Mayweather calls out UFC and MMA as a whole...

[owsley]

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Why do pro athletes try hard in the playoffs when the playoff bonus money is so insignificant compared to their normal salaries? Its because many world class athletes love competition and want to prove that they are the best.

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You are wrong, there is a lot of money at stake for the players during the playoffs of every pro sport. A great or poor playoff performance can have a huge effect on that players next contract, endorsements, tv ads, everything. They aren't just doing it for the love of the game, although of course thats a factor, they also know that if they put in a great performance they will get a lot more money.

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Ok, so what about an athlete that is set to retire after this year? Do you think he tries during the playoffs?

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Of course he tries. Obviously guys that are playing their last couple games are going to be inspired.

I never said that stuff like pride competition didn't motivate players, it does. I said that one of the reasons they put forth extra effort in the playoffs is because there is a lot of money at stake. It's just wrong to say that the money differential between different playoff finishes is "insignificant". It's large.

[El Diablo]

Mike,

"Why would any top boxer want to fight for a meager mid 5 figure-miniscule 6 figure payday when their sport pays millions to it's stars."

It's still not boxing, but here's what Dana White has to say about that:

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...al_throws.html

"Chuck Liddell is probably our biggest star, and he'll make about $9m this year - not including endorsements. Nobody's seen a $30m payday like an Oscar De La Hoya yet, but these guys are making millions of dollars."

[MikeyPatriot]

Bodog was rumored to be offering Fedor Emelianenko $3 million/fight FWIW.

[gusmahler]

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The question is really, how long would it take for a boxer to learn take down and submission defense? Most people truly underestimate how devastating a boxer would be on his feet.


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I answered this question above. Cro Cop, a highly regarded kickboxer came into MMA in 2001 with absolutely no clue as to takedown defense. He was proficient by 2003 (he avoided being taken down by Noguiera for most of their fight) and by 2005, he couldn't be taken down by Mark Coleman (former NCAA wrestling champion) and by 2006 he couldn't be taken down by Hidehiko Yoshida (Olympic gold medalist in Judo).

Waterman (another accomplished wrestler) took him down in 2004. But I believe he avoided being taken down by anyone else until his fight with Fedor. That's 9 fights without being taken down. Since the Fedor fight, I think only Gonzaga was able to take him down. So he went on a 17 match streak where the only person who could take him down was Fedor. (I'm not sure how you count the first Barnett fight, though. Barnett injured himself taking CroCop down. I didn't see the second Barnett match, so maybe he took Cro Cop down there.)

So it should only take 2 years for an accomplished boxer to have a good enough takedown defense to be competitive.

[Shadowrun]

i dont get the 3 5 minute rounds. imo its an awful structure.

[MikeyPatriot]

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i dont get the 3 5 minute rounds. imo its an awful structure.

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What would you use?

[ThaSaltCracka]

5 three minute rounds could have more action.

[Hoya]

Rounds being too short would hurt grapplers.

[MikeyPatriot]

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5 three minute rounds could have more action.

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You're giving strikers a huge advantage with shorter rounds.

A guy like Minotauro Nogueira gets punished by shorter rounds because he doesn't have time to apply subs.

[ThaSaltCracka]

yeah thats my point, the grappling is stupid.