Career Advice: UFC on Versus 2 Losers

Homer: So who won? The losers?
Bart: No, they lost.
Homer: Ha, ha. Losers.

Homer Simpson really knows how to twist the knife on a loser. MMA fans are no different. A loss is often free reign for the masses to discredit everything a fighter has ever done, will do or could do.

In the name of reason and good old sanity, I’m cutting Sunday night’s losers some slack and drawing up a personalized reclamation plan for their fistic salvation, or maybe just some decent life advice. Ha, ha. Losers.

Do Janitors Get a Pension?

Vladimir Matyushenko has been a damn good fighter from his first day in this sport. Unfortunately his first day in the sport came nearly 13 years ago.

There is no way Matyushenko is going to turn into a world-class wrestler all over again or discover an aptitude for exotic offensive techniques. However, in his two stints with the UFC, he has been a solid company man who took on guys no one wanted any part of (See: Andrei Arlovski).

Here’s hoping the UFC does the right thing and keeps “The Janitor” around to cash a few more meaty UFC paychecks before riding off into the sunset. It would hardly be charity considering there are still plenty of light heavyweights who likely want no part of the Belarusian meat grinder.

You’re a D-1 Champion, Act Like It

There’s no two ways about it: Watching Mark Munoz fight is an exercise in frustration. Here you have a former D-1 wrestling champion blessed with otherworldly punching power who seems to have no interest in improving either.

Considering Munoz has trained with members of the vaunted Black House team, it’s not like he’s hurting for quality training partners. What the problem seems to be is a lack of fight IQ on Munoz’s part, as he continues to rely on predictable power double legs and overhand haymakers.

Basic boxing fundamentals should not be beyond the grasp of an athlete like Munoz. Neither should some simple alterations to his wrestling game. Talent alone doesn’t get you far in MMA anymore, and Munoz needs to decide whether or not he wants to be a serious contender or just “that big guy who punches super-duper hard.”

Doomsday Needs to Learn from Doomsday

The Doomsday that eventually schoolboyed the entire Justice League evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. John “Doomsday” Howard is a guy who hits like a Kryptonian experiment gone wrong, but never evolves.

Despite coming into his fight with Jake Ellenberger rocking a 4-0 Octagon record, Howard’s weaknesses were as well documented as his galling luck with the judges. It’s high time he get serious about tightening up his game because his jaw-smashing power is wasted with poor technique and negligible takedown defense.

Every fighter has a ceiling, but Howard isn’t some marginal fighter. Work on the three stages of proper takedown defense and start worrying more about throwing with proper technique rather than the utmost power. Logic, recent history and, most importantly, myself all say it works.

Tyson Needs to Find His Cus D’Amato

Xtreme Couture is absolutely one of the best MMA gyms in the world. However, none of that changes the fact that Tyson Griffin has hit a brick wall in his progress.

Either Griffin has reached his apex as a fighter at just 26 years of age or something needs to change for him to make any more concrete improvements. Really, though, the only improvements he needs to make are strategic.

Playing a mid-range game with Gomi is never a great idea when you don’t have the reach to keep a jab in his face. Those are the kinds of mental errors that separate the gatekeepers from the contenders, and Griffin is backsliding into the former category. It’s not too late to reverse the course, but embracing strategy is something many fighters inexplicably avoid like the plague.