Show for Feb 5, 2012. Matthew Polly’s Big MMA Adventure
Matt Polly was 36 and overweight, his days as a student of Chinese kickboxing long past. On the precipice of middle age, he took one last shot at glory. He plunged into the bruising sport of mixed martial arts, trained with the pros and eventually tested his skills in an amateur bout, as detailed in his book Tapped Out: An Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts. Matt and I had a very entertaining conversation about his experiences and about the world of MMA. Matt explains that contrary to its reputation for primal thuggery, MMA is a highly technical sport and even an art.
Click the Play arrow above to listen to the show, or you can download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
One subject Matt Polly and I discussed is how a good submission game can beat pure stand-up striking. Here’s my favorite illustration of that: the 400 lb Eric Esch (aka “Butterbean”) had respectable boxing and a string of knockouts against fellow heavyweights in professional four-round fights, but watch what happened when he took on the creative and fearless MMA fighter Genki Sudo, weighing in at a mere 150.
