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[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by TheDoucheyWun

I bet you alot of times when training partners wont fight it's due to the fact that the 2 men involved know who would win that fight 8 out of 10 times so why bully your buddy in front of the world?

If you notice as I did usually when 2 guys that are real close fight it's usually a brawl and a very close fight not a blow out. So I think these men involved know whats good and I trust their judgement on it.

I doubt it.

What it comes down to is camaraderie. Standing across the ring from your friend, you hold each others futures and lives in each others' hands. Taking away the success from a dear friend would ruin and sever a friendship, for me at least it would - and I believe it to be so for the majority of people out there. Not many people are able to separate personal feelings from business as they are intertwined. Spite and jealousy would ooze from the wounds inflicted.

Comparing a team sport to combat sports is always a failed comparison. Apples and oranges.

[W.Silva>C.Norris]

the staal brothers are a perfect analogy. and do you really think any of them ease into anything because its a brother? barber brothers included? do you think tiki wouldnt truck over his brother, or try to if it meant winning a game? There's a reason people make it to pro athletics.

[disposableassassin]

I would lay my brother out too.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Eventually.... Assuming GSP keeps dominating at WW and Rory keeps winning. We will all want this fight to happen. It will make sense. In a few years at the very latest, Rory could easily be the #2 WW. We will see what happens. GSP or Rory may move up to MW to avoid the fight. Id like to see GSP at MW. He would give up size, but he needs a challenge...

Condit can finish a fight at any moment... but lets be honest. GSP gets the takedown to the UD...
Kampman loses the same way and Hendricks doesnt have much to offer GSP either...
Marquardt would be an interesting fight, but he gets taken down and UD'd as well.

[The Donosaur]

I could not fight a friend. I didn't even enjoy wrestling friends for varsity in high school because I know getting varsity would mean alot to them. The examples some of you have given are ridiculous. Every person is different so to say this Guy did it or this Guy checked his brother is weird to me. My brother would have a full on fist fight at a moments notice, and laugh when it was over. Where as I simply could not hit him. Could all of you fight your best friend?

[disposableassassin]

Originally Posted by The Donosaur

I could not fight a friend. I didn't even enjoy wrestling friends for varsity in high school because I know getting varsity would mean alot to them. The examples some of you have given are ridiculous. Every person is different so to say this Guy did it or this Guy checked his brother is weird to me. My brother would have a full on fist fight at a moments notice, and laugh when it was over. Where as I simply could not hit him. Could all of you fight your best friend?

I have. I fought all of my friends. We used to do backyard wrestling. But no scripts or anything. They were basically underground mma fights. I have smashed many of my closest buddies and been smashed by them in turn. Hell I nearly broke my best friend in half. No hard feelings. Now to your point there was nothing on the line with us not even pride. So I wasn't crushing their goals and dreams by beating them.

[SWIFTboy]

I have mixed feelings when it comes to this issue, so I don't have a definitive stance one way or another. Of course, I often find it frustrating as a fan when top contenders refuse to fight. Especially in cases like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva where it is simply because they like each other, or maybe trained in the same place for 15 mins this one time.

One thing to consider though, in cases like GSP & Rory (or Fitch & Kos, or Anderson & Machida...) is that part of training is completely exposing your weaknesses so that your teammates can attack them over and over and over until they do not exist anymore. My point is, being able to show weakness is what leads to a fighter reaching their maximum potential.

It stands to reason that if fighters knew they would be forced to face off with their teammates, they may be unwilling to completely expose themselves in training. This would mean less fighters reaching their maximum potential.

It it possible that there may be a tradeoff between seeing fighters reach their maximum potential and seeing teammates face off. If that is true which would you prefer?

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Originally Posted by SWIFTboy

Especially in cases like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva where it is simply because they like each other, or maybe trained in the same place for 15 mins this one time.

Or it is simply because they are in 2 different weight classes. And both Champions.... I know Dana acts like the UFC always wants to make the best fights that the fans want to see, but they dont always seem to jump at the idea of Champion vs. Champion... Sure it would definetly be a huge fight and sell well, but one of the bigger names would fall as a result... Although with Anderson aging, and Jones not even primed yet... it may be something the UFC looks for to get every last drop of value out of AS before he leaves... raising Jones' stock...

As long as they arent forced to fight... If they are, then GSP should also have to move up fight Silva...

Originally Posted by W.Silva>C.Norris

If twin brothers (tiki and rhonde barber) can play against each other in the nfl, Im pretty sure team-mates can fight and still keep friendly outside the ring.

2 very different things... fighting and football...

[The Donosaur]

Originally Posted by disposableassassin

I have. I fought all of my friends. We used to do backyard wrestling. But no scripts or anything. They were basically underground mma fights. I have smashed many of my closest buddies and been smashed by them in turn. Hell I nearly broke my best friend in half. No hard feelings. Now to your point there was nothing on the line with us not even pride. So I wasn't crushing their goals and dreams by beating them.

Yeah having a fight club for fun I understand completely. I couldn't strike a friend, but I have had mma fights with friends. Every time this has occurred I do not tell them not to strike. I immediately shoot to avoid it. Luckily my friends that I have did this with suck at grappling.
At one point my buddies got some boxing gloves, and had some fights. My best friend Ko'd another one of my close friends. I then boxed my best friend. The whole fight was me blocking, and getting jabbed in the forehead. I just didn't have it in me to hit him, and I didn't wanna get embarrassed too (honesty). Weirdly enough I enjoy submitting my friends very much. I take great joy in hitting a throw or shot, and following it with an arm triangle.
That being said fighting professionally is very different. Winning or losing a couple of ranking spots or a title can seriously affect someones personal life. People can say whatever they want about "if somebody is better than you they should be ahead of you", but I'd like to see them say that right after their buddy got a promotion over them because they were more qualified.

[W.Silva>C.Norris]

Originally Posted by rampage9712

2 very different things... fighting and football...

Are they? I look at it as being a professional. In any pro sport, these athletes have made it to where they are because they have sacrificed for their entire lives to get there. They've worked hard, spent long hours in the gym, bled, perspired and struggled to claw their way to the top. Whats the point of doing all that to be 2nd best? Would you expect another american swimmer to coast the last length to let michael phelps win? Because they trained together? Yes, thats an olympic reference, but it kind of fits here.

If you can leave "it all" in the ring, you can leave friendship out.

As for the argument about taking what your team-mate has, I dont buy it. As has been said, this isnt a team sport. The argument goes both ways with that. GSP didnt fight rorys fights for him. McDonald did that all by himself. That is the one thing I will always have respect for Jon Jones for. When his goal came into reach, he went for it. And a much bigger point could be made there that he stepped on a team-mate to get what he was after.

I guess what Im trying to say is this. If you want to train with the best in the world, fighters need to understand that eventually, you _will_ be in a position where you need to fight guys from your camp. You need to be _professional_, and prepare for such an occasion, both emotionally, and physically. Have a backup plan.. Give another of your friends a call, and go train there.

Which is kind of the case right now in the GSP/Condit situation, isnt it? Kind of odd how its ok to fight that team-mate, but not the other one...

Anyway, Ive rambled..