Whats up guys, Eddie here again with another post for my sports and fitness blog. I was recently watching some highlights of the latest UFC match online when I stumbled upon this Russian MMA league called Hip Show. This is nothing like your average mixed martial arts competition, Hip show is a 2 on 2 fight in a gigantic arena with obstacles, ropes and pretty much anything you would expect to see in a gorilla enclosure minus the bananas. Hip show is all about team combat, with contestants have both members of the team in the arena at the same time. And did I mention the arena? This isn’t some standard octagon, this arena is 12 meters by 12 meters and has 3-level structures that reach up to 2 meters high! This gives combatants the choice of how to fight, should they try and run around the obstacles to surprise their opponent, or simply throw their opponent into the structure?

You are probably thinking “Holy shit how do people not die doing that?” and they don’t seem to, at least not that I can find. Hip show uses more protective gear than any high level mixed martial arts program, including helmets and boxing style gloves. The sports is also heavily regulated, having the same rules that any other mixed martial arts organization does. The biggest safety issue is the combatants, as they can be anything but professional. Some matches are just awful because some of the fighters are just used to drunkenly fighting in a bar, and going up against someone with actual fight training makes for a quick fight. I have seen some pretty gruesome hits, especially when people start swinging on the rope and delivering kicks but the sport tries to keep it as safe as possible and I have not seen someone unable to get up under their own power, which I can’t say for the UFC. Take it easy everyone, hope you enjoyed this post and see you next week.

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