Early Stoppages in MMA -- Has "Intelligent Defense" Gone Too Far?

[SinCitysmallGUY]

While Jordan Breen won't come out and condemn the very quick stoppages of the Paulo Thiago/Josh Koscheck and Terry Etim/Brian Cobb bouts, he might as well since he attacks the underlying principle behind the stoppages. Randy Couture's principle of "intelligent defense" which holds that as long as a fighter is making conscious efforts to defend himself the fight should continue. Breen said this principle has led to "the margin between winning and losing in MMA has become hideously deformed":

"Intelligent defense" has spread virally over the MMA landscape in the last four years or so. Unfortunately, like all viruses, it has mutated. Somewhere along the way, "intelligent defense" became disfigured. No longer does it describe a fighter acting in a way to minimize damage and actively compete in prizefight. Now it’s a mandate that a fighter never wobble, fall or roll precariously amidst attack. Falling inelegantly to the canvas and making googly eyes after getting clipped are now legitimate white flags and concessions of defeat. Don't spit venom toward the referees: They're stricken with this mutant strain of intelligent defense syndrome, and a cure is critical.

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Glibness aside, the ultimate goal of a prizefight is to show who the "better" fighter is. While I don't necessarily think any of UFC 95's bouts would have swung the other way given more latitude, the fact that there is debate over the stoppages means that the results being generated aren't nearly as conclusive as a "fight" or a "sport" ought to be. Consigning referees to Room 101 and returning to the Roman gladiator days would be a little over the top, so there needs to be some kind of comfortable compromise.
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Furthermore, saying, "Let a dazed fighter take two or three more punches to make sure he's out," sounds idiotic and slightly sadistic to boot. However, no one is asking for bouts to resemble Vovchanchyn-Inoue; people want clarity, not carnage. It may sound ridiculous, but a couple of perfunctory hammerfists aren't about to jeopardize any fighter’s health.

This idea isn't from some unattainable officiating utopia. You don't have to look further than UFC 95 to see a picture-perfect paragon of what I'm preaching. Marc Goddard's stoppage of the Evan Dunham-Per Eklund bout was precisely what I'm advocating: a fighter is badly dropped, lands awkwardly but is afforded the opportunity to show he can defend himself, and when subsequent strikes show he cannot, the bout is stopped. A referee need not stand by idly, waiting for the second coming of Sakuraba-Smirnovas, but to be overly officious with so much riding on the line for fighters is unconstructive and unconscionable.

I think Breen is on the right track here. The last thing we want as MMA fans is for the referees to stop focusing on fighter safety, but we also want definitive conclusions to the fights, not quick and unsatisfying stoppages following flash KO's.

A fighter might briefly lose consciousness but be able to regroup in a split-second. There's too much on the line to stop fights every time a fighter is stunned by a blow.

Photo via mmaweekly.com

UPDATE: Josh Gross piles on:

Yes, Koscheck was caught. He was hurt. If this were boxing, he would have received a 10 count. That's all indisputable. However, MMA isn't boxing. Fighters are not defenseless from their back. I've seen that scenario too many times to count, and it's not entirely shocking for the man on the bottom to regain his wits, recover and pull out a win.

This is professional fighting. A referee is in place to protect the health and safety of the sport's athletes, but officials also need to realize that veteran's like Koscheck (12-4) deserve a chance to survive. Rebounding from adversity is perhaps the most exciting aspect of a combat sport that lives and breathes on flashy knockdowns and dynamic exchanges.

It's a tough call. One I've never had to make, nor would want to. Still, hard-nosed veterans like Koscheck should be given the benefit of the doubt.

[gracie bjj]

my mma teacher for 7 years was big dan mirigliotti,the ufc referee.he had his school in elizabeth, new jersey.we had a fight team called bama fight team,it stood for bayway academy of martial arts.we had fights every 2 months or so,i remember matt and nicky serra back in 95 when they where just starting to get into the mma fighting,you could see right away that matt had a great future ahead,nicky looked tough also.matts stand up wasnt the greatest but once he grabbed the guy you knew it was just a matter of time before he subbed the dude.matt was a renzo purple or brown back then,i cant remember 100% cause it was awhile ago.

anyway,big dan ran the show and he also reffereed the fights,he always told me,my main goal is to protect the fighter before anything else,he said alot of the uneducated mma crowd just wants to see someone get mauled and beat down when thier unconscious,alot of the uneducated mma crowd wants to see blood and people getting carried out on stretchers hurt really bad.dan said fukk them,im protectecting the fighters and if those fukkers dont like it,who cares.dan ran a great school,we had afew champions also,beltholders from ring of combat,reality fighting ect.he taught us about respecting our opponant as well as people in general,alot of people dont know that dan is a great guy,a dedicated family man,as well as a hard working man.

he used to work 10 hour days in the water company,digging and fixing water main breaks under the street,then come and teach class from 6pm till 10,then ride home for 1hr.that takes dedication and a love for what your doing.most of the time he just broke even when he payed the rent on our warehouse where we trained.it was awesome,we had a pro size boxing ring,brian cimmins,who runs the grapplers quest,kept all his mats at our school so we had tons of space and mats to train,alot of banana thai bags,heavy bags,speed bags ect.we had everything a complete gym needed.

more importantly,we had great members,we had afew purple belts from renzos come down twice aweek,dan and renzo are good buddys.also we had some nasty thai instructors as well as 2 pro boxers who taught twice aweek also.dan was the head instructor and he is a very tough hombre,dan has a purple belt from renzo,a brown belt in judo,hes a certified thai instructor and had afew pro boxing matches.i just thought id share that,i know hes made some not so agreeable calls,no matter what someones gonna be pissed at you at the end of the night for something or other when your a ref or judge,dans always been good to everyone hes met and if you ever meet him youll agree im sure

[zimanu]

I agree totally, Cobb was in trouble, nothing more...

In another forum, a guy said:
"Cobb wasn't defending himself at all until the ref stopped it."

And I replied:
Can't a guy land two punches without the judge giving him victory?

Where this really bugs me is that it doesn't respect the time and effort these guys put in... he could have taken a couple more shots... and maybe prooved himself... if the argument is that 99,9% of the time, in such a situation, the guy will loose, I can follow the logic, but if it's only to protect the UFC's asses against bad publicity from injuries and eventually death, then it's not respecting the fact that fighters can come back either...

[SinCitysmallGUY]

I agree totally, Cobb was in trouble, nothing more...

In another forum, a guy said:
"Cobb wasn't defending himself at all until the ref stopped it."

And I replied:
Can't a guy land two punches without the judge giving him victory?

Where this really bugs me is that it doesn't respect the time and effort these guys put in... he could have taken a couple more shots... and maybe prooved himself... if the argument is that 99,9% of the time, in such a situation, the guy will loose, I can follow the logic, but if it's only to protect the UFC's asses against bad publicity from injuries and eventually death, then it's not respecting the fact that fighters can come back either...

Yes but on the same hand Fighters share one thing in common with Pitbulls that fight. That one thing is Gameness. Every fighter has game, meaning that most unless rendered 100% out would say at that moment in the heat of the battle that they can keep going. However as mentioned in the other article head trauma is not something that takes much to get. When your being hit by someone trained with 4 oz gloves it is even easier.

I would much rather see a fight be called early and be able to be back in the ring 2 months later then to have a serious concusion and be out by the state athletic comission for 180 days, Plus when that happens they are usually put on no contact training for a long time which means the fighter wont be back for even longer cause all they can do is lift and hit the treadmill.

Refs to me are like the big brother in the ring. I will say that I don't always agree with the call, but it's like reffin anything. The spectators don't always see what the man in the cage sees. i turst there judgement a lot more then I used to, due to the fact that when your fighting you don't want to stop and you always think that you can do more.

[Lion666]

more important to stop the fight early on the side of caution so the fighter can fight again sooner.... coupla months, rather than later.... 6 months + or worse never fight again at all.....
protect yourself at all times.

[zimanu]

more important to stop the fight early on the side of caution so the fighter can fight again sooner.... coupla months, rather than later.... 6 months + or worse never fight again at all.....
protect yourself at all times.

they stop fights even when guys are protecting themselves

early stoppages simply denies the fact that guys can come back

[WeightPSHR]

more important to stop the fight early on the side of caution so the fighter can fight again sooner.... coupla months, rather than later.... 6 months + or worse never fight again at all.....
protect yourself at all times.

Could not agree more...."protect yourself at all times". If you get dropped or you are in a bad position, not defending or fighting back you risk the fight being stopped.

Like Kos fight....very likely he was ok....but it also was "possible" that he was NOT ok. Therefore the ref. stepped in.

Safety First if you want this sport to grow.

[zimanu]

Safety First if you want this sport to grow.

I don't care about it growing or not, but I care about the amount of rules piling up! It's already a really unrealistic martial art with all the the places you can't strike; if they aim too much at keeping them without injuries, I'll just watch sambo, bjj, etc., competitions 'cause mma is getting boring!