What fouls is he infamous for, besides the fake tap to Bustamante? I'm drawing a blank.
Your opinion on Fedor-Lindland
- Thread starter WoodenPupa
- Start date
Really? You didn't know he savagely bit a guys ear in wrestling? He even grabbed the ropes in the Fedor match before Fedor did
That's right, I forgot about the ear-biting. I'm aware of the rope grab in the Fedor fight---I mentioned it in a prior post. I wouldn't say that rope-grab was anywhere near on the level of fake-tapping or biting though. It's certainly not what got him branded as a foul cheater.
Agreed but it supports the lack of sympathy when Fedor grabbed the ropes.
Absolutely my friend, but it's my position to take these things on a case by case basis, IE; picking my battles. In this instance it is one of the most common infractions, minor as "minor" can be in a fight, and Fedor appeared to be fighting against his instinct before the throw, his hand brushed against the rope without grabbing it. It's like playing "just the tip" for all INTENSIVE purposes. I absolutely agree rules are rules, and also agree with the beautiful Leigh that Lindland had a history, in that fight no less.
So, with all these things in mind, I'd either negate the fouls if judged as such, or have no problem with the end result, in believing that the God of mma balanced all previous Lindland infractions by his own hand on that special evening in St. Petersburg.
What do you think of the ref's repeated instructions to Fedor about the ropes? Was the ref off-base, or were his concerns justified? It wasn't just one warning, but several, and I don't see a point where Fedor responded to them. Maybe he couldn't, though (see below).
As far as grabbing vs. incidental contact, from what I can see it was neither, at least at the critical moment. He knew where the rope was and used it for balance.
So as for whether the infractions were minor, ironically I think the ones the ref expressed concerns about were the ones Fedor wasn't in a position to do much about, because Matt had him totally jammed up against the turnbuckle/ropes. But the one that had real impact on the bout happened so fast, the ref didn't even have time to do anything about, so there was no warning there.
But you have to think the ref's prior warnings were issued precisely to ward off further infractions, just as in boxing a ref will stop the action to caution a fighter about borderline low-blows. But there's the difference: in boxing, a ref will usually stop the action to issue those warnings. In MMA there is much more reluctance.
It is really tempting to believe in a karma logic like this. The problem I have with it is that if we really do subscribe to it, we're committed to accepting any and all results, no matter what they are. And I'm certainly not prepared to do that.
More often than not, I think we use the karmic concept as a means to justify who we root for at all costs.
let us hear more about this as we have some very passionate (or angry 
) posters.........I'm here for the viewing pleasure on this one.
) posters.........I'm here for the viewing pleasure on this one.