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MMA UFC WMMA

UFC 219 Cyborg vs Holm #AndStill

The last event of the year UFC 219 was all about Cyborg and Holm – the two current giants of Women’s MMA. The endless debates and predictions of will she or won’t she. Finally, judgement day had arrived and both of these female fighters were keen to finish 2017 with a bang. The Americans clearly desired an upset by Holm, though none would admit that their choice was perhaps influenced by national pride. Anyone who had seen Cyborg fight, without the influence of any coloured tinted glass would certainly find it difficult to bet against her.

Main Card Female Fight I: Calvillo vs Esparza

Cynthia Calvillo and former Strawweight champion Carla Esparza gave an excellent performance to whet the appetite for women MMA fans. Calvillo came in aggressive and dominated Esparza for the better part of the first round. The dominance was reversed in favour of Esparza in the second and third round with several take downs attempts and a good range of attack strategies. The fight went into decision and Carla Esparza won by unanimous decision. Some reacted negatively to the decision, calling it a bad call by the judge. For me, a solid women’s fight is always a win for WMMA.

 

Main Event Cris Cyborg vs Holly Holm

And so the fight is finally here, after years of discussion and months of hype, I was practically salivating with excitement. The consensus I felt from social media, at least in the English speaking world, everyone wanted Holm to win but believe Cyborg was the stronger athlete.

While I was disappointed the fight had to go to decision, the fight was nail biting for me. Both women were simply excellent fighters. Holly Holm, confronted with a formidable opponent not only took Cyborg to the 5th round, she was the first person in over 9 years to push a fight with Cyborg to a decision.

Cyborg was calm, composed and showed no signs of fatigue in the entire match. As a strong and confident fighter, the overall favourite, she never let her guard down and never showed any signs of frustrations or annoyance for not being able to take Holm down with a knock out.

In the end, the fight created an enormous amount of excitement, chatter and debate for women MMA in the last weekend of a year that had been fruitful for women in combat sport. I am happy Cyborg won, not simply because she is an incredibly skilled athlete, but because she had risen above all critiques and mockery of her and defeated one hellavu fighter with such composure.

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Boxing Martial Arts Mental Health MMA

Death and Martial Arts

 

MMA Legend Randy Couture on Instagram

Death is concept that is never far from the mind of a martial artist. In the case of Robert Follis, it may have been a thought that sat for too long in his consciousness since he lost one of his brothers via suicide.

It is no news that many successful combat sport athletes came a difficult background. Death within the family, or the stark absence of loved ones that is a akin to a metaphoric version of death feeds into a deep dark void of anguish that is often inextinguishable. It is a common misconception that athletes sought violence as a remedy to relieve their need to punch out at the world. In fact, there is a kind of peace in devoting body and mind to an heightened focus that can only be achieved when in intense combat.

Unfortunately, the biggest battle of all lies not within the competitive arena, but within the confines of one’s skull. The most difficult every fighter faces is usually himself. It is sadly through suicide when that war is finally lost.

The sudden death of Robert Follis, a young, healthy and successful MMA coach, well regarded within his community sent shock waves within industry. One of his most well know student Miesha Tate became a UFC Women’s Bantamweight title holder under his guidance – that is a testament to his outstanding work as a trainer. The Follis’ family have asked for privacy, and the entire MMA community, trainers, fighters, writers and viewers alike held their tongues dutifully. None had dared to discuss the D word and the S word.

Tragically, Robert Follis is not the first to stun the pugilistic world with such an abrupt departure. But one can hope the community can learn to be watchful of each other, to be open and accepting to those who are brave enough to discuss their inner demons, perhapshe will be the last.

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MMA UFC WMMA

Counting down to UFC 219

UFC 219

There are countless reasons why I am bursting with anticipation for UFC 219. It will occur mid-afternoon of 31st Dec 2017 here in Australia – last day of the year and potentially one of the most exciting day of the year for me.

Cyborg vs Holm

I’m not going to deny it – I’m personally more drawn to Cyborg. I am CYan, she is CYborg…Alright, that’s not the reason why. When I see her fight, I find her to be an incredibly focused woman, as though she was one of those few people who knew exactly what they wanted to do the moment they drew their first breath in this world. She shows no signs of fear, no apprehension, no interest in anything else except to destroy that unfortunate person sharing the cage with her.

Neither can I deny the accomplishments of Holly Holm, she had held titles in professional Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA. That’s akin to a ‘triple threat’ of contemporary prize fighting. Not to mention she defeated Ronda Rousey when so many other great women fighters failed.

I have pondered over this subject night and day, in the end, I believe I will be truly happy whoever wins, whether by submission or knock out, AS LONG AS IT IS NOT BY DECISION!

Image from UFC: Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm

Calvillo vs Esparza

Additionally I am also keen to watch yet another come back attempt by Carla Esparza. Since her loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk more than 2 1/2 years ago, her participation in the sport was sparse for almost 2 years, and her performance have been lacklustre. That is no surprise nonetheless. Losing a title can be devastating. It took her Ronda Rousey over a year before she attempted another UFC fight. Since Esparza’s loss in March 2015, she had not secure neither submission nor knock out wins. Her opponent, the still undefeated Cynthia Calvillo, on the other had had secured 3 out of 4 fights via submissions and TKO just this year.

 

#UFC #UFC219 #Criscyborg #cyborgnation #cyborgvsholm #hollyholm #holm #Carlaesparza #Esparza #Jedrzejcyk #CynthiaCalvillo #Calvillo #UFCStrawweight #UFCFeatherweight