Comments on: Mike Dolce’s “Ultimate Fighter 7″ Blog: Week 5

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:47:22 +0000

What I found really wrong with this fight, besides the fact that it was boring, was that in the second round, the ref told the fighters to STOP, not once but twice, while Dante had Brandon pushed up against the cage. After being told twice to stop, Dante tripped Brandon, and the ref said OK Fight. I really believe that they should have been stood up at that point and separated-since that was what the ref was trying to do at that time. Brandon may have stopped fighting the take down at that point after hearing Steve Mazzagatti tell them to stop. I also believe that Dante should have been penalized for not following the ref’s instructions. I can’t believe that this point wasn’t argued on the show.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:19:08 +0000

Telling fighters that they “can’t leave it in the judges hands” is a cop-out for the fact that the judging system is broken. Seriously. Why even have judges if everyone knows the judging is so bad? Why not just flip a coin after three rounds? It’s not always possible to finish someone in 15 minutes. If fights are going to be timed, some of them are going to decision. There is no way around that, and there should be a viable judging system in place to support it.

This isn’t regarding Brandon v. Dante, I thought the fight was pretty even and knew it would go to Dante for octagon control. The only thing that none of the judges is going to miss (besides blood) is who is on top. You might not see every jab or knee, but you certainly see who is in control.

Sports Illustrated published an article about Renato Verissimo and BJ Penn, and how they learned the hard way that in today’s MMA, you cannot win a decision from your back. Period.

Oh, and being penalized for stalling? Yes, please!!

By: Mike Dolce

Mike Dolce — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:31:11 +0000

Hey guys!

In a perfect world all fights would be finished with a single devastating blow within the confines of predetermined time limits, BUT that is not the case quite often. Especially at the higher levels of competition where opponents are very evenly matched up.

Sounds great on paper but not practical when discussing the future of our sport.

Additionally, I like your point, JAM, of having no time limit, or the PrideFC model of scoring the bout as a whole based upon the “will to finish”. I also like the concept of being penalized for stalling, on the feet and the ground.

The right answer is out there and with such passionate individuals as ourselves, we can certainly find it through open mediums like this site.

My blog was meant to bring up a discussion on the future development of our sport, not an opinion piece of Rivera vs Sene.

And Dstrong, I have ALWAYS tried to knock my opponents out, which is one of my most glaring strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone! Your input is certainly making me a better athlete and contributor.

-Mike Dolce

By: jam in pa

jam in pa — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:39:30 +0000

That is why the coaches always tell the fighters not to let the judges decide the winner, The fighters need to finish or prepare for disappointment.
Brandon layed down the punishment and in my book won the fight.
This is one of the aspects of the original UFC that I miss, when the match continued until someone gave up.

By: Dstrong

Dstrong — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:27:23 +0000

I thought the judging was fine, I picked it a draw and going into a third. Here is a thought for Brandon and MikeyD(who I thought got his arse handed to him) try this one, Knock the dude out? Brandon should have tagged him as he was coming in, it wasn’t like Dante was shooting in on his takedowns, Hell you’ve got to know after the first 2 min that all Dante’s game was jab,jab, put head down and try to take Brandon down, and for a JuiJitsu man, how weak was the kimura attempts by Donte? Hey Donte, I’m a novice at JuiJitsu, but I know to keep very little space between me and my Opponent, that’s why you got reversed dude, but in final, If you let it get to the judge, then you didn’t do what your intent was when you entered the ring and that was to destroy the opponent. So deal.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:30:51 +0000

Fantastic point. “Effective striking, grappling, agression and octagon control,” is obviously a fairly subjective thing. Were Brandon’s strikes effective by their criteria? Was Dante being agressive on the ground?

Mike, I heartily agree with your blog and think you made your point extremely well. Good stuff.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:39:21 +0000

Mike, your a great example of how diverse mixed martial artists are. You guys are not just “cage fighters”, but have many other skills outside the octagon. Fighters such as yourself are a perfect example as to why other fight sports such as boxing are quickly becoming just another re-run on ESPN Classic.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:08:39 +0000

I really enjoy your blog Mike. Keep up the good work.