To Fight or Not to Fight: The Great MMA Teammate Debate
by E. Spencer Kyte on February 03, 2010
with an elbow is either not really that other person's friend or lying to themselves. Could you honestly punch your best friend in the face with the intention of knocking them out without second-guessing yourself?

If you could, I don't ever want to be your best friend, and feel bad for the person currently occupying that position.

The Great Teammate Debate is one that will continue on for years in this sport. In truth, it will probably only get larger as more and more fighters make their way to a select number of top level training camps, increasing the opportunities for this type of situation to happen.

Tyson Griffin and Evan Dunham have decided to put their shared membership at Xtreme Couture aside and square off at UFC 115 and I tip my hat to them, because no matter the money and no matter the opportunity, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Page:   1  |  2  |  3
 |  (35) Comments D_V: it's different at some gyms. not all team mates are that close. griffin will train in canada and at tapout with tompkins and dunham won't. couture's gym is huge. guys have fought each other from there before. they never did actually train together anyways. amir sodollah and hendricks come to mind. thug4less: I agree 100% ESK. Natalia Baage: Yes, Kyte. If they did fight, it would shake up a few divisions. But, still, I'm with them on this, too. They train together and know each other backwards. It's just not right. Maybe "right" is not the right word. But I'm sure you guys know what I mean. However, I have met people who've said that they'd fight their best friend or their brother if it meant that they could take another step closer to the title. Unfortunately, we're stuck in this situation *cough*welterweights*cough* but I guess the UFC's just gonna have to work around it. Remember when the Miletich camp owned all? We got lucky there... they were in different weight classes. Now we got Swick, Kos and Fitch, and even Jardine and Rashad, that are never gonna fight each other. I do commend those teammates that are fighting each other, but I understand that it's gonna be tough. As fans... could be interesting. ... And I thank you for your time. :D Jason Lee: Nice article, and I agree.. but I also agree with DV. Some gyms have a real tight-knit group of fighters, and some don't. Xtreme Couture is a big gym, and has facilities outside of Las Vegas, so Griffin and Dunham may not be real close friends. E. Spencer Kyte: Nat - people saying they'd fight their best friend for a step closer and actually coming down to delivering that final necessary strike are two totally different things. Joe Lauzon has said he'd fight his kid brother Dan, but would he maintain a kimura to the point of breaking his arm if Danny wasn't tapping? Those are the things that I know I couldn't do and I think people take too lightly with this discussion. There is no way I could go full-out for 15 minutes against my best friend, no matter what was at stake. I commend those who can, but completely understand those who are not interested. xdusty: to be honest im on the opposite side of the fence. i think fighters should fight each other even if they are friends. because that envelopes the image that mma has been trying to break away from for the last decade. you cant say "this isnt some blood bath,maim fest, hate fueled street fight. this is actually a sport. these guys are professional athletes. they are competing and displaying there skills at the highest level." then turn around the next day and say "i cant do that to my friend". do what? i thought this is a legit sport and your simply competing against each other. if that is the case whats the problem. football is a much more injury prone sport then mma. when have you ever heard of a guy refusing to tackle his friend? there is indeed a very real possibility that he could severely injure his friend in doing so, but they still do it without issue because it is nothing more to them then two athletes competing agaisnt each other. but more then anything, the bottum line is this: if people think that the best fight to be made is say silva and machida. if you dont show that fight, you not only dont get that money from it, you have fans losing intrest in the sport. if they do make the fight happen, they gain millions, the sport grows, tons of new fans are drawn to the sport, and everyone is happy.im not saying that its really the nicest thing in the world, but its reality. this sport is on the brink of becoming main stream. putting these fights together would work wonders for pushing the whole sport in the right direction. liking the same movies and music with some guy shouldnt be put in front of that. and if you want the world to believe that is a legit sport with pro athletes, then show it. shawnb: I'm on the "get your butt in the ring and fight" side as well. The point was brought up "can you really give your friend that finishing blow?" That's a good point, but on the flip side you can trust a friend not to fight dirty or deliberately attempt to injure you. Now since we are talking about fighters having to "man up". Something has been bothering me. A fighter fighting 4 times a year. Only in the fight game, boxing included, does the athlete have rediculous prep time and weight cuts. Most athletes play there game at there everyday weight with a reasonable training regiment. Practice, play, pracice play. How many games does a basketball player play in a season? A lot. Now I realize that this is fighting and fighters need time to heal after a fighrt. No argument there. Take as much time as you need. That being said, I would rather see fighters walk into the ring in the shape he keeps himself all year, and fight more often. I wanna see Monday night ufc fights. Put on weekly fights where guys move up in the ranks, get a huge fanbase, then sell the shit outta a ppv. This can only happen if fighters are ready to get in the ring more readily. Some guys man up and go fight on 2 days notice, why not make that standard across the board. If you are medically cleared, be ready to fight. I'd rather see a fighter with a slight gut fight more frequently than a shredded fighter once a year. A lot of the lower totem poll guys are ready and wanna make a name and will fight at the drop of a dime, let em. I'm just rambling cuz I'm bored at work ashka: I have a problem with professional fighters declining to fight team mates. I actually thinks it helps to perpetuate a negative image of the sport. I am yet to hear an argument for why it is acceptable for team mates to say no to fighting each other that I feel is legitimate, or at least resonates with me. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly understand the camaraderie that occurs in each gym. I know that it is a complete upset to multiple fighter's training schedules to make significant changes in the lead up to a fight. But shit happens. Are you running a gym to enable each fighter to be the very best they can be, or are you trying to engineer a monopoly of gatekeepers in a weight division? As a fighter, how can you not want to test the metal against the very best, regardless of kinship? This is Dana's "do you want to be a fucking fighter" speech at it's most logical. I don't have a problem with the likes of the AKA guys trying to oppose their will. I have no doubt in my mind that they would all fight each other for a title. Given that's never going to happen, they can continue to pussy foot around the division, takes turns at Thiago and pat each other on the butts. shawnb: good post aska xdusty: glad to see that im not alone on this. although the writters on this site do a great job with thier articles, it seems that they have missed the mark on the popular opinion here. ashka: Actually I'm surprised. This is a debate I have had often and I hardly ever have support. Following that, tell me why delivering the deciding strike/sub to a team mate, or even a family member, should be any different than to someone you are not close to? If you are not a fighter, I understand why this may seem like crossing the line. But I really can't understand why professional fighters balk at the thought. Why is the repercussion of breaking someone's arm, or ending someone's career any more severe just because you get to see the consequences more closely? Ignorance is bliss, huh? I'm not saying I don't understand the hesitation, of course I do. But it's called RESPECT and you should have it regardless of whether it's your brother, bestie or the biggest wanker you've ever met. If you fight everyone with respect, you leave consequences outside the ring. And if you can't, you should stick with hitting pads. shawnb: LMAO at Jits not responding first now!
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!