ACB Supersonic: Widening My MMA Knowledge

As I mentioned when I began these posts, I’m a relatively recent convert to the sport of mixed martial arts. My experience, as that of so many ‘casual’ fans’, is largely of the UFC, comfortably the most dominant organisation.

However, as my intrigue in the sport has grown in the last 18 months, as has my awareness and understanding of the various promotions beyond the UFC juggernaut. With Spike TV’s partnership with the UK’s Channel 5, I now have access to fights across Bellator and BAMMA, and will be attending my first Bellator event when the promotion takes its next trip to London in May.

However, I make no bones about the fact that my level of knowledge of the wider MMA world is limited. As a result, when I saw that Russian-based Absolut Championship Berkut (ACB), labelled as ‘Europe’s biggest MMA promotion’, was coming to my hometown of Manchester, I jumped at the chance to see the action.

Having been fortunate enough to get a ticket to UFC 204 at the arena last October, it was surprising to me just how different the two promotion styles were. The brief introductions of the fighters’ backgrounds provided by the UFC were made to feel like X Factor sob stories when compared to the roll on, roll off style of the ACB. I genuinely lost count of the number of fights that took place that night, such was the quick turnaround.

While this style is perhaps more accustomed to the hardcore MMA fan, which I am well on my way to becoming, it does have considerable disadvantages for casual fans and even the fighters themselves. Other than those that simply turn up to watch people get punched in the face, of which I am sure there are many, fans want to follow the journey of competitors, understand their styles and histories, and recognise their names when they turn up on a future card. However, with the sheer volume of fights on offer at ACB, fighters have to pull something memorable out of the bag to stand out, meaning that the majority of competitors will remain largely forgotten.

Here’s a case in point. Other than the main and co-main, as well as the home-town fight of Saul Rodgers, I can honestly say that only three moments really stick in my memory: a 21 second front guillotine choke of ex-UFC fighter Nam Phan by Robert Whiteford, the guillotine choke of ex-Bellator veteran Bubba Jenkins by Ali Bagov and Andy De Vent’s KO victory over Danny Mitchell. As a result, more than 20 fighters are forced to fly under the radar, which is never good if you’re looking to become known.

The above submissions brings me onto another disturbing difference between the UFC and organisations outside. When it comes to submissions, UFC veterans recognise when they’ve been caught, and rather than risk permanent damage, and the very real possibility of an extended medical lay-off period, they elect to tap to a properly applied choke.

Outside of the primary MMA promotion, this seems to be less of a consensus, with fighters applying the macho logic of preferring to go out than tap out. In total, there were no fewer than three fighters put to sleep by chokes on the night, with Whiteford’s standing guillotine choke resulting in Phan face-planting into the canvas.

This mindset among fighters places significant pressure on referees to get it right when it comes to recognising when the contest is over, and also brings me back to my original point of difference between the UFC and ACB. The speed of turnaround dictated by the volume of fights on the night represents a considerable danger to a fighter either potentially concussed by strikes or waking up from an oxygen deprived state. While there are plenty of medical professionals on hand to provide support, forcing an individual to walk out of a cage less than a minute after being unconscious cannot be healthy!

Finally, there was a distinct difference between the crowds attracted by the two events. As is to be expected, the UFC brand brings the casual fans in, enticed by the pageantry and high profile nature of the event, while ACB felt more raw. Ignoring the fact that Mancunians were comfortably outnumbered by their Polish and Russian counterparts, which created its own unique atmosphere, it was clear that a considerable portion of those attending were family members or friends of those competing, and were therefore personally invested. As a result, there was a tension created by many of the fights that I can only compare to the Bisping/Henderson main event at UFC 204, where the levels of emotion ran high.

The quality of the contests also surprised me, though perhaps that demonstrates my previous ignorance of everything outside the UFC. Outside of the aforementioned standing guillotine finish, we also had a flying armbar finish, a variety of spinning attacks and some outstanding scrambles on the ground.

All of this was before the two biggest bouts of the evening. In the co-main, Manchester’s Brendan Loughnane delivered a stunning head-kick and knee combination to get the KO victory in his rematch with Mike Wilkinson, before Russian behemoth Rustam Khabilov destroyed England’s Luke Barnatt in just 21 seconds with his heavy hands to bring the night to an emphatic conclusion.

What did you think of the evening’s events? To discuss any of the points raised in this, or any of my other pieces, get in touch in the comments section, or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA.