The Greatest MMA Fighter (Right Now)

Who is the greatest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter right now? This is a tough question, but I'm going to try to answer it because it's a heck of a lot easier than "Who is the greatest MMA fighter OF ALL TIME?", which I hope to get to later.

First of all, there will be none of this pound for pound stuff. The best MMA fighter alive should be able to step into a cage or octagon and beat anyone else on the planet. Anyone. Bigger, smaller, lighter, heavier, whatever.

The only question is, when 2 men enter and 1 man leaves, who is that man?

I see several worthy candidates: Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos.

St. Pierre and Silva are generally acknowledged as the two most skilled fighters out there. Both are extremely experienced, extremely athletic, and in their physical prime. Neither has been beaten in a long time. But both are relatively light guys, compared to the others in the top 5. St. Pierre is 5'10", fights at 170 lbs., and reportedly walks around at 190. Silva is 6'2", fights at 185, and reportedly walks around at 230. Jones is 6'4" and fights at 205. His walking-around weight is 217. Velasquez is not that tall, at 6'1", but he fights and walks around in the mid-240s. Jones and Silva are extremely lean, naturally skinny guys, whereas Velasquez is muscular. And Dos Santos is lean and muscular, at 6'4", 239 lbs.

So let's boil that down. Having seen all of these guys fight, I think St. Pierre is the most skilled martial artist, but they are all highly skilled. And, come fight night, St. Pierre gives up 15 pounds to Silva, 35 pounds to Jones, 69 pounds to Dos Santos, and 75 pounds to Velasquez. And that weight difference is all muscle. None of these guys is fat or out-of-shape; all have excellent cardio. I've seen smaller guys beat bigger guys because of radical differences in skill and/or conditioning. None of that applies here.

Translated: St. Pierre loses. He's just too small.

What about the other 4? All slightly over 6 feet in height. Two skinny guys, Jones and Silva, and 2 muscular guys, Velasquez and Dos Santos.

Who wins if Jones fights Silva? I think Jones wins. He's got an extra 20 pounds of muscle and I think he's smarter and better trained, with more heart.

I doubt Silva could beat Velasquez or Dos Santos either. Velasquez is too good of a grappler and Dos Santos is Silva's equal as a striker, because although he may not be quite as skilled, he's got more power.

The question then becomes, could Jones beat Velasquez or Dos Santos. Maybe. I saw Jones submit Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Saturday night, and Jackson was big, strong and angry. But Jackson was also a one-trick pony (boxing) and Velasquez and Dos Santos bring more to the table than one skill set.

I think either would beat Jones. They have too much power.

Thus, it comes down to Velasquez versus Dos Santos. And what do you know, we're going to actually see that fight, on November 12 on FOX.

So, the best MMA fighter alive will be whoever wins the first live network MMA fight. It all makes sense. The best heavyweight is the best fighter. Same as it ever was. "A good big man beats a good little man" as they used to say back in the days when boxing was the premier combat sport. And I think the best good big man is ... Junior Dos Santos!

I saw Dos Santos destroy a big, game, powerful Shane Carwin. And I saw Velasquez beat a Brock Lesnar who, while huge, quick and powerful, fought like a confused, slightly frightened polar bear.

I'm more impressed with Dos Santos. I think he's the new heavyweight champ . . . and Earth's greatest (current) MMA fighter.

Diaz v. Penn

Nick Diaz is getting another chance in the UFC -- he's been matched against the legendary B.J. Penn -- and that's a good thing. We all deserve a second chance. Here's hoping that this time he overcomes his fear of the media and does the pre-fight press conferences. It might help him to keep in mind that although the press might ask some embarrassing questions, they are significantly less likely than Penn to put him in a painful submission hold. And although embarrassment feels bad, the feeling goes away much more quickly than, for example, a dislocated elbow. If Diaz is brave enough to step into the octagon, he's brave enough to step into the media room.

Who is the greatest ____?

Found a cool new sports website the other day: http://www.who-is-thegreatest.com/. It's full of articles about the greatest athletes and greatest sporting events. It gives you a chance to vote your favorites into the hall of fame. I think it's a pretty cool idea and I'm going to write an article or two for them about MMA. Check out the site -- it's worth your time.

Nick Diaz: Sick, Not Bad

As I'm sure you've all heard, Nick Diaz got dropped from UFC 137, thereby losing his chance to fight Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title, because he failed to show up for two pre-fight news conferences to promote the fight. People are making Diaz out to be a spoiled, selfish athlete, implying he just couldn't be bothered to attend either press conference. Dana White said that Diaz lied to his face about the two missed press conferences. But the man who knows Diaz best is his trainer Cesar Gracie. And Gracie, while embarassed by Diaz's no-shows, also says Diaz has a social anxiety disorder that he self-medicates with marijuana. If so, then shaming the guy isn't going to change his behavior.

Social anxiety disorder is: "Extreme, persistent and disabling social anxiety . . . having physiological components (e.g., sweating, blushing), cognitive/perceptual components (e.g., belief that one may be judged negatively or looking for signs of disapproval), and behavioral components (e.g. avoiding a situation). The essence of social anxiety has been said to be an irrational or unreasonable expectation of negative evaluation by others.^[1] One theory is that social anxiety occurs when there is motivation to make a desired impression along with doubt about having the ability to do so.^[12]"

So, here you have a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who knows he is uneducated and has language difficulties. He wants to make a good impression at these press conferences, but he doubts his ability to do so in front of all these educated, verbally adroit journalists. He gets scared, smokes dope to deal with the fear, and is too high to think straight and make sure he gets on that plane. Then he's ashamed of himself and hides from his teacher, his friends, and his boss.

It all makes sense. And no, the logical explanation doesn't change the fact that the UFC needs its fighers to promote the fights so that people watch said fights. And thus it makes sense to drop a fighter who isn't able to do those promotions.

But social anxiety disorder is curable through cognitive-behavioral therapy. And marijuana addiction is curable as well, through good therapy and regular participation in a twelve-step group like Narcotics Anonymous.

Nick Diaz just lost an opportunity to win the title of world's best welterweight mixed martial artist, which means he lost the potential paydays that would have come with winning that UFC title. But he shouldn't waste this crisis.

He needs to learn the lesson life is giving him. Get help. Get a good therapist. Go to NA meetings. Cure his social anxiety disorder and his marijuana addiction.

He is a very talented martial artist. He will get other opportunities to fight. And if he proves, by showing up at all the promotional events, that he has gotten his mind under control, then I predict he will get another opportunity to fight for the title.

After all, America loves a comeback story.
nity to become