Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Dramatis Personae: Muslim Adam

I've met a lot of people cover the sport over the years, so many of them cool and interesting and the kind of characters you'd likely be talking about twenty years after you last saw them. Hey, why not start profiling them here! (Note: that was me talking to myself.) Okay, I will! First up: Muslim Adam.

Muslim Adam is a denizen of the Underground Combat League. Sure, he's a fighter, a street scrapper with some decent standup skill that's enabled him to knock opponents out with precision high-kicks to the neck or just stand and bang. I'd say he's won about as many as he's lost, although two losses stick out... Once, he fought UCL promoter Peter Storm, and spent the entire first round within Storm's guard, trying to get some ground and pound going. But when the bell rang signaling the break in between rounds, Muslim Adam stood up and said that was it. He was very apologetic, turning to the crowd with his palms up, shaking his head while telling them that his knee was hurt, that a few days before the event he got into it with a police officer and the cop whacked him in the leg with a baton (hence the injury). Everyone was cool with Muslim Adam's explanation, and the audience applauded him for his effort.

That fight right there paints half a picture of Muslim Adam. The other half of the pic comes from his recent loss to Gracie Barra rep Chike Obi. Obi got him down and was unloading on him with punches, and while he was getting hit, Muslim Adam was yelping "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!"

Muslim Adam, with his shaved head, Taliban beard and kind, respectful demeanor outside of the ring, is white. Like, "if he grew his hair out and wore a suit, he could work on Wall Street" white.

Brazilian MMA Link

Here's a link to a Brazilian MMA site - http://www.lutamma.com/. I don't read Portuguese, but hey, why not post a link, right?

Great Muay Thai Article

There's a great Muay Thai article over at The Classical - link here: http://theclassical.org/articles/fighting-otherwise-part-1. The author (now, tragically deceased) went to Thailand and documented his experiences there. I loves me a good travelogue...