photo by Mike Calimbas
The last minute switcheroo at Fight To Win Pro 24 may have cost AJ Agazarm quite a bit. In separate posts John Danaher, Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon weighed in on what appears to be a brutal kneebar applied on AJ by Garry Tonon.
In fact John Danaher used it to pen a cautionary tale about tapping saying:
The decision to tap out due to strangle or joint lock is a deeply personal one. I always encourage my athletes to tap immediately to avoid injury. My reasoning is that if you have been put in a finishing position the mistakes have already been made, once you believe those mistakes cannot be undone – tap – as this allows you to immediately begin training so that those mistakes can be avoided in a rematch.
When the athlete refuses to tap to a joint lock there will be a considerable period of time where training is impossible and there may be damage that never fully recovers – both of which will make the rematch more difficult. I understand that in MMA things can be different as there is a generally higher intensity level and athletes fight much less often. In grappling, athletes can compete every week for months in some cases. Getting badly injured can cause considerable interruption to the athletes yearly competition schedule, so I think it’s generally the smart option to tap as soon as damage becomes probable.
Sometimes there are other factors, prize money, prestige, honor or animosity that can make an athlete refuse to tap. A good example occurred when AJ Agazarm refused to tap to a very tight knee bar attempt from Garry Tonon last night. The variation employed by Mr Tonon is particularly strong and the effects of it, and Mr Agazarm’s decision not to tap, can be readily seen in the immediate aftermath. There is much to commend in bravery and a spirit of resistance, but this must also be balanced with a sense of professionalism in a sport where the athlete may have to perform many times a year and train year round.
Hats off to both men for a fine and dramatic show of technique against mental toughness. Garry Tonon got caught in a very nice triangle one week ago by a very talented athlete (Antonio Carlos Jr) and fought hard to get out but tapped when he could not. Mr Carlos Jr was caught in a triangle variation the week before by Gordon Ryan and tapped. A week after that Mr Tonon was ready to fight again and this time win. You can see that in a world of high volume matches, professionals will tap so that they can continue with their careers uninterrupted and go on to success just a short time later.
If you fight at a high level, you will get caught, no matter how good you are. Better to tap and resume training immediately so that you can avoid the errors that got you in trouble and move on to a higher level of performance. Of course there can be factors that change this and make you very reluctant to tap, but in standard grappling competition this is the sensible approach and the one I always encourage my athletes to take.
The man who competed against AJ, Garry Tonon just addressed some inaccurate reports and went on to explain why he doesn’t really compete in the gi.
Actually we did shake hands at the beginning of the match… I’m pretty much going to do that no matter how much shit is talked. I always respect the sacrifices my opponent made to be there before me. Even if I really do hate their guts and respect nothing else about them. I did my job last night, I certainly severely damaged my opponent via submission, however you got to see just how difficult dealing with the intricacies of the gi can be when you don’t adequately prepare for it. This is a big part of the reason you don’t see me compete in the gi. When I step on the stage to compete I wish to do so with the confidence that any man, any size, any skill they put before me, I will defeat. Unfortunately at this point in my life I cannot dedicate the time necessary time to gain that kind of confidence in my skills competing in the gi. One day I may be able to do so. Until then you can look forward to me being the best goddanm No-gi competitor I can be and taking on all challengers.
AJ’s response to all of this was an undeniable one. A clear message from his physician:
And of course Gordon Ryan is back to feeling better:
