Kron Gracie believes rounds should be eliminated altogether from the UFC.
Gracie returns to action for the first time in over three years when he faces Charles Jourdain in a featherweight contest at UFC 288 this Saturday night.
His last outing was a three-round war with Cub Swanson that he ended up losing via unanimous decision. If the fight had an extra two rounds, perhaps Gracie would have eventually won the war of attrition.
But it's not an extra 10 minutes that he wants for his fight against Jourdain this time — he feels MMA doesn't need rounds period.
“What I really think MMA needs is, instead of [more] rounds, is 15- or 25-minute rounds,” Gracie said (via MMA Fighting). “I think that’s something that would change the result and bring more finishes on the feet and on the ground because when you have rounds, you have a break and time to think, your coach brings you water, and that changes the fight. It’s no longer a fight between you and the guy.
“I know it’s hard to have a fight with no time limit, but I think there should be no rounds. It should be a 15-minute fight, or a 25-minute fight. I think that would change the sport for the better. You would have more chances to fight and win with these rules.”
The UFC and other MMA promotions operated that way in the past — without a time limit in some cases — but Gracie feels the sport wasn't ready for it at the time.
Now, however, is the time especially with how far the sport has come, fighters being much better conditioned and the fans getting smarter as well.
“The sport definitely wasn’t ready for that in the beginning,” he added. “I think even fighters didn’t have enough level for such thing. But I think the sport is way smarter now. Fans are way smarter. Fans appreciate grappling more.
“There are fights, like Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero, both fights were very competitive. If it was a 25-minute one-round fight, I think there could be more opportunities for them. When fans’ intelligence grows, I think you can adjust the rules.”
It's certainly an interesting suggestion but the chances of it actually happening seem extremely thin.
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