Michael Bisping: Maybe we do train too hard
Posted on June 11, 2012, 03:24 PM by Mike DrahotaIn the wake of a run of injury announcements that has never been seen before, UFC President Dana White voiced his opinion that his fighters are going too hard in training camps. White thinks that his very talented, top-level fighters are going head-to-head on a daily basis and setting themselves up for the injuries that have wrecked cards as of late. One of these fighters is Middleweight contender Michael Bisping, who was forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 149 bout with Tim Boetsch. Bisping commented on training and injuries lately:
"Maybe we do go too hard, but that’s the way you’ve got to train to get ready for a fight. You’ve got to train the way you fight. If you don’t train the way you fight, when you fight you’re going to be shocked." - via MMAFighting.com
Bisping seems to think that there is no middle ground in training, that a fighter must go all-out or suffer the consequences in the ring. With the experience of many fights under his belt, he would be one to know the difference. Bisping was ready to fight Boestch regardless of his torn meniscus that will require minor surgery. He continued:
"I’ve never, ever once pulled out of a fight. Before the Ultimate Fighter final I was training with Georges St-Pierre, and I tore my posterior cruciate ligament, my PCL, several days before the fight, and I still went ahead and fought. I’ve done training camps with one hand. I’ve constantly fought injured, because that’s part of the game. That’s the way that it goes."
Bisping seems to share in the sentiment that if you aren't injured when you walk into the cage, you did not train hard enough. While this may or may not be true, the bottom line is that UFC cards are being announced early and wrecked later on by scheduling changes. Are fighters going too hard in training? Should they tone it down at the risk of fighting at a lower level? The answer is most likely in between, and injuries will always be an unfortunate by-product of MMA training.
Further Reading:Rua vs. Vera to headline UFC on Fox 4, Lombard vs. Boetsch at UFC 152
Comments
ya'know I am starting to get some respect for this guys fight attitude if not his personality.
I met a professional thai boxer who was sparring with bisping before, and he told me , that when thai boxers spar ,they go 40 to 60% to avoid injury , but when he spars with Bisping or other mma guys they go 90% , that's why they always get injured
Guy is really active, goes for the finish, fights anyone, evolves his game and truly rarely backs out due to injury or makes excuses.
So yea, I agree.
Alot of the injuries that occur are a result of wrestling and take downs. Twisted ankles, busted knees, shoulder and rotary cuff tears. Bodies are twisted, dumped..
Sparring shouldn't be a major problem in camps because of the headgear, mouthguards and shinpads. However, so many guys damage their hands from poorly strapped hands, light gloves and repeatedly hitting hard bags with full intensity hooks at bad angles that damage the carpals.
All coaches want to prepare their fighters for the worst situation so increasing the intensity is important. No one really trains at low intensity. You bring in training partners who you pay to more or less take a beating or prepare you to take a beating.
there's definitely ways to decrease injury in weightlifting etc. but in sparring all you can do is put on the protective gear and say ok we're only going 70% today
Yeah word ^^ sparring always ends up going full on at some point
lol, so true. It always starts with one punch or kick either party throws that the recieving party believes was in hostility for it to feel that solid and then they want a little payback but because they aren't sure if their opponent was intentional they say oops sorry bud and then a few more start blending in and then you're both gassed in 2 minutes or less and you're coach is reminding you of your fight coming up.lol.
There's no maybe about it, the way most mma fighters train is insane when you really think about, they push their bodies to crazy limits, it's also explains why TRT is becoming so popular.
Dana said it and you dont waste time browning your nose....lame.
......and maybe you run your mouth too much....