Battle Royale: The Art of War XXII in Review
The Art of War 12 Fighting Championship happened Friday at the Olympic Sports Center Gym, and it was about what you’d expect out of a mixed martial arts event billed as "setting the standard for the future of China's mixed martial arts industry”: loud, gaudy, over-the-top, packed with personality.
Michael Buffer was there to say, “Let’s get ready to rumble.” Big John McCarthy, ref of Ultimate Fighting Championship fame, did his signature “Let’s get it on!” Even His Highness himself, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the main sponsor of the event, was in attendance, presenting the main event winner an oversized piece of cardboard resembling a check.
The Art of War was, as expected, violent. The fight between Fransino Tirta of Indonesia and Malik Arash Mawlayi of Sweden was stopped because Mawlayi’s corner couldn’t close a cut above the Swede’s right eye. A Japanese fighter got his head stomped on, then popped up for more abuse (incidentally, this was best fight of the night, between Japan’s Atsuhiro Tsuboi and China’s Dai Shuanghai; it ended in a technical draw after two 10-minute rounds, and the audience applauded). Rolles Gracie, with his family ringside (the famous Gracie family, which dominated MMA with its Brazilian jiujitsu), won via submission after barely five minutes with a rear naked choke.
The event began slowly – China's Yao Qiang won the night's first match via submission to mild applause; he tried his best to be charismatic for a crowd that didn't want to be charmed – and dragged a bit long – nearly four hours to complete the 12-match card.
But in between there were enough moments to redeem the event – enough punches to the head, slams to the ground. It was pretty obvious the spectators weren't there for an intellectual discussion on the morality of violence.
Of course, how good a time you had depends on whether you dropped 500 RMB for a VIP ticket to basically sit in a glorified movie theater.
Every time the fighters hit the mat – and it was often – just about the only way you could see the action was to watch the big-screens. And if the connection happened to fail – which it did more often than it should have – you were out of luck. God forbid you stand up, because you’d get a tap from a stern-looking usher dressed head-to-toe in black – from cap to boots – telling you to sit down (Note to event organizers: MMA is a sporting event, not an Ennio Morricone concert. You can let fans stand!)
In the end, the crowd went home happy. China’s Wu Haotian beat Japan’s Yutaka Kobayashi in the main event by getting him on the ground and pounding the pulp out of his head. It was the night’s shortest match. If this was pro wrestling, we’d say the baby faces won (Gracie, four of the six Chinese fighters) and the heels suffered humiliation and agony.
