Hi,

I volunteered to cover my first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) card today for a company I provide content to. This will add a third sport to my resume as I began my career in 1995 covering Pro Wrestling and have covered Boxing fulltime for the last ten years though I did cover both simultaneously for a couple of years before moving to Boxing fulltime.

I have been an avid MMA follower for years going back to when bouts were contested under no holds barred rules so I do have knowledge of the sport but I won’t lie when I say that I am a bit nervous because this is a bit of uncharted territory for me but at the same time, I am excited because it gives me an opportunity to expand into a new avenue. As I say that I will say that Boxing has and will always be first and foremost for me.


The card I am covering is UFC 126… The main event for this card is Anderson Silva defending his UFC World Middleweight championship against former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. As a journalist, I try to get as much background information that I possibly can on fighters.

Would anyone know any good place to research biographical information on MMA fighters?

As I said I am very familiar with the sport and the fighters but this is more to make sure that whatever statistical data I use in preparing my material is accurate and the most obvious place to start is the fighters individual backgrounds and fighting disciplines etc.

If any Vizzed Members have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

There are a couple of websites that give fighter stats and win/loss records. Here's one for Vitor:

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/f/B32725C4FE3EE744/Vitor-Belfort/

And for Silva:

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/f/242FF47B616AC3E5/Anderson-Silva/

I'm sure there are other places to go, like Wiki and whatnot, but I'm not sure of the validity of ANY info on the internet.

CelticUprising : Thanks, I really appreciate it… I’m also looking for a list of MMA terms/moves. As I said am very familiar with MMA but I’m just covering my bases to make sure my material is at it’s best and such…

You're welcome! Terms and moves I may not be so familiar with as far as Belfort and Silva are concerned. While they're both Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, they both prefer striking to grapples and submissions. I know Silva will try to lock on a Rear Naked Choke or even an Arm Triangle if he's in the right place at the right time. However, I just don't know the extent of the submission game for either of these fighters.

CelticUprising : I found a site with a list of terms… This was strictly for corrective spelling precautions particularly when it comes to submission fighting etc… I’ve seen thousands of fights but you can’t adequately describe ground fighting if you can’t accurately spell potential submission terms etc. I am ready though and have the info that I needed in order to do my job.


I thank you again for the help you’ve given me I really appreciate it.

Any time! I'm waiting for the Prelims to start. I've already ordered the event, and can't wait to see it. Have fun covering the card!

CelticUprising : I intend to tonight I’m coving this and a boxing card in the early morning hours. Last night I covered two boxing cards, so all and all I have been busy this weekend. I am just hoping I produce the kind of quality that those I work with expect from me.
As many Boxing cards as I cover per year though it will be difficult to do both boxing and MMA simultaneously especially when in some cases I have two boxing cards going head to head and at times the UFC or Strikeforce is also running a card simultaneously. It will be difficult but I am up for the challenge.


I figure if I can cover four cards from four different countries in one day then this perhaps won’t be as difficult (which that was brutal when you take the time difference into account)


It’s almost fight time, enjoy the card…

Well, the event turned out to be kind of disappointing, I think. I'm happy with the wins by Torres, Jones, and Griffin. Jones being named #1 Contender was great too. But that fluke win by Anderson Silva just left a bad taste in my mouth.

CelticUprising : I disagree… I feel Anderson Silva gets a bad rap most of the time… the fact is most MMA fans have been conditioned to expect knockdown drag out slugfests but in the case of Anderson Silva I feel he is MMA’s version of Roy Jones in that he’s in a class by himself.

The philosophy for years for Jones and his camp was you don’t make a fight hard if it’s not hard. Meaning if you can win a fight without putting yourself at sufficient risk then go that route. The results no one can argue. Eight world titles in six different weight classes, most of his fights being a far gone conclusion if a fight went past four rounds.

I don’t feel Silva’s victory was a fluke, he was the man walking in with the belt you have to remember that. I wasn’t expecting it to happen as quickly if it were Silva but, I kind of thought once Belfort was reluctant to engage from the outset that Silva accomplished in neutralizing him and the knockout blow was a case of perfect timing.

There is one way to negate speed and that’s timing. For two fighters whom are similar in speed it came down to whom was able to time and execute first. I was expecting Belfort to pressure Silva from the outset but we didn’t get that.