Joe Chacon's Blog
MMA fighters carry themselves with such a great deal of pride that one would think most of them would jump at the chance to represent their country in the Olympics.
Think of the captivating scene as Jon Jones enters the cage with his USA shorts. Standing across from Jones with the flag of the Netherlands on his trunks is Gegard Mousasi.
Fans would see matchups they may not otherwise see, and the world would get a glimpse into the sport that many of us have fallen in love with over the last two decades.
Are you excited about MMA in the Olympics?
Well, don't get your hopes up because it will never work.
The most comparable sport to MMA currently in the Olympics is boxing. Even that is a reach.
Boxing works because the judges are able to give points for successful strikes. The fighter with the most points (unless it is decided by knockout) wins the fight.
In MMA there are too many variables that determine the outcome of a fight. Most of the action that takes place inside the cage can't be scored. This is one reason why we see so many bad decisions year-in and year-out.
It has been proven that MMA is a safer sport than boxing. That does not hold true in the Olympic format, however. Boxers wear headgear for Olympic bouts and most of the fights go the distance and are decided by points.
While headgear is worn in various MMA promotions throughout the country, it changes certain aspects of the ground game. So much so that most professional fighters would not want to wear it.
Will we ever see MMA in the Olympics?
At the end of each UFC fight, fighters are automatically suspended for 14 days due to precautionary reasons. It would be irresponsible for the Olympic Committee to expect an MMA fighter to take on more than one fight within a two-week span.
Given the pace of the Olympics and depending on how many MMA participants are involved, there would not be enough recovery time between fights to complete any sort of Olympic format.
The sport of MMA has developed dramatically over the last 10 years, but there isn't great competition in every part of the world. If MMA were to be an Olympic sport we would potentially see very one-sided matchups that may be dangerous for certain fighters.
Perhaps the biggest reason MMA in the Olympics will never happen is because the world's best MMA fighters are not going to detour from their professional careers to train for a series of fights that won't pay them anything.
It's not just the fights at the Olympic games. These fighters would also have to qualify for the Olympics through tournaments just like the other sports, which would take even more time away from their paying jobs.
The thought of MMA in the Olympics is exciting, but the execution of it so difficult that it will never come to fruition.
Joe Chacon is a Staff Writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
# 17
zardon @ Aug 9
Sorry, about that. According to Wikipedia Pankration was not at the Greek Olympics. Never mind.
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# 19
mmathaifighter @ Aug 10
Most of these guys wouldn't pass the Olympic stlye doping tests either. Most ****** fans would be shocked if they knew who use what and in what amounts. Pretty much every top MMA gym has one or two "trainers" whose sole responsibility it is to make sure the fighters stop their "supplement routine" in time for the testing.
During Dana Whites rant after Overeem got popped during his surprise test he said, "he shoulda f****ng known better". As in what? He should have known he might be tested because of the agreements he made for testing in the months after the Lesnar fight and to get off the stuff?
Almost every top fighter uses something that he "shouldn't". You can't fault the guys because by it's nature, MMA is a sport that, unless you're a freak of nature(Jon Jones) you cannot do naturally. Do you really see the IOC welcoming the guys that use TRT in to the Olympics and accepting their reasons as legitimate? Yeah right.
To paraphrase Roddy Piper, "I've been training in MMA since before training in MMA was cool"(started wrestling when I was 5, actually started jiu jitsu after I saw Mel Gibson choke out Gary Busey with the triangle choke in Lethal Weapon), so I've seen a lot, rolled with a lot of top guys from the IVC, early UFC, KoC, Pride, and current UFC guys and one this held true then and continues now...drug use is VERY prevalent and behind the scenes nobody wants it to go away.
Guys like Hendo, Randy, Hughes, and a lot of other well known guys wouldn't have lasted as long without PEDs, GH especially. Being almost 40, I have nothing at all against TRT, GH and other "performance enhancers" as I partake in their use myself(Dr prescribed of course) but I dont think they have a place in MMA and certainly don't think the IOC would take Danas, "aww shucks guys will do it ya know" approach and in the long term it would be worse for MMA from a mainstream aspect. Just my 3 cents.
During Dana Whites rant after Overeem got popped during his surprise test he said, "he shoulda f****ng known better". As in what? He should have known he might be tested because of the agreements he made for testing in the months after the Lesnar fight and to get off the stuff?
Almost every top fighter uses something that he "shouldn't". You can't fault the guys because by it's nature, MMA is a sport that, unless you're a freak of nature(Jon Jones) you cannot do naturally. Do you really see the IOC welcoming the guys that use TRT in to the Olympics and accepting their reasons as legitimate? Yeah right.
To paraphrase Roddy Piper, "I've been training in MMA since before training in MMA was cool"(started wrestling when I was 5, actually started jiu jitsu after I saw Mel Gibson choke out Gary Busey with the triangle choke in Lethal Weapon), so I've seen a lot, rolled with a lot of top guys from the IVC, early UFC, KoC, Pride, and current UFC guys and one this held true then and continues now...drug use is VERY prevalent and behind the scenes nobody wants it to go away.
Guys like Hendo, Randy, Hughes, and a lot of other well known guys wouldn't have lasted as long without PEDs, GH especially. Being almost 40, I have nothing at all against TRT, GH and other "performance enhancers" as I partake in their use myself(Dr prescribed of course) but I dont think they have a place in MMA and certainly don't think the IOC would take Danas, "aww shucks guys will do it ya know" approach and in the long term it would be worse for MMA from a mainstream aspect. Just my 3 cents.
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At the Brazilian Olympics we could see Brazilian jujitsu... but its too early to say.
The only other option is Pankration which I think was at the Greek Olympics a few years back.