First Things First

Mexico City hosted two major combat sports events this weekend. Karate Combat held their second Pit Submission Series and Brian Ortega put a beating on Yair Rodriguez at the UFC. Today we're dissecting Ortega's win and discussing why new arenas come with as many problems as they do advantages.

UFC Mexico City

The UFC had a chaotic and somewhat confusing card this weekend. There were last-minute fight cancellations, some poor decision, but the co-main event winner had a legacy-boosting performance. Brian Ortega won his rematch against Yair Rodriguez.

Ortega's and Rodriguez's first fight ended early. Ortega's shoulder popped out in the first round after Rodriguez launched an arm bar attempt.

It has been nearly a year and a half since then and Ortega had not fought. Rodriguez had won an interim title before losing to Alexander Volkanovski in the unification bout. Rodriguez’s career had the momentum thanks to his more recent activity and this rematch could not come at a more important time.

The Spanish citizen, Ilia Topuria, just won the featherweight title from Volkanovski. Spanish soccer stars like Sergio Ramos are embracing him. Even Real Madrid honored Topuria with a ceremonial kick-off. Now, Dana White is indicating he wants to host an event in a Spanish soccer stadium.

Having some of the most famous athletes and organizations in the world organically promote a new champion is a promoters dream. Them being from a country that has yet to host a fight is an improbable cherry on top. Combine all this with two potential challengers both speaking the native of language of this potential new host country and you have a gold mine. The only thing left is for one of these challengers to seize the opportunity.

Brian Ortega vs Yair Rodriguez

Brian Ortega put on a tremendously gutsy performance this weekend in his rematch against Yair Rodriguez. Early in the fight, it was all Rodriguez. He opened the fight blasting Ortega from distance, bloodying him, and putting him on his butt.

Ultimately this proved to be a mistake. Rodriguez following Ortega into his guard gave Ortega time to recover. By the end of the first round, Ortega was starting to take over.

While Ortega has excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu his takedowns have always been lackluster. Seeing him box into clinches for takedowns was a welcome change.

In the second round Ortega started hitting his stride. Rodriguez tried to jump on a guillotine choke to counter Ortega’s takedown attempt early in the round. This left him under Ortega with his head stuck on the fence. Ortega was happy to use the position to elbow Rodriguez, break his face open, and sap Rodriguez’s energy.

After getting stuck on the fence and beat up for a round Rodriguez was completely spent. Ortega put him out of his misery with similar ground striking to set up the finish.

Using wrist grips and frames to set up elbows is one of the simplest way for grapplers to have success on top. The grips and frames prevent the bottom player from using their hands for defense. At the same time the top player can still drill a hard strike in.

Interested in studying grounded folding elbows more? Check out this premium article I put out last year.

This fight reinforced one thing. Ortega is tougher than shoe leather. The win leaves either him or Max Holloway as the top contenders to fight for the featherweight title next.

The night before the UFC was in Mexico city, Karate Combat put on another event. In the process they showcased the latest combat sports gimmick.

Karate Combat And Sports Gimmicks

Karate Combat is a fun promotion. The all-striking affair is generally good for wild exchanges and highlight reel knockouts every time they put on a show.

Currently, Karate Combat is trying a new event format called Pit Submission Series. For their second event, they brought two major Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors to Mexico. First up on the night. was Joao Miyao taking on UFC fighter Ricky Simon.

Not to be outdone, Australian phenomenon Craig Jones added to his legend with a showtime triangle.

Both submission sequences were exciting. They also wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Karate Combat’s pit.

Every playing surface has advantages and disadvantages. The pit improves viewership but I’m not sure that it is a net gain for the athletes.

The pit allows for the bottom player to get under their opponents easier. And, in the long run, I think we’ll see more injuries as athletes stumble and trip over the sloped wall.

The reality is there is no such thing as a pure fight. Every combat sports event is governed by arbitrary rules dividing arbitrary surfaces so the audience can be entertained. 

Just look at Ortega’s fight against Rodriguez. The cage didn’t trip anyone nor give a submission. But it did lock Rodriguez’s head in place when he was on bottom position. That prevented him from being offensive and gave Ortega a clear shot at elbowing his face.

Combat sports have always been a circus. A spectacle built to be sold. Professional wrestling’s origins come from grappling events contested at carnivals.

In that sense, Karate Combat’s pit is certainly an advantage. It forces exchanges because people can’t walk out of bounds and it makes for a better viewing experience. It’s just easier to sell something exciting that you can see.

I don’t really care where myself or anyone else competes. As long as there is a safe and standardized way for us to make money, I’m happy. The most important thing is understanding how to use the rules and playing field to maximize your chance of success.

Further Viewing And Three Stories You May Have Missed

Share & Support Open Note Grappling