picture of the day

No holds barred

21 Comments

Opponents Wanderlei Silva, left, and Brian Stann, right, pose for photos during an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The battle takes place from 10 a.m. on Sunday at Saitama Super Arena. The event will be aired live on numerous UFC broadcast partners in Japan and globally. For more info, visit http://jp.ufc.com

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


21 Comments
Login to comment

They look like they mean business.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Guys tell me that this nasty, brutal form of entertainment or contact combat sport is more than just brawling but skill is involved and beating their opponent senseless is not the purpose and even the over-all risk of critical sports-related injury is low. Is that really true guys? Well, I'm not into violent sports however I do respect these mixed martial art fighters. It must take a lot of dedication and courage to do this for a living. The man on the left looks really rugged, tough, mean, and strong like a bulldog and the gentlemen on the right, a captain in the marine looks a bit thin but has a well- balance body. Nonetheless looks can be deceiving. It should be interesting to see the outcome. So who do you pick?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Don't really care about the boys game but what is up with the dude in the middle? The smirk and the huge forehead, seems like he knows something we don't! If that is not a smirk he needs to take a dump real bad...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Nonetheless looks can be deceiving. It should be interesting to see the outcome. So who do you pick?

Wanderlei Silva is a legend of the sport, but he's accumulated too much damage over the years and is done. Brian Stann wins by 1st round KO after a crazy round of brawling.

This will be a brilliant event - I bought tickets in the SS seats for a ridiculous price...but it'll be worth it!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Hey Silva, who're you looking at?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Looking over the card, it's pretty mediocre. But it's those mediocre cards that always come through. Looking forward to seeing this one.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We can talk smack about these guys from the "comfort and safety" of our PCs, who would like to take a punch from these guys upside the head??

2 ( +2 / -0 )

jforce - there are no title fights like the UFC 144 card, but considering it's a Fuel TV event, the card is PPV-quality. The main event will be a lot of fun, Lombard vs Okami is a top level middleweight fight (if Lombard wins he may be next in line for a title shot after Weidman), Hunt vs Struve will definitely be exciting and may even have title shot ramifications considering the lack of contenders at HW, Gomi vs Sanchez will be a complete war (and you know it!), Stun Gun will be an excellent test for Bahadurzada, and the undercard has some very fun looking fights.

I think this event is flying under the radar for the potential event of the year - pretty much the whole card is stacked with guys who either consistently finish by KO/submission and have exciting bouts.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I didn't know Wanderlei was still fighting. I did a quick check and he's 36 years old, not to mention he is only 3-7 in his last 10 fights. I love the guy and think he's an amazing fighter, but I think he's the underdog here.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Anyone that stands with his pinky extended, will lose a fight.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Good to see Mean Gene Okelund 2.0 in the background.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nice visual depiction of old school MMA (Silva) and the new school (Stann).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is another one of those "sports" that clearly isn't a sport. It's just messing around.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

"No holds barred" sums up the problem with this "sport". There are tons of holds and strikes that are barred from these competitions, and that's why some of the top MARTIAL artists in the world don't rank. Look at these two guys, huge hulking piles of muscle... who would be killed in about 5 seconds by a Navy Seal or Thai kickboxer. Why? Because they're not expecting eye gouging, throat stikes, groin strikes, knee strikes, temple strikes... all these are banned in this sport because they're all killing or crippling strikes.

This isn't a sport or a martial art, it's about vicarious brutality for the masses, the modern gladiatorial circuses, except these men don't die straight away, instead they die by inches from their injuries, and fight for your amusement until they're too crippled to continue.

If these men were animals we would call this cruel and inhumane... but we'll do to humans what we wouldn't do to animals.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Boxing is a dead sport.. MMA is new sweet science.. I would like to see a world class.. no event.. with the best martial artists in Japan.. even a Sumo fight MMA... and make a movie about it in Japan.. with some hot naked girls.. and a great story line that is about honor, trust, betrayal.. sex.. betrayal.. love.. food, sake.. more sex and great music..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Frungy - and I trust you have the same problem with boxing? MMA is governed by athletic commissions, fighters are drug tested, the fights have referees who stop the fights when an opponent is clearly finished (critics of the sport say they stop fights too early these days), there are banned strikes/techniques like downward elbows, kicks/stomps to the head (was allowed in PRIDE - not in the UFC), small joint manipulation...I could go on. MMA now is so much safer and better governed than it was in 90s, even the borish senators who opposed it initially have given up trying to ban it in the US.

If you want to do the MMA fighter vs "master of martial art xyz" debate, there are plenty of examples in MMA over the past couple of decades where supposed "masters" have been shown up by better-rounded MMA fighters. The new breed of MMA fighter like Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Daniel Cormier, Rory McDonald, etc are elite level in a number of disciplines. Just take a look at the credentials of all the current UFC champions, and try to discredit their martial arts background. I'll be waiting for your response.

Oh, and one of the "hulking pieces of muscle who would be killed in about 5 seconds by a Navy Seal" is a former US Marine with a black belt in MCMAP (look it up). Just saying.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

cubicMar. 01, 2013 - 02:58PM JST Frungy - and I trust you have the same problem with boxing?

Yes, I do. These sort of blood sports are barbaric.

MMA is governed by athletic commissions, fighters are drug tested, the fights have referees who stop the fights when an opponent is clearly finished (critics of the sport say they stop fights too early these days), there are banned strikes/techniques like downward elbows, kicks/stomps to the head (was allowed in PRIDE - not in the UFC), small joint manipulation...I could go on. MMA now is so much safer and better governed than it was in 90s, even the borish senators who opposed it initially have given up trying to ban it in the US.

All these rules do is prevent come critical injuries... and as a result postpone the end of the fights making them more about the ability to absorb constant small non-lethal strikes until eventually small injuries and exhaustion stack up. A comparable sport with animals would be bull fighting, where the bull is tortured with many small strikes until it is too exhausted to fight back and then ended with a finishing stroke. Animal rights activists will moan about the inhumanity of torturing animals... and then go home and watch boxing or MMA.

If you want to do the MMA fighter vs "master of martial art xyz" debate, there are plenty of examples in MMA over the past couple of decades where supposed "masters" have been shown up by better-rounded MMA fighters. - See more at: http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/no-holds-barred-3#sthash.q12fXCdN.dpuf

And as I pointed out the problem is that these are NOT "No holds barred" fights. When you put layers of rules into place that reduce the fights to who can absorb the most non-lethal strikes then naturally you end up with people that look like bulls. Just like sumo's rules eventually made it impossible for anyone weighing less than ox to win matches, but at least sumo-ka aren't wandering around claiming that they could win a real fight like these MMA people are. It is a sport, and it is as far from real Martial Arts as kendo is from kenjutsu.

Oh, and one of the "hulking pieces of muscle who would be killed in about 5 seconds by a Navy Seal" is a former US Marine with a black belt in MCMAP (look it up). Just saying.

You're comparing a marine (even one with a black belt in MCMAP) to a navy seal? Don't make me laugh. The seals' training regime has 90% of the top marines who apply ringing the bell.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Frungy - so we're talking about the potential for concussions/brain damage as a result of sustained damage? If so, boxing is way worse than MMA. UFC fights are 3 five-minute rounds, and the fight can involve grappling both standing and on the floor, and striking to all parts of the body. Boxing is 12 three-minute rounds, where the boxers wear gloves to protect their fists (not the opponents head), with the vast majority of the blows aimed at the head. Plenty of experts back up that having smaller MMA-style gloves which can end fights much quicker, have less of an effect on long-term brain damage/concussion than sustained blows to the head like we see in boxing. You only need to compare the state of MMA and boxing veterans to see the difference.

And while we're on the subject, is American Football in your crosshairs too? Because there is a much longer and extensive history of concussions/brain damage caused by that sport. Way more so than MMA, and I don't hear people calling for that to be banned.

MMA and UFC don't market themselves as "no holds barrred" - that's just the name of the article, and was the company's tagline in like 1995. What is your point exactly? That MMA fighters couldn't win a real fight against supposed masters of other martial arts? That it isn't a true representation of martial arts? (it isn't and doesn't claim to be by the way) Do yourself a favour and look at the martial arts background of all the present UFC champions (male and female) - I'd love to hear your rebuttal that these people are not elite level in a number of martial arts.

About the navy seals being tougher than marines - whatever. My point is that these fighters are elite in a number of disciplines, and are not some pumped-up gym rat claiming they could take on the whole world and win.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

BoratLikeBarryMar. 01, 2013 - 09:00PM JST Frungy - so we're talking about the potential for concussions/brain damage as a result of sustained damage? If so, boxing is way worse than MMA.

Yeah, and nuclear warfare is worse than stabbing someone at a teaparty. Doesn't make either of them good.

And while we're on the subject, is American Football in your crosshairs too? Because there is a much longer and extensive history of concussions/brain damage caused by that sport. Way more so than MMA, and I don't hear people calling for that to be banned.

I think the rules of American football need to be updated, particularly for kid's football. The number of kids who get seriously injured for life for no good reason is ridiculous. However the intent of football is not to see someone bleeding in a ring, it isn't primarily a bloodsport, which is what makes it different from boxing and MMA.

MMA and UFC don't market themselves as "no holds barrred" - that's just the name of the article, and was the company's tagline in like 1995.

... seriously? Seriously? A company's "tagline" is a marketing strategy, just like its logo, jingle, commercials, etc.

I note you can't find a single point to defend MMA on, just saying that other things are worse, and not addressing the core issue, which is that we would ban it if it were animals in the ring... but we're quite happy to let humans tear each other apart for our amusement.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No holds barred

Ha! So that is where that expression comes from! Never thought about it before.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

It was the company's tagline back in like 1995...my point being that it isn't marketed like that anymore. The sport is governed by athletic commissions, they have a long-term tv deal with FOX - do you seriously think they would get that if they presented the UFC as "no holds barred"?

And what am I supposed to be defending the UFC from exactly? Your belief that its a barbaric? Well, people do get hurt in MMA, but my reason for comparing the injuries players sustain in American Football, Boxing, etc is to show you that people get hurt in other sports too, and much more so than in MMA. Its just another sport that participants willingly compete in. MMA is all about the intrigue of seeing which martial arts are the most effective against each other - maybe you can't appreciate the skill level demonstrated by a wrestler in passing the guard of a highly-ranked Brazilian ju-jitsu player, or a a ju-jitsu player submitting a wrestler off his back, or a judo player clinching with a greco roman wrestler and tripping them, or a muay thai fighter taking apart a boxer's base with leg strikes, or a karate fighter demonstrating the way their elusiveness can confuse a kickboxer....but if you look past the blood, you'll see that all of this is what makes MMA an amazing spectacle and truly intriguing as a sport. I don't really care if you're not changing your mind on it being barbaric because you've clearly made up your mind on that, but questioning the skill level of UFC fighters is incredibly naive.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites