MMA is Aging

Is it just me, or are MMA matches losing variety? Lately, it's bad boxing, mediocre kicking to the legs, double leg takedowns, and guillotine chokes. Some guys are good at staying active by landing some arm punches and elbows while grappling. The guys who go for submissions seem to give up the edge on those arm punches and elbows for little benefit: any submission attempt stands a very low probability for success. Even BJ Penn, a grappling master, just boxes for most of his fights; he saves ground fighting for when his opponent is busted up and tired. James Toney signed with the UFC; I think he might bring a breath of fresh air into MMA. His opponents will have to take the fight to the ground, and work submissions. Anyone trying to exchange punches or knock "Lights Out" to the canvas will just end up losing in short order.

If you saw Arthur Abraham fight Andre Dirrell over the weekend, you saw a single punch against a helpless opponent damn near cause a fatality. I see them all the time in the UFC, though; most knockouts start out with a knockdown, followed by an uncontested punch to the face on a near unconscious opponent. That same punch is illegal in boxing because it ends lives. I'm still unconvinced that cage fighters punch anywhere near as hard as a champion puncher in the ring.