colintimberlake.comTell her it wasn’t you…

For today’s historic induction into the prestigious MMA Mental Hall of Fame, we have before us James “The Colossus” Thompson, a journeyman fighter who presently boasts a 14-10 record.

While his 14 wins include victories over such MMA luminaries as Dan Severn and Don Frye, his relatively simple-minded fighting style has caused some to draw comparisons to another well-known brawler, pictured to the right. An MMA loss to Eric “Butterbean” Esch will generally do that for your image.

While an impressive physical specimen with a great deal of ring experience, Thompson has set the current MMA standard for a consistent inability to learn from his experience.

He continually opens his fights by bullrushing across the ring while throwing an opening haymaker that usually misses, leaving him exposed for a very quick knockout. He also appears to have yet to learn the value of keeping his hands up.

The result is generally pleasing for the fans, however, as he almost always gives the fans a very short slugfest with a very fast KO, and it is pretty much a coin flip as to whether he will be giving or receiving the knockout.

Six of his 24 fights have ended within the first 45 seconds of round one.

He is perhaps best known for leaving the cage looking like this (to the left) after his network-televised fight with Kimbo Slice. He had walked into the cage without thinking to drain a cauliflower ear so swollen with blood that the top literally hung over from the weight. Guess what happened…

For a sample of the Colossus in action, see the below video of his brief fight with Don Frye, which also features the most strange and homo-erotic staredown in MMA history.

All of that said, the guy rarely turns in a boring performance, seems to be a good guy with a good attitude, and appears to have conducted himself well outside the ring.

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I am going to receive a lot of heat from the MMA purists for my next suggestion for improving the rules, appeal and safety of mixed martial arts, but I am going to suggest it anyway.

IT IS TIME TO MAKE THE HEEL HOOK AN ILLEGAL SUBMISSION.

Now hold on, don’t throw your keyboard and monitor out the window in disgust. If you think it over and look at the issue objectively, you may ultimately find yourself agreeing with me. And keep in mind…

THERE WAS A POINT IN TIME WHEN PURISTS WERE CLAIMING THE FOLLOWING:

“We should permit head butts.”
“We should permit soccer kicks to downed opponents.”
“We should permit head stomps.”
“The fighters should not use gloves.”
“We should permit hair pulling if the fighter is reckless enough to enter the cage with hair long enough to pull.”

And if you look over the history of MMA and its gradual rules augmentations, you will see many aspects completely absent from modern MMA that were once claimed by some to be essential to the integrity of the sport.

I will probably be in the minority, but I am suggesting that we add the heel hook to the above list of once-permissible but not-worth-the-trouble fighting maneuvers. Now don’t get me wrong. I view the heel hook as a very legitimate submission move, an advanced skill, one worth knowing and studying and being able to defend against. But I would like to see it reserved more for the Krav Maga category than the arena of sanctioned mixed martial arts.

THE UFC CURRENTLY OUTLAWS THE FOLLOWING MOVES:

- Butting with the head.
- Eye gouging of any kind.
- Biting.
- Hair pulling.
- Fish hooking.
- Groin attacks of any kind.
- Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
- Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
- Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
- Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
- Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
- Stomping a grounded opponent.
- Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
- Small joint manipulation.

More than anything, I liken the heel hook to small joint manipulation (bending, twisting or breaking the fingers as a form of submission).

Several of the outlawed moves are on the outside looking in because they risk permanent brain or spinal injury (striking the spine or back of the head). However, several moves are outlawed for other reasons.

SMALL JOINT MANIPULATION IS NOT PERMITTED FOR TWO REASONS:

1. Damage to these joints can result in permanent impairment and career-ending loss of ability to effectively use the body part.
2. Due to the fragility of these joints, opponents are not given a sufficient opportunity to submit before the submission is fully executed and the damage is done.

THE VERY SAME RATIONALE APPLIES TO THE HEEL HOOK.

When a heel hook is applied, by the time the opponent feels the pain associated with the move and taps, it is quite likely that his knee and its ligaments have already been destroyed. The heel hook stands out among large joint submissions as one that is not only the most damaging, but one that provides the least opportunity to submit before it is executed to completion.

With that said, I would be willing to bet that if you surveyed professional fighters, more would prefer to punched or kicked in the head while unconscious than to have a heel hook performed to completion on them.

Every time a heel hook is applied and completed, the receiver is out for a minimum of six months and is almost guaranteed to return to the cage a reduced version of his former self. Very few athletes in any sport who require knee reconstruction due to torn ligaments will return and perform at 100% of their pre-injury level.

While the heel hook is an impressive submission and everybody loves clips like Ryo Chonan vs. Anderson Silva, is the potential drama provided by this one move worth the risk of the sport’s top stars being out for extended periods of recovery and possibly forced into retirement with a career-threatening injury? The move is literally designed to tear apart the ligaments of the knee, and is applied in such a manner that there is little opportunity to submit before the damage is done.

And don’t get me wrong. I greatly admire the legacy of Ken Shamrock, and it would be a slight source of sadness to see one of his signature moves go by the wayside, given his contributions to the rise of mixed martial arts. But at the same time, Royce Gracie employed headbutts and fought in a gi, both of which are now illegal with virtually no complaint from anyone.

I, for one, am willing to forego the (often grotesque) visuals of the heel hook and suffer the knowledge that the fighters are employing one less (minor) combat skill in order to ensure that my favorite fighters are competing longer and with the same knee ligaments (and agility) they were given at birth.

It has been a few years since David “The Crow” Loiseau fought his way out of the UFC with a pair of losses, being quite unceremoniously dropped by that organization. In fact, it could very well be the best example of the UFC’s ruthlessness following a loss by a fighter, as the two losses that lost Loiseau his position in the organization were:

1. A decision loss to current welterweight contender Mike Swick, where Loiseau lasted the full three rounds.
2. A five-round decision loss in a title match with Rich Franklin, where Loiseau made it to the final bell despite having his face visibly damaged and horrendously swollen.

David Loiseau has now compiled a string of six fights outside the UFC (going 4-2 with the losses coming to the respectable Joey Villasenor and Jason Day) and apparently a three-fight winning streak — combined with the fact that UFC 97 is in Montreal, Canada without Georges St. Pierre on the card — has pushed the UFC to give “The Crow” another shot.

Given that Loiseau is well-regarded by many hardcore MMA fans as having by far the most dangerous elbows in the sport — Kenny Florian would have to glue razor blades to his elbows to be equivalent — the well-earned return of the Canadian to the UFC ranks could help to stir the pot in what remains a somewhat stagnant middleweight division. At 29 years of age, Loiseau is ostensibly in the midst of his physical prime.

At UFC 97 in Montreal, Loiseau will square off against Ed “Short Fuse” Herman, providing a stiff but passable test to retain his UFC green card. Loiseau has enjoyed wins in the past over former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner, Charles “Captain Miserable” McCarthy (with a highlight-reel spinning back kick), Joe Doerksen and Gideon Ray.

Here, we get to see some of what David Loiseau has been up to in the meantime. Enjoy the Sans Pression music video for a recent octagon entrance song for Georges St. Pierre: Numero 1.

This Friday (in two days) Ken Shamrock steps back into the cage to square off against Ross Clifton. At 6′8″ and nearly 400 pounds, Clifton will provide a Zulu-esque freakshow aspect for the fight, as Shamrock (age 45) will be outweighed by well over 100 pounds.

Can anyone say Fedor Emelianenko vs. Zulu? Fedor vs. Hong Man Choi? Keith Hackney vs. Emmanuel Yarbrough? Robert Shaw vs. Jaws?

Yes, with a professional record of 6-8, Ross Clifton is not exactly providing a stellar level of competition. He’s lost to a “who’s that” of the fringes of the heavyweight division, including two first round knockout losses to Dave Huckaba (possibly his most notable opponent). His physique makes Tim Sylvia look like Mr. Universe. In his most recent match, he tapped out due to strikes after a mere 21 seconds, quite possibly making him the white Bo Cantrell.

Then again, at least Ross Clifton lasted longer in his two fights against Huckaba than Bo Cantrell did. In two fights against Dave Huckaba, Cantrell (author of the first-round flying tap against Kimbo Slice) lasted a grand total of 31 seconds. He was knocked out in 26 seconds in their first matchup. Three months later in the rematch, Bo Cantrell was knocked out in five. Five seconds. Man, Bo Cantrell sucks.

And I’m not necessarily saying that Clifton is a huge step up. But this fight isn’t about Clifton.

This fight is very much about Ken Shamrock. While Evander Holyfield is on a continuing and seemingly futile quest to end his boxing career by reclaiming some form of the world heavyweight championship, Ken Shamrock would be happy at this point to have the option of ending his career with at least a win. If he gets that win, then we’ll see what happens…but the man does need a win. He has lost five straight fights, hardly a string that gives any current credibility to his nickname as “the World’s Dangerous Man.”

Most recently, he lost (on the eve of the fight) the opportunity to do what Seth Petruzelli did and discredit Kimbo Slice. He cut his eyelid while sparring in preparation for the fight and instead the virtual no-name stepped in and took out Kimbo with an off-kilter jab even more quickly than Ross Clifton was defeated in his last fight. It would have been pretty much the best possible (and somewhat realistic) ending that was available to Ken Shamrock. The aging warrior slays the marketing internet giant. It was a possible victory for Shamrock at this point in his career, but one that slipped through the cracks.

In Clifton, Shamrock has an opponent who has at least some rudimentary submission skills (possessing victories by keylock and armlock) but who is almost surely the inferior of Ken Shamrock in this regard, even an aging Shamrock. Also, with a relative dearth of KO or TKO victories, Clifton has not shown himself to have a great deal of striking power, which will also work to Shamrock’s advantage, as he needs to avoid the flash KOs and knockdowns that have plagued his recent matches.

Now, call me sentimental. Call me a sucker for a comeback story. But I actually do want to see Ken Shamrock fight. I wanted to see him fight Kimbo. I was interested. I am somewhat less interested in this particular matchup, but I want to see Shamrock fight and I definitely want to see him secure at least one more victory before it is all said and done.

As well, I am not among the masses who continually cry for Shamrock’s immediate retirement. I believe the man has indeed earned the right to keep fighting. He is not showing any of the Holyfield-like symptoms of deteriorating speech and such. Hell, he’s been getting knocked out too quickly as of late to take any real damage. But the man is a warrior. And I do believe that he has at least one good one left. I’m willing to watch until I see it.

The following .GIF provides a good example of some strategies to avoid when fighting from your own guard. Josh Neer (bottom) demonstrates the proper technique for reaching around your opponent to ensure that you land a clean shot on your own face. This technique can be used to confuse and bewilder your opponent, or as a manner of losing by KO to avoid the embarrassment of tapping out or losing by decision.

In many ways, he was the closest thing the modern world has seen to Master Splinter or Master Yoda, the fictional and ageless conduits of martial arts wisdom. Helio Gracie, the godfather of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and patriarch of the legendary Gracie family, has passed away at the age of 95. He died of natural causes on Jan. 29, 2009.

According to the family, he left this world with a sense of accomplishment and completion of his life’s goals. Indeed, he did not pass away without seeing his son Royce become the first-ever UFC champion and a member of the UFC hall of fame. Likewise, many of his progeny have gone on to great mixed martial arts and jiu jitsu success, with son Rickson also attaining legendary status in martial arts circles.

The Grand Master was instrumental in the development and proliferation of jiu jitsu, so much so that the terms Gracie Jiu Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu have become interchangeable.

He was a legend that spawned a generation of legends, and ultimately changed the way that people fight, compete, and defend themselves. His teachings made evident to the western world the longstanding but often mythical axiom that training and technique could overcome virtually any size or strength disadvantage.

With Gracie jiu jitsu, his students and family blazed a trail through the martial arts world at the expense of larger men, in the process contributing immensely to the development of mixed martial arts as it currently exists and inspiring legions to pursue the character-building experience that comes with an immersion into the martial arts.

A legend has fallen but will never be forgotten.

And after seeing Georges St. Pierre demonstrate how we properly execute an armbar from the mount, in this case we get to see firsthand how we do not execute an armbar from the mount, courtesy of Jon Murphy. This particular incident has become known in MMA lore as the “invisible armbar” and is one of the many fine moments that was brought to us by EliteXC before it was brought crashing down by an off-kilter jab from Seth Petruzelli.

In the following video, Canadian pound-for-pound king and multiple-time UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (GSP) display his technique for transitioning from the mount to an armbar submission of his opponent.

You will, of course, have to earn the mount position in your fight.

But if you get there and your ground and pound just isn’t knocking your opponent senseless, then it may be time to bring out the submission game.

Here is a lesson from a man whose striking and wrestling are revered, but whose world class jiu jitsu is largely underrated.

Disqualifications are relatively rare in mixed martial arts. Even more rare is a fighter who can accumulate three losses in this manner. Rarer still is a man who can find three completely different and increasingly creative ways to get disqualified. Gilbert Yvel is that rare beast.

Despite being one of the most talented strikers in MMA, Yvel has set up several roadblocks to his own success by leaving fans, officials and opponents completely unsure of what he might or might not do in the ring. His unpredictability and general lack of boundaries have led to his being compared more than once to Mike Tyson.

Disqualification #1: At 4:49 of Round 1 vs. Karimula Barkalaev (1998), Gilbert Yvel is disqualified for biting his opponent.

Disqualification #2: Against Don Frye at Pride 16 (2001), Yvel is disqualified at 7:27 of the first round for eye gouging.

Disqualification #3: A mere 35 seconds into the first round of his match against Atte Backman (2004), Gilbert Yvel is disqualified for knocking out the referee (then kicking him while he was down).

Despite his bizarre conduct during fights, Yvel has secured victories over top fighters such as Cheick Kongo, Valentijn Overeem, Semmy Schilt and Gary Goodridge. He has also gone the distance with Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Jeremy Horn. One thing is for sure, this man has the ability to consistently keep the MMA world guessing.

This is also the longest he has ever gone in his career without a DQ. Is he overdue?

And in Yvel’s defense: In the following clip, prior to his match with Josh Barnett, Yvel gives a brief explanation of why he knocked out the referee in the Backman fight.

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Ummm, yeah.

Return to the MMA MENTAL HALL OF FAME