No. 3: Frank Dux
Discipline: Ninjutsu
Strengths: Doing the splits, Karate Champ arcade aficionado
Analysis: I’ve made some somewhat controversial and difficult grounds to tread here, as I got Frank Dux barely breaking the top three.
I know, I know. … Believe him or not, Dux is ultimately the reason we have this martial arts classic (that seemingly holds some type of perennial TV title in the rerun department).
However, skepticism of Dux’s story aside, Ninjutsu (or “Exotics” as UFC 2 competitor Scott Morris called it) hasn’t really translated well into mixed martial arts over time – much less been meaningfully seen since UFC 3 winner Steve Jenum briefly shook up the scene.
Jenum (who is one of my favorite unlikely heroes in MMA) was an on-duty police officer at the time, who also had ties to Scott Morris’ instructor, Robert Bussey (Robert Bussey Warrior International), as the two Ninjutsu fighters combined for a record of 3-2 inside the octagon.
Though I’m not putting it past Dux to achieve his own “Steve Jenum-like” story in this hypothetical, I’m also not sure his style translates that well to the modern day.
Not only have we seen explosive athletes who throw spinning stuff get figured out inside of the octagon (via pressure and grappling), but the way in which Dux wins a lot of the fights in the Kumite are illegal by today’s standards.
If you go back and watch the fighting montages in the film, you’ll see that Dux is landing a plethora of shots to both the back of the head and groin (even dropping into a full split at a certain point, just to a get a better angle at his opponent’s balls).
Now, if you threw an inside leg kick and it “accidentally” went low, then you can get away with low blows for days on end in today’s sport. But if Dux tries dropping into a full split in a high-level MMA fight – and doesn’t get immediately blasted for it first, of course – then it’s hard to imagine a referees hand not being forced to consider a disqualification at that point.
I also question Dux’s tactics when he’s the one at the end of a foul, as I’m not sure how well staring frustratingly into a camera and spamming crescent kicks would work if blinded in an actual cage fight (just let the ref take a look at it and get your breather, dude!).
In Dux’s defense, he does show a surprising sweep off his back and a neck crank attempt that – coupled with his athleticism – sets him apart from the pack. But unlike the movie, he’ll have to settle for third place, as I’m pretty sure Dux makes it about as far as Dana White’s Contender Series before getting figured out.