"One thing that wrestlers got over MMA guys is they know their history. In MMA, there's a lot of kids just run out here and they don't know nothing. They couldn't tell you what Pancrase was, but you should know your past. Just like with wrestling. At some point, there became that great divide, but they both require tremendous amounts of skill. They're both similar and yet different. I think a professional wrestler should know both sides. Because if you want to go out there and capture everybody's hearts and have them get so invested into a fight, to the point that they forget what they're watching, that it is a worked outcome; then you should know what a real fight is like."
-- Josh Barnett, who is one half of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Finale (Daniel Cormier being the other), which is set to go down on May 19, 2012, from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, tells Fighters Only that today's young mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters aren't too well versed in the history of their sport. Barnett, who has dabbled in pro wrestling with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in 2003, feels that is one thing the pro wrestlers have over MMA fighters, is their knowledge of the history of their respective sport. "The Baby-Faced Assassin" also goes on to say that if a pro wrestler wants to connect with fans, they need to know exactly what it is to be in a real fight. Perhaps Brock Lesnar, who recently returned to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) organization, knows all this to well. Since returning to the WWE, he hasn't seemed to get out of his real fighting mindset, donning MMA gloves and his UFC fight shorts during his matches. Or at least, WWE officials seem to think it's a good idea to take advantage of Lesnar's time spent with the world's largest MMA promotion. Anyone agree with Barnett on this one -- are too many of today's young MMA stars out of touch with their history? Is it important for them to know the sport's past?
No comments:
Post a Comment