Mayorga vs. Thomas - The Boxing & MMA 'Worlds Collide'
The boxing versus MMA debate will be settled in the cage at Shine 3: World's Collide
> Check out the ProFighting-fans.com Shine Fight 3 predictions and track the Shine 3 May 15 results after the fights become official!
Ever since the birth of mixed martial arts as a sport in the early 1990’s, much has been made of how mixed martial artists compare to boxers. One big question that a lot of spectators ponder is how a boxer would fare in an MMA fight. Well fans will finally get their questions answered soon.
Two high profile boxers are preparing to step in the cage in the next few months. Renowned heavyweight boxer James Toney is set to fight Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 118 in August. But before that former WBC welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga will also make his mixed martial arts debut against UFC veteran Din Thomas at Shine Fights: World Collide on May 15.
While the rumored UFC 118 Toney vs. Couture fight has more buzz around it, Mayorga vs. Thomas may perhaps be the more intriguing matchup of the two. There are a lot of questions as to what will happen in the Shine Fights main event.
This is a must win fight for Thomas. Din has been calling out boxers for a long time now, most famously in his UFC 71 post fight interview after submitting Jeremy Stephens via armbar, where he said if they wanted to fight, he was the guy to fight. Now he has his chance to fight a boxer, and former WBC Welterweight Ricardo Mayorga is a great boxer indeed. So it begs the question in how will Thomas choose to fight Mayorga.
Din Thomas has a solid ground game backed by a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He has submitted top fighters like Rich Clementi and Jens Pulver. Considering that Mayorga has only had a limited time to work on his own ground game before the fight, it would seem logical that Din Thomas could get the fight to the ground and use his superior grappling skills to finish Mayorga.
On the other hand Din Thomas is a very proud fighter and loves to play to the crowd. There’s a chance he could stand up and strike with “El Matador” which the majority of spectators would like to see. A lot of people are curious to see how a boxer looks standing up in a mixed martial arts fight, and how they’ll deal with the additions of elbows, kicks, and knees into their and their opponents arsenal. A guy who has beaten top boxers like Andrew Lewis, Fernando Vargas and squared off with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Shane mosley should easily have the better hands in the fight. That coupled with Ricardo’s aggression makes standing up a big risk for Din Thomas.
> Find a great selection of MMA clothing & t-shirts as well as cheap TapouT hats & apparel online here at ProFighting-fans.com!
If Thomas can find a way to beat Ricardo on the feet he stands to gain quite a bit. Well he has had 9 fights with the UFC, Din Thomas is still relatively unknown to casual fans, while Mayorga needs know introduction to anybody who follows boxing. Never one to shy away from some hardy trash talk, Ricardo also provides some lethal hands to back it up and gained a love or hate relationship from a lot of boxing fans. A win over “El Matador” could get Thomas some great exposure and make him all the more marketable. But at the same time a loss to a boxer in a mixed martial arts fight for a seasoned veteran is nothing short of humiliating. Just ask Tim Sylvia who was knocked out by Ray Mercer in just seconds of a fight under MMA regulated rules.
Mayorga’s game plan should be pretty predictable; keep it standing as long as he can and go for the knockout. But one thing mixed martial arts has taught us is nothing is out of the realm of possiblities when two fighters are locked in a cage or ring together.
By Ryan Silva
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer