Grabbing the Cage in UFC Shouldn’t be Illegal
Before I begin with this I don’t want to take anything away from Michel Prazeres who defeated Mairbek Taisumov by unanimous decision but there was some controversy in the fight. Taisumov was deducted 3 points in the fight. Two of those points were due to him grabbing the cage while he was pinned up against the cage. Now I respect the referring ability of Mario Yamasaki but I think he was a bit too harsh with Taisumov. I think one point was necessary but the final time he was deducted a point his hand hit the cage which sometimes you can’t control.
In the UFC octagon a fighter is allowed to pin his opponent up against the cage for leverage to take them down. If the fighter on the offensive side of things is allowed to use the cage as a weapon then the fighter on the defensive side of things should be allowed to use the cage in any way they see fit. If it’s going to be an issue in UFC then maybe they should switch to using ropes or plexiglass so you can’t grab at anything at all.
Now as far as Mairbek Taisumov goes, he should fire whoever trained him. Anyone who fights in the UFC knows that right now grabbing the cage is illegal and a deduction of points. Do I think it’s a good rule? No I don’t but you have to abide what the rules are. I think in the future if a fighter has trouble with this they need to practice in the cage until it’s no longer a habit.
I was very disappointed with how the fight between Prazeres and Taisumov went because of one very stupid rule. Prazers would have won the fight anyways because he showed more aggression and offense. Taisumov did not too bad with the exception of the cage grabbing but it was the multiple stops in the fight that ruined it for me and obviously the crowd. The crowd wasn’t too pleased with it either. Hopefully the cage grabbing rule will someday be resolved, modified and no longer an issue. It has nothing to do with protecting a fighter or fighter safety so I leave you this question. What’s the big deal about grabbing the cage?
