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OhioMike
OhioMike's picture
An Interesting observation about MMA and multiple opponents

So, I am not sure how I feel about this but apparently it has become a thing to do 3 on 3 MMA fights in some countries. 

 

I am not too crazy to see us drift closer to Roman style entertainments and away from one on one tests of skill, but one thing that stuck me while watching this fight was that the techniques being used changed completely. Minimual use of the choke hold type BJJ and a lot more clinches and stiking style fighting, it looks a lot more like kata based sparring and practical traditional martial arts than a MMA fight normally does.

Just an interesting obervation I thought the group might appreciate.

Thanks,

Mike 

Heath White
Heath White's picture

I kind of hope this doesn't catch on, but if it does, I predict a continued evolution of tactics.  Right now they are going out and basically having three 1-on-1 contests.  The logical thing to do, it seems to me, is to isolate one member of the opposing team immediately, take him out 3-on-1, and then turn attention to the remaining two.  

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

This kind of thing has been around for a while. We discussed it briefly in a thread in 2014:

https://www.iainabernethy.co.uk/content/team-mma-anyone

I don’t think it is ever going to have mainstream appeal because it is too difficult for the audience to keep track of all the action and therefore it loses the drama.

Group drills are very important, so we learn to protect others while facing multiple enemies. They can be fun to do too. It’s not really a workable spectator sport though. Maybe people will like it for a bit of novelty now and again, but I can’t see it standing alongside one-on-one traditional combat sports.

All the best,

Iain

PS You can take it out of the cage in to a soft play area too for even more chaos. Can't help but feel this will lead to deaths and severe injury:

Anf
Anf's picture

I think it's great. Ive seen a few matches of this format.

I think there's nothing wrong with combat sport / adult play fighting. Lots of people enjoy watching it, some enjoy participating. All fine. Each to their own. But one thing that frustrates me is when people can't tell the difference between sport and fighting, and then insist that anyone training in martial art other than MMA is wasting their time. The 3 on 3 format, which is nothing new (anyone remember old school British wrestling on TV? Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks et al?), can quickly become 2 on 1 or 3 on 2, in which case the standard 1 on 1 principles rapidly fail apart. I think that is useful for people to see before passing judgement on other styles.

OhioMike
OhioMike's picture

I have no issue with combat sport, but this seems a step towards blood sport,  I also do not see it taking a large part of the combat sport audience other than as an oddity. 

To me it is evidence that while grappling is often the king of 1 on 1 fights, even the possibility of multiple opponents create a completely different situation. The fight ends far quicker than a normal match and tunnel vision and allowing yourself to lose you mobility become very costly mistakes. I will sugget it to those people that insist that MMA is "king" of fighting styles.