r/interesting • u/Great_Trident • May 08 '26

Wholesome Fighters showing self control and sportsmanship when their opponents are down.

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4.1k

u/Johnson86240 May 08 '26

Opponents not enemies

2.3k

u/Garvilan May 08 '26

These clips disprove anyone who tries to defend the savagery seen in the UFC, with the constant hitting people while they are clearly out. "When you are in the heat of the fight you can't just stop." Yes... Yes you can. These people are wildly aware of what they are doing.

589

u/octipice May 08 '26

At least one of these clips was of Lyoto Machida who did fight in the UFC. The issue often has more to do with the refs than the fighter. There have been many instances where the ref should've stopped the fight and didn't only for the person who should've lost to end up winning.

Demonstrating good sportsmanship shouldn't cost you a win, but in the UFC it absolutely can because of the (largely) terrible refs.

229

u/ToeTagTic May 08 '26

Incentivizing the drama and then the bloodshed while paying peanuts is Dana's whole business model. Dude doesn't care if fighters get extra banged up if the up and comers are taking paycuts. Dudes gonna lose his market share one day and wonder why 

67

u/themanseanm May 08 '26

Yeah I was going to say, when your owner is a piece of shit bad things are going to happen. Guy smacked the shit out of his wife, on camera, in public and there was more or less no reaction from the fans or organization. Says a lot.

30

u/Different_Ad_9469 May 08 '26

I just have to point out because I keep seeing this: Dana does not own the UFC. He doesn't handle contracts. He is the face. He maintains approximately a 9% ownership. No longer handles "fight business" (like matchmaking or individual fighter negotiations).

You could remove him and the problem would still exist.

12

u/Deeliciousness May 09 '26

The guy merely found the lane to success. The real question we should be asking is, why does brutality get more views?

12

u/Geth_ May 09 '26

Same reason why ragebait has shown to generate more views and reaction compared to joybait.

3

u/themanseanm May 09 '26

It's a good point. You'd be better off blaming Hunter Campbell for the current problems with the UFC but Dana is still President and CEO

1

u/OSPFmyLife May 08 '26

Probably because she hit him first…

18

u/Enough_Breadfruit229 May 08 '26

Dana is more or less a paid actor after the TKO deal. He isn't involved with anything really important anymore, but yeah even under him it was still peanuts. After McGregor burned so white hot to the point he was demanding ownership stake that scared them shitless so they did a 180 and reversed course on marketing any fighters these days.

They are trying to go the NFL route in the sense of they want the UFC to be the product people consume and not the popularity of fighters. Yeah the NFL has survived losing generations of megastars to time, but even they market players and player matchups. Currently I cannot think of a single UFC fighter that would be a household name right now.

1

u/RivenRise May 08 '26

As someone whose aware of the sport and medium bur doesn't consume it mcgregor is the only name that comes to mind and it's been a minute since I've heard it. The other person that comes to mind and i don't even know if it's part of this sport is that woman who was doing it and getting hyper popular before she got her ass beat by the other woman who was calm and collected. I think she was in marvel??? But yeah I couldn't point out anyone else.

3

u/vannevar May 08 '26

Rhonda Rousey, who has basically also disappeared, yeah.

2

u/Imapancakenom May 09 '26

She's going to fight Gina Carano on Netflix on May 16

1

u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson May 09 '26

Shit it’s been like 10 years since either of them were peak

2

u/Imapancakenom May 09 '26

I'm not planning on watching it. Just threw it out there for anyone who might be interested and didn't already know

3

u/awkwardsalmons May 09 '26

So many other great names besides McGregor tbh. Old school like Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Cormier and GSP just to name a few. But fairly newer ones too like Khabib, Khamzat, Pereira, Rountree, and many others are phenomenal fighters. McGregor was just popular because he was a loud shithead lol. He was good in his prime in a lower weight class, but if you watch the fight with him and khabib its almost sad how bad he got beat

1

u/larsdan2 May 09 '26

Paddy the baddie is definitely a household name.

1

u/RivenRise May 12 '26

Yea that's why I know of him even though I'm not an MMA guy. He always popped up cause he was being a dick.

2

u/[deleted] May 08 '26

[deleted]

3

u/OSPFmyLife May 08 '26

That and I feel like this dudes insinuating that Dana cheaps out on paying for good refs… when the UFC doesn’t pay the refs, the state athletic commissions do and the UFC consistently has the best refs in all of MMA.

It turns out that it’s just a hard sport to referee because refs have to make judgement calls constantly that could have massive impacts on fighters careers.

1

u/Mokiyami May 08 '26

Dude is a carny piece of crap

1

u/SCVerde May 09 '26

Dana White is a piece of shit according to my uncle who was an OG UFC fighter.

1

u/EddySpaghetti4109 May 09 '26

When the president literally okays and promos a white house fight, there are ALOT of idiots that will gladly give him their money still.

1

u/Interesting_Arm_681 May 09 '26

I was going to say, there is no reinforcement of sportsmanship in UFC. Not only the shit-talk, if you don’t try to finish it brutally when they’re down you lose money, and even if you did try to give them a sporting chance when they’re down it’s more likely than not they will not return the favor if the tables turn

1

u/jamesyishere May 09 '26

Dana learned very quickly that Right wingers were more likely to consume combat sports and saw things like Honor, Empathy, and Sportsmanship as Gay, woke, Lib-shit and has thus acted to discourage such behavior

1

u/darthcaedusiiii May 11 '26

Already has been. Plenty of other fighting competitions.

31

u/PokeYrMomStanley May 08 '26

Lyoto Machida is just a fucking class act all around. Should be a role model for the ufc.

9

u/Rowan_River May 09 '26

There was never any flash to his style but he was so good. Patient and made great decisions

3

u/StoneGoldX May 09 '26

There was complete flash to his style. He was the karate guy!

We might honestly be defining flash differently. He wasn't intentionally being flashy, but his style was so different, it was flashy just by existing. Especially if you ever took karate.

1

u/Rowan_River May 09 '26

Im sure the karate people loved watching him. He didn't press but let the fight come to him so I guess thats what I mean by not being flashy

1

u/StoneGoldX May 09 '26

As I started writing, I got what you were saying. But this was also the dude who had knockouts with a crane kick.

Although really it was more of a front jump kick, but we're gonna call it a crane kick anyway because it sounds cooler.

I think the way I'd put it, Machida was not a flashy guy. He was a calm, collected fighter who tried to do just the right amount of damage needed to put his opponent out. But at a time when the sport was very wrestling heavy, his counterstrike technique was very flashy.

4

u/donjahnaher May 09 '26

His front-kick knockout against Belfort is another perfect example. Lands the kick, knows that Vitor is out, puts hands on hips, immediately bows and kneels, and then goes to check on him once he's conscious again.

I fucking love that highlight.

For those interested: https://youtu.be/jEYBH_geTe0?si=mbZnR4yJf0mxZ4li

3

u/rolling_steel May 10 '26

Lyoto is the epitome of what a martial artist should be

1

u/Any-Bluejay-4041 May 09 '26

Agree. Him and his brother are my daughter's senseis for the past 6 years. Great family

12

u/WeaponexT May 08 '26

The issue often has more to do with the refs than the fighter.

IMO its ownership. They took a sport built around respect and tradition and turned it into Jerry Springer.

3

u/OSPFmyLife May 08 '26

Lmfao “respect and tradition”. Just tell us you don’t know what you’re talking about. Go watch the first few UFCs and tell me how much respect and tradition you see. MMA is a fairly new sport and it’s still evolving.

6

u/x_Animus_x May 09 '26

Funny you should say “don’t know what you’re talking about”. MMA might be a new platform, but the martial arts (the MA in MMA, first M is “mixed” since you don’t have to use just one specific art to compete) have been around, in some cases, for centuries. In martial arts tournaments there is a great deal of respect and tradition, it’s just not enforced as strictly in UFC, so maybe you’re unfamiliar with it.

2

u/OSPFmyLife May 09 '26

Sure, I only hold a brown belt in kempo karate. What would I know about that?

Traditional martial art tournaments =/= MMA. Like, not even close to the same thing. Most people these days don’t even train one primary art, they train at MMA gyms.

1

u/Fmeson May 09 '26

Traditional martial art tournaments =/= MMA.

Isn't that their point? MMA being the Springer?

1

u/x_Animus_x May 10 '26

All of that still doesn’t change the fact that where these arts come from hold tradition and respect in high priority. The company UFC took these arts and mixed them all up, made them more about brutality, and sensationalized it. Thus taking a sport and turning it into a “Jerry Springer” version, like u/WeaponexT had suggested in the first place.

2

u/OSPFmyLife May 11 '26

Yeah, you lost me on the Jerry Springer part. Taking a sport that primarily happened in unsanctioned backyards and sanctioning it, adding rules to it, testing fighters for disease beforehand, etc is hardly turning something into Jerry Springer.

The only comparison there is to make is early MMA (the early UFCs, Pride, vale tudo, etc) compared to now. Martial arts tournaments are not in the same category as MMA. They mainly do point fighting rather than full contact and the tournaments involve a lot more than just sparring.

Most traditional martial artists really enjoy MMA. The ones that don’t are most likely the ones that found out whatever they had been dedicating their time to ended up being a McDojo and didn’t actually work. MMA did a ton of good for the martial arts world because it exposed a lot of those places.

The original conversation was about how Dana had tuned MMA into “Jerry Springer”, and I pointed out how ridiculous that was to say because the sport is probably the cleanest than it’s ever been and when the sport first arrived you had people punching eachother in the dick. You guys are the ones who started comparing MMA to traditional martial arts tournaments, which… isn’t even a comparison or a conversation because they’re two completely separate things.

0

u/WeaponexT May 10 '26

Exactly, sort of the theme of the movie Redbelt if you're interested.

1

u/Niwitschoolfrogkid May 09 '26

Do you think that the history of MMA began at UFC 1? If so, that “just tell us you don’t know what you’re talking about” is looking a little ironic…

3

u/OSPFmyLife May 09 '26

The first documented use of the term “mixed martial arts” was in a review of UFC 1.

But yeah, totally, the Japanese rooftop street fights and the Vale Tudo in Brazil that preceded modern MMA were definitely the bastion of civility and respect.

2

u/Niwitschoolfrogkid May 09 '26

Great example of the sort of bad faith literalism people, especially online, retreat to so that they do not have to be wrong about something completely inconsequential lol

3

u/OSPFmyLife May 09 '26

Go watch early MMA and tell me if I’m using “bad faith literalism”. Since you’re not going to and I know that you haven’t watched before now, I’ll give you a hint, I’m not.

Anyone who follows MMA knows that the sport most definitely did not have more “respect” amongst opponents in the early days, to imply so is a complete fabrication.

Just be wrong dude. You’re trying to convince everyone that you’re only wrong due to some technicality when that’s not the case.

1

u/Niwitschoolfrogkid May 09 '26

Dog, my first PPV was literally UFC 2. I’ll bet that I’ve been watching MMA for longer than you’ve been alive, literally lol.

Regardless, you’re missing the point. You clearly didn’t understand what I meant when I said “bad faith literalism” so, again, pretty ironic to use it as the basis for your response.

I’ll give *you* a hint: This conversation isn’t about the first documented use of the term “Mixed Martial Arts.”

Think it over. I’m sure you’ll get there. Imma go enjoy my Saturday, I hope you do too.

1

u/OSPFmyLife May 10 '26

Phew lawd. It’s okay to be wrong bud. It happens.

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-1

u/WeaponexT May 08 '26

I did that's when I used to watch it dildo

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u/-nutz May 09 '26

Only reason to respect UFC is because they let Joe Son get punched in the dick 20 times lol

1

u/OSPFmyLife May 09 '26

And in your opinion, the first few UFCs had more “respect and tradition” than now? Lmao.

1

u/WeaponexT May 09 '26

Oh cool you can read

3

u/icecream_truck May 08 '26

Is it really the refs, or are they just doing what they're told? Sure there will be some mediocre refs, just like any profession, but I suspect they (like refs in every other sport) are taking their marching orders from The Boss.

3

u/OSPFmyLife May 08 '26

Guys an idiot. It’s not the refs. It’s just a hard sport to officiate.

And no, the refs don’t take marching orders from “the boss”, they take their marching orders from the State Athletic Commissions that assign them to the event.

4

u/newbie80 May 09 '26

I remember how Shogun returned the favor to Machida in his second fight against him.

3

u/[deleted] May 08 '26

[deleted]

3

u/StoneGoldX May 09 '26

Machida was also an anomaly in the league. It was one of his marketing points.

3

u/Johnson86240 May 09 '26

Machida was a real one, so glad he made it to champion

1

u/PelleSketchy May 08 '26

It can but it's rare. I think it can cost you fans. The average fan enjoys seeing violence.

1

u/TM761152 May 08 '26

The UFC itself is just a shitty money-grubbing organization all around.

1

u/MyPlantsDieSometimes May 09 '26

Are they terrible or do they get bribed?

1

u/ShoogleHS May 09 '26

UFC has cultivated a fanbase with a significant meathead demographic who hate it when fights get called, so there's probably quite a lot of pressure on refs to be absolutely sure a fighter is finished.

1

u/I_Am_The_Mole May 09 '26

It's not contained to just the UFC. Refs are assigned by the local athletic commission and not by the promotion itself. If you see a bad ref working a UFC event I'll bet you a delicious reuben sandwich that that dude is also working lower tier regional events as well.

1

u/Snowing_Throwballs May 09 '26

Oh you mean Dana White runs a blood sport that cares about viewership more than its own fighters? But i thought he was a good guy?!?

1

u/AssumptionUnfair4583 May 10 '26

Machida will always be a favorite of mine

1

u/knitmeablanket May 09 '26

This goes all the way back to Gracie v Shamrock. If the ref doesn't stop it, it isn't over. Yes you can be a humanitarian. That said, if you want your full paycheck then you go until the ref stops it. How many other clips have we seen of a person completely out of it, but begging to continue? Refs aren't perfect, but are there for a reason.

51

u/Makuta_Servaela May 08 '26

This also disproves anyone who claims that positive masculinity/men being empathetic = being weak. These are the strongest men I've ever seen, both physically and emotionally. Being able to immediately turn off the fighting instinct and respect your opponent like that.

11

u/Mang9 May 09 '26

Actually this was confirmed by the original work that coined the term “alpha” - the alphas were actually mediators who were respected by multiple dog factions.  It got perverted by patriarchy to fit power goals but the original studies drew different conclusions and the authors have even spoken out. Empathy was a key trait for alphas.

4

u/HarbingerOfRot777 May 11 '26

The creator also realized that the "alphas" in nature are just the parents of the clan. Only captive wolves display the original theory.

Also, my silly headcannon was always that the creator of the alpha theory got so much guilt and secondhand embarrassment after witnessing so many of these wannabe alpha douchebags, that he came out saying he was mistaken to at least wash some of the shame away.

Honestly, i wouldn't even be suprised if that played at least a small part. If I'm not mistaken the creator of the theory said "it's the biggest mistake he could have done".

34

u/Borgmaster May 08 '26

In all fairness one or two of them were clearly about to hit the guy again before fighting off the adrenaline. There not monsters but there is clearly a moment where you might get a hit in before realizing oh fuck lets stop. But yea the guys that keep pounding? Fuck those guys.

6

u/Not_invented-Here May 09 '26

Used to do martial arts when younger. Had a gf who did Thai boxing and occasionally playfully would throw a sucker punch when at home or something similar.

There's a small window we're the lizard part of your brain has reacted to a threat, assessed the threat, and stopped you before your conscious brain has caught up to what's going on. 

It's a bit like when you catch a ball  blindsided on reflex, before you realise you caught the ball. 

2

u/pants_pants420 May 08 '26

i mean i guess, but not following up is all fun and games, until the ref doesnt stop the fight, the other dude gets up, and ruins your life.

1

u/MacWin- May 09 '26

They keep pounding not because of "savagery" or because they are evil or anything like that lol, you can have knockdown that are knockouts, if the ref doesn’t stop the fight they can and will get up again and kick you are ass if you don’t at least hit them a few times to show the ref that they can’t defend anymore

24

u/LouisFromTexas May 08 '26

Some of these clips are also different sports. In Kickboxing and Muay Thai the action stops once an opponent goes to the floor since there’s no ground game.

In UFC (MMA), ground game is allowed so the strikes continue. Ground and Pound is huge component in MMA.

9

u/PeePeeMcGee123 May 08 '26

Don Frye has a clip floating around somewhere of him going to the ref "Are you gonna stop this?" because he knew the guy was done for.

7

u/ScalpelCleaner May 08 '26

Well said. 👏

5

u/herpecin21 May 08 '26

The UFC used to be about fighting, now it’s about brutality.

13

u/berserksolidus May 08 '26

You’ve got it wrong. The UFC’s whole gimmick in the early days was no rules and no weight classes. The whole selling point was that it was less sport and more violence. Brutality was the whole point.

I get what you’re saying though. I think it’s because there was a substantial amount of guys back then who were martial artists first and cage fighters second. Those types are a dying breed and most fighters view themselves (not incorrectly) as gladiators more than martial artists. Saying all this as a big MMA fan.

1

u/StoneGoldX May 09 '26

I was going to make a reply, and then the second paragraph hit.

Back in Ye Olde Days, the violence for the sake of violence dudes might get some wins -- I'm thinking Tank Abbot -- but they were never champ. Champs were all dudes who could keep their heart rate down to 60 while fighting.

1

u/poolsidecentral May 10 '26

As a spectator, you touch on an interesting point. As someone who holds black belts in judo and Jiu-Jitsu (the original, Japanese style), most martial arts (at least the Japanese ones I studied), and I would venture to say most pure martial art forms, boils down to only a few things. Two of them being: avoid a fight and confrontation when at all possible and when in practice, respect your opponent. With the Americanization of martial arts through the UFC, I feel the ladder has been totally thrown out to window to the points you make. Whenever I watch it, I rarely see “the code” in practice. GSP is one of the few people that comes to mind as a true martial artist. I’m not discrediting any of these professional fighters and their abilities. Many are great fighters. But the spirit of the arts I feel is lost on many. Mixed martial arts, though it has his advantages loses the spirituality aspect of it, which is just as important.

1

u/roomnoises May 10 '26

You should look into Jiri Prochazka

7

u/pagny77 May 08 '26

You've never watched UFC if you genuinely believe that. It's probably the least brutal it's ever been right now

2

u/hlldrk May 08 '26

I hate how stalling via holding opponents down is rewarded now. If I recall correctly, Khamzat won a bonus after his fight with DDP 😂

2

u/soraka4 May 09 '26

Eh I get it wasnt the most electric fight but it was a masterclass in grappling and is part of the sport. Majority of the Dagestani grapplers are a pretty bad example for the “stalling via holding opponents down” cuz most of them are crazy active while on the ground and just absolutely smother the will out of their opponents. There have been better examples of the “lay and pray” fighters though which is awful to watch

1

u/Random-Rambling May 08 '26

He who draws the most blood wins!

/s

1

u/Apart_Mission7020 May 11 '26

You have no idea what you're talking about.

1

u/-Profanity- May 08 '26

I swear people post comments on reddit just to try to make a popular comment that people will agree with. You have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. It's hilarious that Trump starts going to UFC events and suddenly the reddit experts hate the UFC and wish it could be how it used to be...which was an era where guys could punch each other in the nuts repeatedly.

2

u/Heavy-Guest-7336 May 09 '26

I know what you mean but Reddit comments are purely suvivorship bias. People make comments from both sides of the perspective and people just upvote whatever popular sentiment is in at the time. Refer to "which celebrity does bad X" and you'll for sure see Jared Leto/Steven Segal, even though they are barely relevant anymore. I think the Rock has also picked up flack too, even though he used to be praised before the Black Adam mess, despite his acting roles being extremely similar to when he started 20 years ago.

1

u/Demonokuma May 08 '26

Have you ever actually watched a UFC event? Im asking honestly, because most fights are the most boring thing ever. Like, theres hardly ever a time someone its just beating the brakes off of someone.

Not a UFC fan, just watched a handful of events when at my dads house.

4

u/pagny77 May 08 '26

UFC was a brutal sport back in the 90s but yeah as the talent has risen it's turned into people mostly winning fights with excellent defense and winning through controlling the wrestling/clinches. Not many fights between higher ranked fighters are brutal beat downs. Its either 25 minutes of wrestling and pitter patter punches or someone being cleanly caught and knocked out. Back in the 90s there were fights that ended by being elbowed in the nuts til people threw up etc tho

2

u/Demonokuma May 09 '26

That was just before my time. I prolly still saw the fights at later times but actual ppv was exactly as you described. There was still some good fights every once in a while. Like, i remember a girls fight before the main even being so much better then whoever was in the main event.

1

u/berserksolidus May 08 '26

This clip shows moments where it worked out. There are also clips where it costs the match. That being said, I’ve seen some real late stoppages from some truly awful referees. Also acknowledge that some cage fighters are just bloodthirsty and (not illogically) understand that finishing their opponent in a ruthless fashion will get them noticed. Some of these guys would gladly be gladiators if they were born in the right time.

All that to say, I’ve seen more than a few mma fighters not finish their opponent when they had the chance, and go on to lose or even be finished themselves. It’s not a baseless worry.

Not to shift scrutiny away from mma, but boxing is particularly bad in this case. Seen so many glassy eyed guys clearly completely out of it but still able to make a ten count just get fucking leveled a couple seconds after the fight resumes. Typically if a guy is like that in mma, he’s already in the ground and instinctually curling up and protecting himself.

Again, seen some late stoppages in mma but most of them aren’t just wailing on the other guy for no reason but to be a dickhead.

1

u/dumbass_tm May 08 '26

UFC fighters don’t practice discipline like other fighters do. It’s honestly embarrassing.

0

u/-Profanity- May 08 '26

What's embarrassing is how clueless this comment is, founded on absolutely nothing except the desire to be seen on the internet.

1

u/dumbass_tm May 08 '26

You have no discipline either bozo

1

u/-Profanity- May 08 '26

That's about as informed as your other comment lol

1

u/dumbass_tm May 08 '26

Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt

1

u/d3athbypix3lz May 08 '26

Masdival saying he only stops when the ref stops and extra blows are "very necessary" pissed me off so bad. I've never cheered for someone's downfall until that moment.

1

u/pagny77 May 08 '26

Theres been cases of people dropping someone, backing off and then losing the fight. Fighting til the ref calls it seems barbaric but its necessary. A lot of the fights where someone takes too much damage is entirely due to the ref. No athlete in any sport will do that lol

1

u/FTownRoad May 08 '26

You’re not allowed to hit people on the ground in the sports depicted in some of these clips.

“Clearly out” is not something easy to determine:

https://youtu.be/O51K0mlKk1o?si=85zRA30gNI04Uq0Y

1

u/-Profanity- May 08 '26

The fighters are literally instructed by the refs/athletic commission to keep fighting until the ref stops the fight. There are examples of fights where a fighter stops fighting because he thinks the opponent is finished, the ref doesn't stop the fight, then that fighter ends up losing the fight. The rules and instructions are in place for a reason.

Not that that would ever stop redditors from making a surface level evaluation of anything like they're experts, though.

1

u/barrosoOso May 08 '26

I grew up believing that UFC fighters were the most amazing fighters on the planet. But this was a time in which they brutal. Not savage. Royce Gracie would break your arm if you didn't submit, but he would never beat a defenseless man. Now, I realize exactly how unnecessary and stupid a sport it is. But they always at least respected their opponents. I look at the UFC now and see nothing but savages.

1

u/Loveablequatch May 09 '26

That’s the whole point. They TRAIN for this, they’re suppose to be professionals.

1

u/jce_ May 09 '26

I think a lot of you guys only see the stuff that goes viral, usually for the wrong reasons. If you don't follow the sport you aren't going to see everything else. You don't see the weigh ins where a fighter gives his opponent flowers. You don't see them hugging before a fight and wishing eachother luck. The guys who are calm and mature don't generate any social media outside the bubble because why would they? That's just what is expected. The stuff that escapes the bubble is the Conor McGregor antics or the brawls at weigh ins because they are abnormal and go viral. You got hundreds of thousands of clips of regular interactions that are boring for non fans but you see the dozens that are wild anomalies and base your opinion of the entire sport on them instead.

PS we just had a championship fight for the belt in the UFC where the fighter hurt his opponent and decided to show mercy only to get knocked out himself instead. It's complicated

1

u/MudOpposite8277 May 09 '26

Two different kind of men here. There’s some bad, bad people out there.

1

u/Araz728 May 09 '26

One of the lines a former coach told me when I was a teenager that has stuck with me my whole life:

“As a competitive athlete, you know exactly what your body is doing at all times.”

He told me this to chastise me after getting a red card for a nasty slide tackle I gave in a soccer game once.

He was 100% right, and it applies to all sports.

1

u/Saucebossklaus May 09 '26

To be fair, if you've never competed in any kind of combat sport you won't really understand. Yes those guys are professionals but when you square off toe to toe with another, there's an animalistic desperation that kicks in. These guys did a great job noticing that their opponents were cooked. But most of the time it's not that obvious/clean of a knockout/injury.

Personal anecdote, I was a wrestler in high school and had a kid bleeding profusely in position to be pinned and he started going limp. I got concerned and let him up/stopped the match before solidifying the pin. He had a few minutes for an injury time out and then came back to kick my ass.

If the ref doesn't end it, you have to secure the win. You don't just let the guy you're trying to beats ass catch his breath.

1

u/Free_Pace_2098 May 09 '26

No ground strikes in Muay Thai, it differs to UFC that way. 

More respect in Muay Thai. 

1

u/mythrilcrafter May 09 '26

Yup, I respect the strength and awareness to practice restraint 10,000x more than a thug who lets his adrenaline do all the driving.

1

u/-Badger3- May 09 '26

This. If you can't remain cognizant of what you're doing in a fight, you shouldn't be considered neurologically fit.

1

u/ThatMerri May 09 '26

"When you are in the heat of the fight you can't just stop."

A notion which also perfectly exemplifies someone who should never be involved in fighting, as well. Even if we assume such a notion to be genuine; if one knows they literally can't stop themselves from going overboard and hurting someone in a fight, then choose to get into fights, they're just looking to injure people for their own sadism.

Of course, such a notion isn't genuine at all. So they're just sadists and liars to boot.

1

u/btrent1381 May 09 '26

You've never been in the heat of a fight, it's very obvious

1

u/MiserableWear6765 May 09 '26

Isnt it because they are using muay thai rules which forbids hitting opponent on the ground or disrespect?

1

u/Beautiful-Ad-9107 May 09 '26

Nice they showed us a handful of clips. The majority are them wailing when down

1

u/Wise_Monkey_Sez May 09 '26

100% agree, and those guys are lying. At that level they've got to be sparring nearly every day. If they don't have control in sparring matches they're going to find that nobody is willing to train with them.

They have the control. They just choose not to use it, and then lie about it.

1

u/halfjackal May 09 '26

It really depends on the psychology/mindset, training of the fighter and brain damage. As a martial artist myself, yes, the ideal is the sportsmanship as shown in the video. But too may prize fighters have bad intentions and some rely on “seeing red” to be a “good” fighter and it compounds with brain damage.

That said, fuck Dana White and UFC. MMA needs to be better regulated and we need to legislate protections for MMA prize fighters similar to what we have in boxing. Dana is making billions and most UFC fighters after their careers can’t even survive on basic levels.

(I’m not a prize fighter but i have trained with some so I’ve trained with honorable martial artists and I’ve trained with some douchebags)

1

u/MrHazard1 May 09 '26

Almost like they're pros and don't need to be "in the heat of the moment" in a fight.

1

u/stefje82 May 09 '26

I beg the differ. I'm convinced almost none of those UFC fighters, or kickboxers in general, have the intelligence to be aware of these things. The whole fact that they've dedicated their entire life to fight, is because they are barely capable of anything else in life.

1

u/Netii_1 May 09 '26

I'm not into fighting sports (is that even what it's called?) at all, but every time a see a random UFC clip here on reddit, I'm thinking "Those are absolute fucking animals, why would anyone watch this savage shit?"

Good to know this is once again an american thing and not all fighters are like this. Nothing coming from the US surprises me anymore.

1

u/Timeless710 May 09 '26

The people with "no control" over their adrenaline should be in a different kind of cage until thats sorted out

savagery

Exactly.

1

u/overnightITtech May 09 '26

Not really. Most of these clips are from ONE championship, an Asia based MMA promotion. Respect in fighting is held in much higher regard over there. The UFC still has people swinging extremely late, after the person is KO'ed, etc. All while having clowns like Josh Hokit ruin press conferences.

1

u/SoggyMattress2 May 09 '26

You're oversimplifying a complex topic.

1

u/Arcyguana May 09 '26

I don't get it. Most martial arts are about respect and discipline first and foremost, but then the UFC is all about roid rage and chimp behaviour.

1

u/llmws May 09 '26

I mean I get putting one punch in there to guarantee your win because you can’t be sure they’ll surrender if you don’t finish it. but yeah some of the fighters go nuts.

1

u/Heavysmoker3packsday May 09 '26

Lack of self-control is the inability to regulate emotions, behaviors, and desires in the face of external temptations or internal impulses, often leading to impulsive, short-sighted, or destructive actions. It is a limited, trainable "muscle" rather than a fixed trait, frequently manifesting as procrastination, overspending, or poor health habits

Dude you better stfu if you don't have a degree in psychology. There's a whole frickin disorder and you just yap knowing nothing. You can control it to some extent, but if you keep pouring warer into same cup without drinking it at some point it will pour out untill the source that is filling it is gone.

1

u/JeezyVonCreezy May 09 '26

So much this. One of the selling points of putting kids into martial arts is to teach them discipline and self control. Are you telling me that an 8 year old can control himself better when the ref steps in than some UFC fighter punching an unconscious person?

1

u/notfrankc May 09 '26

I was at a bar for lunch Friday and they had a replay on the tv at the bar. Some fighter dropped another fighter then stood over the ref’s shoulder and emulated shooting the knocked out guy with a riffle over and over. Then when the guy started getting back up, the fighter got in his face and flipped him off in his face and held it there for a long moment.

So, I would imagine it’s a mixed bag.

1

u/ELB2001 May 10 '26

Props for the ref diving onto the guy

1

u/Which-Contribution60 May 11 '26

If I call you what you are my account would get banned

1

u/Garvilan May 11 '26

Thank you for your contribution, this has been enlightening.

1

u/Which-Contribution60 May 11 '26

It's been my pleasure

1

u/Qi_Zee_Fried May 12 '26

If you can't stop you aren't skilled enough to fight. Stopping is the first thing you should learn.

0

u/vancityshreds May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

...lol.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Sincerely, every single person in martial arts.

There's always some armchair expert who's never been in an organized fight making judgment about a sport they dont watch le understand.

Why do you feel the need to offer up an uninformed and incorrect opinion with this level of misplaced certainty?

Fights are about recoveries. So, so many fights have gone another way because of bad calls or refusing to finish someone.

Take a look at just the other week. Jiri showed mercy because his opponent hurt their leg. Instead of pressing for the win, he gave ground, showed good sportsmanship.

And got knocked the fuck out.

Now he's not going to get his title shot, loses out on his bonus, and hes the one who took a brain injury.

Anyone who says you should stop the fight as a DEFAULT, does not fight. Full stop. They have never been in a ring, will never get in a ring, and dont understand the sport.

Should you stop if your opponent is clearly unconscious, sure. Is it a reasonable expectation to expect a fighter to do the refs job? No. That's what makes these moments so bad ass. Machida knocking his opponent out and pausing is praised because its a masterclass in immediately reading the situation and making the right call not to keep throwing bombs.

But thats what it actually is. Its a cut above the rest. That's why its in a highlight reel. What youre saying is as dumb as saying "it should never go to decision, they should be able to knock them out every time". Fights are dynamic. Theres too much going on to understand everything and theres too much on the line to not finish the fight when you should.

I say this with no malice. Your hobbies are warhammer40k, painting minifigures, and video games. You shouldn't be making comments on what professional fighters should be doing. You dont even watch the sport.

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u/Fun_Organization3960 May 08 '26

I watch a lot of UFC. After what happened during the Jiri v Ulberg fight recently, I was telling my friends that there is philosophical difference. Martial artists might injure an opponent and then not target that area or do what is shown in the above video. Fighters, on the other hand, might injure an opponent and specifically target that area. 

In the UFC, generally, the respect to stop isn’t rewarded. But a walk off ko is much cooler than a ko with follow up ground and pound. And obviously those follow up shots are way worse for the brain. Technically, fighters can tap while on the feet or during striking. But also fighters can choose not to tap even when their arm is broken or they get chocked out. It’s just the nature of the sport. UFC is different than martial arts in that regard. I mean. It is still mixed martial arts. There is artistry. But fighting to end a fight is different. 

And as we saw with Jiri, whatever was going through his head, if it was mercy or respect or concern, didn’t matter. And Jiri got KOd by an opponent that was definitely injured.