As a bout of cage fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is being talked about, the mixed martial artists (MMA) say that the chances of victory do not depend on the size of the fighter. The MMA is the fastest growing combat sport in the world with many celebrities practising it for fitness and self-defence. A cage fight or MMA fight is like a cocktail of all sorts of martial arts, including boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), kick boxing, wrestling and others.

Does size matter?

While Mark Zuckerberg is about 5 feet 8 inches, Elon Musk is about 6 feet 2. However, the experts claim that size and weight have little advantage in such fights.

“Size does matter in such fights but it cannot be a decisive advantage. It depends on the training and mindset of the fighter. Both Zuckerberg and Musk have released videos of their training, but that’s the only best part of the training that has been released, so it can’t be assured who is capable of what,” said Manan Dattah, owner of Knockout Fightclub.

While Zuckerberg weights about 75 kgs, Musk’s weight is over 85 kgs. While some claim that the training videos of Zuckerberg are quiet impressive, many claim Musk can dominate due to his sheer size.The martial artists claim that the aggression in Musk’s behaviour might give him an upper hand.

“The body language and aggressive approach and assertive statements of Musk tells much about his mentality. This kind of mindset gives an upper hand to the fighter,” said Manan. However, the training videos of Zuckerberg and his serious BJJ bouts strike a balance between both.

“Aggression is a double-edged sword. Many a time we see aggressive fighters, especially those who are bigger in size, getting exhausted early. Size and weight have their own disadvantages. A calmer fighter focused on precision hitting can be a threat to an aggressive fighter trying to go berserk,” said Gaurav Jain, chief instructor, strike self defence academy, who also trains police and defence personnel.

Rules of a cage fight

According to the martial artists, only hitting on the groin, spinal cord, and neck are banned in the fight. Apart from these, hitting the eyes using fingers or scratching the opponent’s eyes is completely banned. Biting, rubbing elbows or fists on sensitive areas like eyes, nose or groin is also banned.

“The MMA involves pretty much all fighting forms, but it is still a sport. The organisers have to keep the participants safe and they are bound to such rules. It’s a simulated or controlled fight inside an arena, not a street fight, so it has to be done following the rules. Unlike hand to hand combat, MMA is a form of combat sport like Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai,” said Jain.

Winning criteria

The participants can win by unanimous decision of the judges after a series of two-minute rounds of fighting. Sometimes, like during a fight between world-class professional MMA athletes, it goes to 10-12 rounds. However, many fights end with a knockout, in which the opponent is knocked down with a punch or kick or a throw. The third way to victory is tap out. It happens during a proper choke hold or some other kind of hold and lock that forces the opponent to tap three times. As soon as the opponent taps, the referee ends the fight declaring the winner.

“Knockout or tap out are the most-watched fight ends. The spectators around the world are amazed to see how a clash of titans ends with one well connected punch or one well held choke or grab. Any good professional fighter falls to a well connected punch or kick or can be tapped out. Uncertainty is the key to the game. Many muscular, heavily built fighters have tapped out as they fell into the trap and many have been knocked out despite the advantage of their size and weight,” said Anuj Panwar, director, strike self defence academy.

BY ABHISHEK ANAND, 
INDIA TODAY

Link to the Actual India Today Post : Click here