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Originally Posted by Them's Fighting Words  How often do professional MMA fighters actually let themselves get choked out rather than tap out? I'm not the ubber-fan of UFC that others here are, but these guys are actually fighting for their livelihood, so why are they taping out? Shouldn't they all just let themselves be choked out to give themselves a few seconds more fight time and thus a few seconds more of potential escape time? |
There are examples in pro MMA of guys like Enson Inoue, who made a big thing of 'warrior spirit' and never tapping out (e.g., lost consciousness against Nogueira rather than tap). Something John McCarthy said in an interview, in regards to
UFC II (when he wasn't allowed to stop the fight, instead having to rely on the fighter or their corner), fits in here too:
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I had the mistaken belief that people were going to take care of their fighters, they were going to do the right thing. It quickly became evident that fighters were telling their corners "don't you ever stop the fight."
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In BJJ, you have people like Jacare, who preferred to let Roger Gracie
break his arm rather than tap. Went on to win by points.
Not sensible behaviour in my view, but then I'm not even a regular competitor, let alone a professional. As people like Jacare and Enson demonstrate, at the professional level, there are people who are perfectly happy to risk serious injury rather than submit to their opponent.