It is beyond doubt that overcoming extreme adversity is the sign of great character. But in some cases, your character can outreach the grasp of your limitations.

And that's generally when bad things happen. From the Official News Release:

One month after his 23rd birthday, Kyle Maynard will fulfill what has been a lifelong dream. He will compete in his first Amateur Mixed Martial Arts match. The match will take place on Saturday, April 25 in Auburn, AL at The Auburn Covered Arena in an event titled “Auburn Fight Night.”

Maynard, a congenital amputee with no elbows or knees, burst onto the national scene when he graduated from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA with a wrestling record of 35-16 in his senior season and a 3.7 GPA. He is the recipient of a 2004 ESPN Espy Award for Best Athlete With A Disability and has been featured on many radio interviews, talk shows and television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live.

Currently he works as a speaker for the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, specializing in motivational speeches. He is also the author of the memoir No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life.

In 2004, at the age of 18 while a student at The University of Georgia and a member of its club wrestling team, Maynard told a USA Today reporter “I’d love to fight in that” when pointing to a Randy Couture UFC poster hanging in his dorm room. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is often times referred to as the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts fighting.

Maynard will get his first opportunity to fight in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts on Saturday, April 25 in Auburn, AL. He will become the first congenital amputee to compete in a Mixed Martial Arts match.

Maynard was originally hoping to fight in his hometown of Duluth, GA nearly two years ago. The fight did not occur due to the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission denying Maynard a license to fight. The state of Alabama has no Athletic Commission that governs the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

“I’ve been promoting fights since 2002, nearly 50 events combined, and I’ve never seen someone with the drive that Kyle possesses,” said promoter David Oblas. “I’ve seen Kyle overcome every obstacle put in front of him and on Saturday, April 25 he will overcome yet another. This is something that Kyle has wanted to do for years now and something that I’m happy to help him achieve.”

As insensitive as it may sound, it's hard not to suspect this is an April Fools joke.

Whoever wins, we lose...

One of two things will happen:

1. Guy somehow "wins" by gaining positional dominance for the entire length of the fight, and his opponent is ostracized for losing to a congenital amputee.

2. Guy loses BADLY, and his opponent is ostracized for beating up a congenital amputee.

Either way, would you take the fight?

Im trying to invisage some sort of way for him to win other than lay n pray.

What's worse is the fact that Maynard will most likely not have to worry about kicks, per the rules against kicking a downed opponent. I'm not even trying to be witty here, I seriously do not see how a credible sanctioning body would allow this to take place.

This has got to be a joke. Who is he supposed to fight? Their is just no way I can see this happening.

Even if the guy wins over Maynard, he will still loose

What's worse is the fact that Maynard will most likely not have to worry about kicks, per the rules against kicking a downed opponent. I'm not even trying to be witty here, I seriously do not see how a credible sanctioning body would allow this to take place.
Expanding on this, and making explicit what I expect we are all thinking and have all thought since we read this—

Assuming that a fight happens, Maynard won’t be playing the same game as his opponents. On the surface, it may seem pretty whiny to complain about his advantages when he has the rather obvious handicap of not having limbs, but the simple facts are that


While his opponents have numerous advantages in a straight fight, the rules end up heavily slanted in his favour as his opponents won’t be allowed to use standup tactics (“no kicking a downed opponent”) while his handicap renders a lot of tactics physically impossible (arm bars, leg locks, ankle locks).
The game changes to MMA with no kicking, where one side can’t armbar, leglock, or ankle lock the opponent.
Maynard is still limited (he has no limbs to use), but he has plenty of practice at his game.
His opponents are limited in ways they have never encountered and are disallowed from using their advantages to compensate, and have no experience with his game.

This stinks. I think it’s great that he trains, his accomplishments are impressive, and I both understand his desire and applaud his guts in stepping up in this way, but I have to join the concensus in thinking that it’s…ultimately not right.

I seem to be one of the few that support his fighting and I would actually take the fight against him. Either this kid has a bunch of yes men around him and he needs a reality check or he is a certified badass and should be taken seriously.

I have a sneaking suspicious that Kyle maybe, just maybe, actually knows what he's doing and has been preparing for a mixed martial arts fight under a mixed martial arts coach.
Just maybe.

I train in GA and this guy has actually come to my gym before. I wasn't there, but I've heard that he actually has some sneaky chokes and can finish a fight.

If you have ever been a larger guy dealing with a smaller guy who knows how circle around to your back then you can understand his advantage. He gets takedowns and side control pretty skillfully (very hard to put him in guard after takedown) , and can finish with the aforementioned chokes.

My opinion is that he is an inspiration, and his jits is all hips which at its core is what jiu jitsu should be. Should he be fighting? Up to him. Nobody is forcing the opponent to take him on either.

But would I do it? Hell no. Like most people have said it would annoy me that the rules would severely limit my offense and even if you did manage to beat him up then your still an asshole.

We've had a thread on this guy before, complete with commentary on the unique rules-holes that make this practical and with testimony from someone who wrestled with him quite a bit.

But I'm too lazy to search for it. Screw you guys.

This is bizarre. I can only see bad things coming. But one thing is for sure, I want to see the video of the match!!

Bahahaha

MMA has finally met it's match, a congenital amputee.

Sucks when your own rules start working against you :lol:

Bahahaha

MMA has finally met it's match, a congenital amputee.

Sucks when your own rules start working against you :lol:

its match :lol:

Should learn to read my posts before posting