All MMA

The rubber guard is employed by the fighter on their back with someone in their guard. They pull their leg up the other fighter back, and bring it up underneath the other fighters chin.

I don’t understand why more fighters do not utilize the rubber guard. It has to be one of the most under used guards in MMA right now. It is also one of the most effective.

Using the rubber guard can give fighters a great way to end a fight with either a gogoplata or omoplata. This guard variant does require more flexibility, but with any style of martial arts, flexibility is very important. Eddie Bravo has shown how effective the rubber guard can be, and there have been fighters who have had success with it, but as more fighters begin to effectively utilize it, I believe it will become regularly used by all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.

I look forward to more fighters becoming active on their back. Just laying there while trying to control their opponents hands while looking for an arm bar or triangle just don’t seem to be the most effective defense.

At its infancy, MMA was a sport to show which form of martial arts reigned supreme. Not today, fighters now must train in all styles of martial arts to be effective. Most camps now focus on Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Tai, BJJ, and Judo. To be successful in today’s sport, one must utilize all these skills and make sure they can survive and bring the fight to where they want it.

I believe there is no other sport out there right now, that takes the level of training and commitment that MMA does. There have been some exceptions to this, but to continue to be viable in the sport you must continue to evolve and keep your training on the edge.

Today the sport is still budding and growing, but I hope it continues to grow along with the athletes, and we can only hope that opportunities for fighters will continue to grow as well.

The UFC announced that it made over 4 million dollars for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for Traumatic Brain Injury. I am a veteran myself, and I give a big thanks to the UFC for the work they did trying to help our wounded soldiers. 

 Traumatic brain injury is still being investigated, and there is no cure yet, but thanks to the Intrepid Center, many soldiers will get help they need that the VA is just not giving. 

The UFC put together a great card for the event. Some of the memorable fights included, a knock out by Koscheck at 2:15 of the first round and a devastating knock out by Mike Swick at 0:33 of the first round.

What a great finale it was. Congrats to Efrain Escudero and Ryan Bader. I believe both of these fighters have a great career ahead of them in the UFC.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell who, from the show, will actually keep up with the great competition in the UFC and who will fall to the way side, but After watching their finale perfomances, I believe both will be around for a while. Both fighters are still relatively young career wise, and have plenty of time to grow and learn.

Ryan Bader came out with a strong performance. He showed that his skills go way beyond just being a wrestler with the great knock out coming at 2:18 minutes of the first round.

The same can be said for Efrain Escudero. He proved that he can stand up and bang, but also is able to utilize his wrestling to put the fight where he wants it, and he is able to keep it there. Being the under dog coming into this fight, I believe Efrain proved he belonged in the UFC, and if he continues to grow as a fighter, he will be a contender in the future.