Quoteworthy: Big John McCarthy On Fighters Tapping

by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 5, 2009 8:26 AM EST in News Comment 8 comments

On telling fighters that he'll stop armbars if they scream, a la Filho-Sonnen I:

"You know, like I know, when you've been put in checkmate. Since you know it, don't let it get to the point where you allow your arm to start to go. Because if you do, you know right at that moment I'm going to stop the fight.

"And now you're going to have a medical suspension that's going to take you six months out of being able to fight again. If you start to scream, I'm going to stop the fight. That's the same as a tapout, it's saying you cannot handle what's happening."

Big John McCarthy speaking to Sergio Non of USA Today. He also says that the stoppage of the Koscheck/Thiago fight was good basically. Give me your thoughts on fighters choosing not to tap, and do you agree with his assessment of the screaming fighter?

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pro fighters get to DECIDE when to tap. if you let a fighter go to sleep/choose not to tap, you should let them decide when to submit. just b/c it “looks deep”….doesn’t mean it always is…..and just b/c it doesn’t, doesn’t mean it’s not (Sylvia’s arm snapping in two places).

Gatti.
Dekkers.
Pele.
Tadahiro Nomura.
Hidehiko Yoshida.
Aoki.
Kang.
Vanderlei.

by theworldsoldestsport on Mar 5, 2009 10:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Right

I’m asking…if a fighter screams…would you consider that a verbal tap? Should the fight be stopped at that time?

http://www.mmaforreal.com

by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 5, 2009 10:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Screaming is Definately a verbal tap..

When your screaming you are basically saying “Damn, that hurts, stop it”…

by Chris Clodfelter on Mar 5, 2009 11:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

A choke is easy – if the fighter goes out it’s the equivalent of a KO.

You have to account for fighters’ stubbornness and shear muleheadedness (a win often means you double your paycheck) – if an armbar will inevitably lead to someone breaking their arm because they refuse to tap I think it’s justified to stop the fight before that happens.

It’s a fine line, because fight results should ideally always be conclusive and undisputable, but people getting hurt does not help the sport or the fighters in the long run.

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Mar 5, 2009 11:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs