(Guess who’s not impressed by Franky Van Hove.)
Kyle Maynard – the former collegiate wrestler/congenital amputee with no arms past the elbow and no legs past the knee – will soon make his amateur MMA debut. If the name sounds familiar it’s because Maynard’s almost ridiculously inspirational story of overcoming his disability and wrestling at the University of Georgia has spread far and wide by now, and he even won an ESPY award in 2004 for “Best Athlete With A Disability.”
Now he trains at the Hardcore Gym in Athens, Georgia and has been saying for the past couple of years that he wants to get into MMA, but was denied a license to fight in Georgia. Apparently he faced no such issue in Alabama, because he’ll be competing at Auburn Fight Night on April 25.
A lot of people are going to say it’s crazy and maybe even dangerously negligent to let a guy with no hands or feet into a fight where his opponent is allowed to punch him in the face.
Here’s the thing: screw those people. Do a quick YouTube search and you’ll see he knows what he’s doing on the mat. He’s not some guy off the street, which is more than you can honestly say for Ross Clifton. Maynard trains at an MMA gym, and one assumes he has a plan for how he’s going to deal with the striking game (a plan I’m really interested to see put into action, BTW).
So to hell with Georgia, for not licensing him, and to hell with the people who think he shouldn’t fight. He’s going to fight, and we’re just glad not to be the poor schmuck who has to face him. Not only would that guy get booed if he just started teeing off on Maynard, there is also the very real possibility that Maynard will totally own his ass, like he did to this dude.
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commentsThink about how many national wrestlers in the UFC have gotten a beatdown. I by no means want to lip the guy but this is insane. Beating all odds IS limited. Kos, Couture, have all recieved beatdowns... And they have limbs.
I think that before the match even starts the ref should end it for failure to ADEQUETELY defend himself.
-lotp
A guillotine might work, but remember you won't be able to pull guard to finish it. Plus, if he weighs 120 lbs, he'd probably weigh like 200 with a full body, so he's going to be way, WAY stronger than the people he faces. Plus he spends all his time training against people with limbs, while his opponents have most likely never faced anyone like him. He takes a very specific game plan to beat, something that the average blue belt won't be able to come up with on the fly.
Though once you get to a certain level of competition he will no longer have the advantage because his opponents will be more skilled at more submissions and positions. Top level no gi grappling involves a ton of getting to the back and RNCs, which should be much easier against him.
It will be interesting to see if he can use these advantages in MMA with the added striking.
This guy in MMA is not a good idea. Like others have said it's lose/lose... like fighting a woman. You rearrange a lady's face and you are a total asshole.. you get your ass beat by a lady and you're a pussy. It's lose/lose.
"Maynard is 25 years old, 2'-7" tall, weighs 130lbs and has no arms or legs to speak of. Everything else is virtually identical."
"Maynard has some of the biggest flippers in MMA. They had to custom order his gloves."
"Maynard has some FREAKISHLY strong... uh... cologne on today."
"Okay... I'm sitting here with Kyle Maynard. Kyle, scoot me through the fight..."
Also, Mazzagati would get his cameo "Touch nubs and come out fighting."
Mark my words, this guy will get *owned* the first time he competes in MMA. If you watch the wrestling videos, when he's facing a standing opponent, he just latches on to their ankles, and then this ridiculous dance ensues where the standing opponent tries to free his foot from his grasp. If he did that in an MMA, his opponent would reach down and punch him in the effing head. End of story.
Don't get me wrong, this guy appears to be a great wrestler, especially considering what he's had to overcome. But saying he can compete in MMA is just silly. It's laughable that people are actually talking about it like it makes any sense.
"That guy he was wrestling was so confused how to handle it. You could tell he had him completely stumped."
That was dry and hilarious dude.
This is totally disrespectful to the legitimisation of MMA as a sport, and totally in line with the WWE-ifying of MMA in general.
You politically correct motherfuckers. And what's the bet the UFC tries to work with this guy ala WWE with Zach Gowen? Are they gonna get Lesnar to beat him down and rub his body down with his blood too?
Get fucking real you Koombaya Hippie Freaks.
And seriously his first MMA match will probably last under 10 seconds and he'll lose via Guillotine choke. He spends most of his time on all fours and in wrestling that's fine but in MMA that'll be his undoing.
Also He mentioned that he felt like he had a strength advantage in wrestling vs other 125 pounders. There was a kid that wrestled one of the lighter weight classes when I was in high school who had no legs and yeah, his arms were about 12 inches longer than the arms of any other kid he faced. They are as strong as a normal person's legs too because that's how he walked around all the time. I think he only lost 2 or 3 matches all year. So I'm imagining that if this guy were whole he'd weigh maybe 205 or 185. Even on his nubs he's probably won't look much smaller than some of those Japanese super-gnat-weight fighters.
I don't expect him to ever fight at a high level in MMA and I doubt he expects to either but as the video shows, it's an interesting challenge and not every opponent easily solves it.
get it?
He was kicked out of XARM for allegedly doping up a fake hand.
Then he was kicked out of XLEG for allegedly wearing drywalling stilts under his spandex.
I just wish he were half the man I am and admit to all this cheating.
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