[TheNatureBoy]

I did a search and couldn't find a topic on this particular issue. I am curious to see what fans like better the ring or the octagon. IMO, I think they both have their ups and downs:

PRIDE Ring:

Positive aspects: Easier to see the action and resembles traditional sports i.e. boxing. Also, cool celebrations like Mark Coleman (ha).

Negative aspects: Stoppages near the ropes and crazy extra referees always grabbing ropes and slapping at feet and hands. Also, seems to be a smaller surface area.

UFC Octagon:

Positive Aspects: More room, less stoppages near the cage, more conducive to circling with an opponent, better for ground and pound and leverage in the clinch.

Negative: The whole cage thing is kind of corny (attempt at being hardcore), annoying to watch through the fence when the camera can't get a better angle. Also, I've grown weary of the jump on top of the cage celebration.

In the end, I prefer the octagon b/c it seems bigger and less stoppages and guys prodding at the fighters.

Just curious on what everyone else thought and why...not just b/c it's PRIDE or it's UFC.

[thethethethe]

I also think the octagons better because 1-more room/less stoppage, 2-becuase you can get situations like when hughes had newton in the air up againts the cage and when Tank had one of his oppoants in the same situation(entertaining to watch).

[amphibious]

I like the ring better. I don't like the social stigma of the cage, I hate seeing fighters "accidently" use it to their advantage, and I hate seeing fighters get injured/cut/abraided by it. I also don't like the fact that it's bigger, a lot more damage can happen to a fighter when his opponent gets a running start.

I personally like the resets that Pride does, when they'll stop and put the fighters back in the center of the ring, keeps things moving without making them stand up.

The only "benefit" to the cage that actually holds any water is that fighters won't fall out of the ring... but that's easily remedied by using four or five ropes instead of the traditional three of boxing.

[I know Kung Fu]

I like the octagon, I hate restarts.

[Harimwakairi]

Originally Posted by amphibious

I hate seeing fighters get injured/cut/abraided by it

Is this all that common? I can't seem to remember a fight in the UFC where someone was hurt by the cage, but maybe I just haven't watched enough.

I prefer the cage myself, even though I hate seeing fighters grab it (which seems to happen in almost every fight). Seeing fighters get tied up in the ropes is just more annoying to me, and they seem to get grabbed even more than the cage's fencing.

[Munch_Caldwell]

i think eventually they will go to an octogon with ropes...

[hj]

Personally I think the typical GnP-against-the-cage is the ugliest aspect of MMA in general. There's rarely any technical beauty in either the grappling control, or the striking involved in those cases. The cage plays far too large of a role in ground-fighting. Most times it's simply easier to shift the guy to the side of the cage and try and get into a position to pound on him, then to work on submissions.

[SuperGNP]

i like both. fighters have adapted to utilize the octagon or the ring to their advantage. i don't think 1 is better than the other. the fact that some people use the ''cage'' argument to damage mma's reputation is what bothers me about it. mma has had to change it's rule in the past, with the rounds, gloves etc. so i think they'll eventually have to compromise about the cage to bring the sport closer to mainstream.

[housejohnson]

Fighters do tend to use the cage 'accidentally' to their advantage, grabbing the cage to avoid takedowns and such, of course Pride fighters have been known to grab the ropes as well. My problem with the cage is that stacking people into it has become the default strategy for numerous fighters. The ring also gives its own problems as I have seen countless examples in Pride where a fighter was stuck partly under the ropes and had a difficult time defending himself.

They both have pro's and con's and I cannot say I like one over the other, however the cage is specifically MMA so I would probably give the nod to it on that alone.

[ScrewMCA]

To me the octagon just makes more sense for MMA. I like the fact that when you get the guy to the cage, that's as far as it goes, you're not going to slip out of the ring or anything. I think the ring is just meant for boxing/muay thai....anything that goes to the ground should be in the cage IMO.