Are The Diaz Brothers Bad For MMA?

Bad boys have always captivated our attention. Whether it's a rock star destroying a hotel room or your girlfriend leaving you for the tattoo covered biker that makes her feel "alive", bad behavior makes people take notice. Perez Hilton and TMZ would be out of business if the public wasn't fascinated by rebels who scoff at society's rules.

The world of mixed martial arts (MMA) provides a potential platform for the ultimate bad boy expression. What's more frowned upon than fighting? A mean a guy who has always gotten in trouble for his body art, bad attitude and affinity for violence gets locked in a cage with another outcast, and they both get paid? It's no wonder Lyle Beerbohm got straight out of jail and headed to his local MMA gym without passing go.



Ah, but this is "martial arts", after all. An activity that we instructors claim builds discipline, respect, focus and a great work ethic. There in lies the predicament. To be a bad a** and a role model, because after all, if you're one of the greatest practitioners of such a noble endeavor, you should be a shining example for all. Shouldn't you?

In Nick and Nate Diaz, mma fans who admire men like Randy Couture, George St. Pierre or Lyoto Machida for their apparent class in and out of the ring are confronted with a dilemma. The brothers Diaz are undoubtedly talented. Among the best in the sport. Their combination of sharp jiu jitsu, pin point boxing and perpetual anger have made them stars. Nate's double middle finger salute mid-triangle against BJJ black belt Kurt Pelligrino is an all time highlight. Sure, the triangle was impressive, but the fingers got him the air time.

Fighters aren't boy scouts, and athletes probably shouldn't be role models, but martial arts should be different. You bow or shake hands, do battle, and hug it out in the end. If you are lucky enough to be involved in a business you love, and make a good living from it, can't you crack a smile once in a while? Can't you show the kids from your old neighborhood that you can leave the anger behind. You can pull yourself up and have a better life. Or do you show them that even when you fight your to the top, there's still nothing to smile about.

Bones And The Bambino

In 1920, Babe Ruth hit more home runs than every major league team but one. So complete was Ruth's mastery of the game that he transitioned from a dominant 20 game winning pitcher to the greatest hitter of all time, changing baseball forever.

On Saturday, March 19th, MMA got its Babe Ruth. Jon "Bones" Jones proved that he is so far beyond the pack, so ahead of his time, that the sport will never be the same. There was MMA pre and post TUF. Now, MMA's history can be referred to as before Jon Jones and after HIM.


It this hype? Are we just jumping on the latest Lyoto Machidaesque bandwagon to make noise in MMA?

In dispelling of Shogun Rua, thus becoming the youngest UFC champion of all time, Jon Jones proves it doesn't matter what your name is. Nay sayers screamed, "Ryan Bader is not Shogun Rua."

They're right. He's not. And Jon Jones didn't give a damn. No human being on this planet can scare him because he already knows the truth. He is simply not operating in the same universe as everyone that is going to stand across from him in the octagon. In his own division, at least.

As much as the long dreamt about GSP vs Anderson Silva fight seems like a mismatch because of the sheer size difference, Anderson Silva and Cain Velazquez seem to be the only serious challengers for Jon Jones. Sound crazy? Go ahead and think of another fighter you could imagine surviving, let alone winning a fight against "Bones".

There simply is no one else. He will not just beat, but most likely completely smash ANYONE ELSE that he fights. Face it. He is simply that good.

We used to wonder what would happen if a top level superstar athlete actually chose MMA in their prime instead of simply backing into it once their skills have declined or they have long since retired? The answer is Jon Jones. Like Ruth and Jordan, Jon Jones has altered what people thought was possible. Redefined greatness.

The day after Jon Jones' victory, he was all over the main-stream media. Not so much for his historic win, but for apprehending a thief that had robbed an old woman. The baddest man on the planet is the nicest guy in the world. Dana couldn't have scripted it any better.

Julio Rivera
http://www.omnimartialartsny.com/

Jon Jones And The Oprah Effect

All sports are essentially simulated combat. Teams "battle" for supremecy, attempting to dominate each other using physical prowess and sheer will. Combat sports are thus the most pure of athletic endeavors, with mma being the purest of them all. With minimal rules in place, two men face each other without bats or balls or any weapons other than their bodies, and at the highest caliber, their minds.

The cream of the crop in MMA is now at a level so far beyond what we have ever seen that they simply don't resemble those that are supposed to be their counter parts. Jose Aldo, GSP, Anderson Silva and Cain Velasquez are such complete athletes, so far removed from the countless tatooed, loud mouthed, mohawked tough guys that fill ninety percent of the TUF house, that they seem to be operating on a different plane.

Even these transcendent athletes may pale in comparison to the sheer impact that a Jon Jones win could have on the sport. In Jones, MMA may have its pre-scandal Tiger Woods. Its Michael Jordan. An athlete that is so talented, so complete, so captivating on such a broad level that he will elevate his sport to levels it has never seen.

As Jon Jones spoke direclty to the camera during his very own Spike television special, he referenced the law of attraction. He spoke of the need to see where you want to be before you get there. It is fitting that another high profile advocate of this law is media mogul Oprah Winfrey. Jon Jones is right up Winfrey's alley. A clean cut role model worthy of the stamp of approval Oprah sticks on her book club selections. If Will Smith could fight, he'd be Jon Jones. A fighter so easily promotable, so well liked, so able to ingrain himself in not white, nor black, but AMERICAN culture, that he can go places where GSP's accent and Brock Lesnar's vulgarity simply can not reach.

At the pre-fight press conference, Jones appeared a tall drink of class, in his dark suit and confident air, while the legendary Shogun Rua wore his "Bad Boy" t-shirt and baseball cap. In MMA, surely clothes do not make the man, but the ground work for Jon Jones' media saturation, first orchestrated by Dana White and now by Jones himself, seems to be playing itself out to perfection.

Julio Rivera http://www.omnimartialartsny.com/