Grappling and kicking

from JoeUser Forums

Dave and I spent yesterday evening and most of today watching the Ultimate Fighter marathon on Spike TV.  He's been a cage fighting fan for ages and I never really understood what he saw in it...until I watched last's night's episodes, then I was hooked.

These guys beat the crap out of each other.  Literally.  They punch, kick, grapple, choke...they go all out to make the dude they're fighting either 'tap' out or not be able to get up off the floor of the cage.

There were some pretty graphic moments.  Eyebrows are fragile things, they split open pretty easy and bleed a lot, and eyes don't take that long to swell up after being hit or poked. 

There were a lot of fights that had me sitting up in bed, yelling "kick!! Kick HIM!!!"  or "choke that mofo out!  Make that a$$hole tap!", and there were an equal amount that had me saying "ooh!  That HAD to hurt!".

There was one, though, that made me wince.  Two heavyweights were scrapping - Seth Petruzelli and Brad Imes were matched up against each other.  Seth's Link 6'1" and weighs in at 235...he's a big boy.  Brad Link ...he's even bigger.  6'7" and 260, he's a big ol' corn fed boy.

Seth has a common fighter's problem - cauliflower ears.  Right before the fight he was saying how his left ear had recently been cauliflowered and it was still pretty painful. 

I didn't like Seth from the moment he opened his mouth.  A lot of cage fighters have big egos, but Seth's just seemed bigger than average.  He also came across as a bit of a pretty boy - he even plucks his eye brows - and we're not talking about getting rid of a uni-brow (which, btw, I think is acceptable for dudes to do).  Oh no, Seth has a better arch to his brow than I do, and I'm a bit of a girly girl when it comes to makeup and perfumes and waxing and polishing and stuff.

Anyway, during the fight Brad figured out that Seth's ear was killing him, and man did he ever take advantage of it.  Every opportunity he got, he went for that ear, and Seth really was hurting.  During one of the breaks between rounds someone from Seth's team went to put an ice pack on the now swollen to three or four times it's normal size ear, and Seth audibly made a whimpering noise and moved his head away.

So, the fight goes on...and on....and on....it went 5 rounds (I won't tell you who won in case you haven't seen it), with Brad smacking on Seth's ear every chance he gets.  At some point, one of them starts to bleed.  It's not unusual to see blood in the ring, like I said earlier, eyebrows are fragile things and Dave and I both figured that someone had a busted brow or a split lip or something.

Until we watched an after fight interview with Brad and he starts talking about how the stuff that came out of Seths ear when it busted open was pretty gross.

Huh?  Gross stuff?  That came out when his ear busted open?

Yeah.  The already painful cauliflowered ear had swelled to bursting point, and one good smack from Brad was all that it took to bust it open.

Wow.  I can't even imagine how much that must have hurt. 

In another after fight interview we were treated to the sight of Seth with his ear bandaged to the side of his head, getting ready to go get his ear somewhat reassembled.  He looked like a pretty-boy version of Van-Gough.  It was probably not a good thing to do karmically, but I laughed when I saw that.  All the smack he'd talked before the fight.....and there he was, bandaged and hurting.....the loser, not the victor.

So, Dave and I have something new that we can enjoy together.  He likes it because...well, because he likes to fight.  When he was up in Greenland he and some of the guys he worked with had kind of a fight club going on.  They'd put out some mats in one of the rooms and start grappling.  They didn't punch or kick much, but they'd try and get each other to either tap or pass out.  There were a few times when Dave would show me the bruises he'd sustained from the most recent battle he'd had. We'd be IM-ing and he'd turn on his web cam and sit there grinning as I 'wow-ed' over his marks. All of the dudes he 'fought' with were bigger than him - which isn't hard because he's a relatively little guy (5'8" and 165), so he was always pretty proud of his battle marks.  He's a tough little fucker, is my husband.  Wiry....got a lot of stamina.  So, anyway, that's why he likes these Ultimate Fighter shows.  I like them because....well, I'm not sure why.  No, it has nothing to do with half naked boys.  It appeals to me on a much more lower level than that.  I guess I like to check out the techniques they use, see how they maneuver their opponents around.  There's a lot of skill involved; it's not sheer brute force than wins a fight.

Tonight's the season finale.  Tonight's the night that we get to find out who wins the contract AND the coveted title.

Should make for some EXCELLENT tv......I'll let you know!

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2,703 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

Go for it!  I am playing Punisher and listening to Zepplin with my son! (he is beating the crap out of me!).

To each ones own.

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I HATE that stuff- been in way to many real fights in my life. I 'd as soon watch the Waltons as sad as that sounds...
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
There were a few times when Dave would show me the bruises he'd sustained from the most recent battle he'd had. We'd be IM-ing and he'd turn on his web cam and sit there grinning as I 'wow-ed' over his marks
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I've been a Ju-jutsu disciple for many years, and I know exactly what you are talking about. It hurts, it's painful, but there's just something about squaring off in unarmed combat with a skilled opponent that can't be imagined. Afterwards, win or lose, you wear your bruises, scrapes, black eyes and split lips like badges of honor.

he's a relatively little guy (5'8" and 165), so he was always pretty proud of his battle marks. He's a tough little fucker, is my husband. Wiry....got a lot of stamina.
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I'm a relatively big guy, 6'3", 200+ pounds, but many times I'd rather fight a guy my size than a smaller guy. If they are like your husband, wiry and limber, they're hard to get ahold of, faster than a snake, and you really gotta hurt 'em to make 'em want to tap out. I learned all my best moves from a guy your husband's size, and while I like to think I got pretty good over the course of the years, I was never able to get him.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
The other thing about being a smaller guy is that you're people unsually under estimate you. I grappled with this one guy pretty regular in Greenland. He was about 5'10" and out weighed me by about 40 lbs. He was the toughest, strongest, most skilled, etc. (you get the picture). Anyway, we were at the gym one day in the raquetball court with the mats down. Of course, he made me tap several times but once, he tried to put me in an arm lock and instead of trying to escape, I picked him up and could have slammed him but as we were sparring, I gently put him down and got the response, "you're a strong little fucker, aren't ya?"
I think people just kinda know when someone enjoys a good fight too. When I was in the desert, there was this kid (good guy) that liked to wrestle. He would poke and rib me when he got the chance but I didn't smart off to him for a couple of reasons. Mostly because he had low self esteem (another reason he liked to fight, he usually won, making him feel better about himself). Anyway, we were out smoking one night and wouldn't you know it: we grappled right there in the smoke pit (not an octagon but a hexagon!). We had to stop because I nearly put his head through the bench (on accident) and he about broke my little finger. He walked away with a broken flip-flop and some minor bruises. I walked away with some friction burns and covered in ash. It was really fun. The people around couldn't believe when we were done, we were smoking and laughing about it. He's a really good kid and I hope I see him again.
Enough of my stories.
Long story short, I enjoy grappling.