Photo by David Oblas
You could not find a more ridiculous premise in the wildest Hollywood brainstorming session.
PitchGuy:”Let’s take someone born with no arms and no legs, and turn him into an athlete! Inspirational story of a lifetime.”
Producer:”Okaaayyy…, that’s a stretch. But we’ll give it a chance. What are you thinking, golf? NASCAR racing? Skateboarding? Let’s keep it believable.”
PitchGuy:”Cagefighting.”
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, please allow me to introduce you to Kyle Maynard. Tonight, Saturday April 25th, he will be making his MMA debut, fighting against Bryan Fry. The fight will be held in Alabama at the Auburn Covered Arena. MMA forums and blogs are lit up with arguments about why this should or shouldn’t happen. A lot of people are equating this to a circus freakshow that can only do harm to the image of MMA. Others consider this a fantastic human story and cheer on Maynard for even attempting the feat.
What you may not know about Maynard is that he’s no newcomer to combat sports. While attending high school at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, he amassed a 35-16 record as a senior. He went to state championships. Feel like an underachiever yet? Oh yeah, he’s also a motivational speaker. He’s opened his own gym – No Excuses Crossfit Gym. And he’s modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch.
Motivated yet?
Now, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this fight, and a lot of people say it shouldn’t happen. Personally, I think it’s great. If he wants to test himself in MMA, should be able to do what he wants to do. Nothing illegal about it – he’s a consenting adult in his right mind. But that’s not the purpose of this post…
I’m going to break down the fight, and tell you why I think Maynard has a chance of winning.
First off, we know what his opponent is going to do if he has any brains. He will not want to go to the ground or grapple with Maynard, so he will try to strike at a distance. Put that together with Maynard’s lack of elbows and forearms for blocking, and it looks like a recipe for turning Maynards face quickly into a swollen, bleeding lump. Here’s a couple of reasons that won’t be so effective:
1. Maynard has been training MMA. If he’s going into a match, he and his trainer have encountered this and have some creative way of blocking or countering this. It is possible to defend headstrikes with the upper arms. (Try it)
2. The fight is held at 135 lbs. Maynard is all torso, so his size is more that of a 200-pound man. You’ll have a 135 pounder striking at a 200 pounder’s head and body, so damage will be reduced.
3. Maynard will be considered a downed opponent at all times, so kicks to the head will be illegal. Strikes to the back of the head are also illegal. Since Maynard’s stance will be facing his opponent on all fours, Fry will have to reach down and hook to punch Maynard in the face. This brings him closer to Maynard and susceptible to takedown.
4. Maynard’s mobility. If you haven’t seen him wrestle before, he moves very quick – like a dog on amphetamines. He has an amazing ability to establish position and escape from bad positions.
So what happens in this fight? If Fry attempts to grapple with Maynard, his only hope for a submission would be a choke. Can Fry get and keep position on Maynard to lock in an Anaconda or rear naked choke? Possible, but with Maynard’s size and experience, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to Maynard.
That means Fry will have to try striking. Since he doesn’t want to grapple, it will become hit-and-run. Maynard’s tough – he’ll eat the punches to try to get to Fry. However, Fry will be too slippery to take down with his limbs. During the course of the fight, Fry may get tired and Maynard may get him down, but Fry will get back up again and repeat the process. Fry wins a boring fight, unless he decides to engage Maynard on the ground, in which case Maynard pummels him with his powerful nubs.
My call is: Fry by decision.
