong, and I don't want MMA to become a sport where the loser gets more attention.

Most fighters have losses on their records and there is nothing wrong with fighters having no words when they lose. They don't plan to lose, but I want to bring some attention to fighters who talk about and analyze their losses.

Losing gives a sense of reflection to fighters and I feel that some fighters reflect with dignity rather than with ambition.

I have heard losers talk about how they will erase their faults and/or evolve their strongpoints. These fighters' trial-and-error approach is a lot like MMA itself and its evolution, but this does not get the attention that it deserves.


MMA is about violence, but I think that people underrate intelligence and the importance of reflection in MMA. I must point out that there are fighters who have a sense of reflection when winning, and not just after defeats.

In Japan, fans and media refer to some fighters as philosophers. That does not mean that the fighter is similar to a true philosopher, but it does mean that opponents must watch out for his or her ability to reflect and adapt.

Some fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Lyoto Machida have fanatic supporters, but that does not mean that fans like them because they are mysterious. Fans see a sense of intelligence and reflection with dignity.


When I form interview questions, there is always one common theme despite the fact that the questions are different. I ask fighters whether their training and game plans for fights actually work out in the fights themselves.

With that question, I think that fighters generally show personality when answering, and that provides an interesting insight into their intelligence and reflection.

Big thanks to Robert Sargent  (MMA Rising) for English editing.

How good is Fedor really? Judge from a professional view.

Hiromu Yoshitaka is unknown outside of Japan, but he's a former champ of Shootboxing (kickboxing with throws and standing submissions). He evaluates many MMA fights in magazines. I trust his views and they've affected me a lot. My views on striking owe a lot to him, though I also have my own views.

When I watched Diego Sanchez fight Joe Stevenson, I told Jordan Breen that Diego used his footwork better than Joe. Afterward, Yoshitaka wrote about the fight on his blog and said basically the same thing that I had said to Breen.

What I mean is that I got a lot from Yoshitaka, but I still form my own opinions when watching fights.

Let me talk about Fedor vs. Arlovski. What was the most important thing in that fight? Freddie Roach coaching Arlovski and giving basic strategy. Like Roach's other boxers, Arlovski was using a basic 1-2 combo on Fedor. Arlovski is faster than Fedor, so Fedor backpedaled, and a fighter usually loses stability when stepping backward.

Why do elite K-1 fighters like Badr Hari get KO'd by MMA fighters? Because MMA fighters push them. When you step backward, you should be using your arm to balance. Because of this, almost every fighter lowers their guard.

Because he doesn't use equipment to build muscles, Fedor has a very soft body. He can weave to avoid punches and he doesn't lose his stability. You can see how awesome Fedor's balance is when he avoids Arlovski's takedowns.

Arlovski did succeed in putting Fedor near the corner. Then Arlovski tried the jumping knee, which Fedor countered beautifully. What was so good about the punch? His angle.

Fedor's counter to the flying knee didn't come from boxing. Fedor has a soft shoulder because of his judo background, and that's where the counter came from. It's hard to predict that move, so you can't blame Arlovski for trying the knee.

So, I know it's taboo, but what if Arlovski didn't try the flying knee and just kept pouring on the straight 1-2 combos? My thought is that Fedor would have showed just how deep his game was in this fight. People talk about how game Big Nog is, but Fedor may be even more of a gamer, and he sure can show how deep his skill runs when he's being beat.

But basically, Arlovski is a fast guy who kept Fedor on the move. We should thank him for doing the best he could.

In the future, I hope that even better competitors will summon Fedor's deep abilities.

Big thanks to Chris Nelson (from Bloody Elbow) for English and editing.