Good Old Fashioned MMA Love Triangle

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The underlying issue in this Saturday night's main event is not the age of the fighters, their history in the sport, but rather the man that has and is coaching them.  Shawn Tompkins is the former head trainer at Xtreme Couture and has been a part of Randy's fight camp time and time again.  In the past year Tompkins has left Xtreme Couture in order to start his own gym and of course he wound up training Mark Coleman for his fight against Randy.  The obvious question that arises is how much of an advantage will Coleman have working with Randy's previous striking coach?  Is Tompkins THE X Factor at UFC 109 or is this issue simply another case of the media (yea, I referred to us as the media) making a story out of nothing?  As I frequently state in many of my posts, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  People and writers always speak in absolutes as if there is only one train of thought or only one answer and that is obviously not true. 

This situation is nothing new and happens all the time across sports.  The majority of NFL coaches are connected on a coaching tree stemming from only a handful of men.  In tennis players change coaches all the time and it does not provide them with an enormous advantage over a coaches past players.  Last time I checked all of Belichick's coaching disciples do not defeat him every time they play each other.  Players are constantly switching teams through free agency and these moves do not guarantee wins against their former teams.  It probably provides the teams/individuals with a little extra insight, but if the teams/players do their homework then they should already be fully aware of their opponent.  Coleman, Couture, and Tompkins have all done their fare share to display this idea as well.  According to them, the switch will have no effect.

SBN coverage of UFC 109: Relentless

Couture:

I'm not concerned at all.  I have no real secrets. Shawn doesn't have an inside track on me. He was a big part of Xtreme Couture for the past couple years, and now he's doing his own thing.

Shawn's more of a striking coach and he'll help Mark be in shape, but I see it as positive.  The better it is for us to put on a good show. Mark has a great wrestling attitude in every fight. He goes hard. I'm not worried about Shawn being in his corner because he's going to help Mark be at his best. I see that as great way to ensure we have a great fight.

Coleman:

I don't think there's too many secrets out there. It's not too much of an advantage. I've seen Randy many times. I'm really aware Randy's capable of changing his style on any given day. I'm ready. I'm not known for great gameplans. I have a gameplan I guess: I stick to one style but hopefully try to add some new things myself. Randy's capable of adjusting to whatever I do. It's all about reacting. It's an entirely different fight. I'm well aware he's able to do other things.

Tompkins:

I think that I know a few things, but it's a fight and Randy Couture is always more than prepared for a fight. Once we walk in that cage, we'll roll the dice and hopefully we've just a little better gameplan.

If we are to listen to them then the advantage over Couture is non-existent and we should not worry about it.  This is not entirely true either.  As much film as a person can watch cannot even come close to the inside info one obtains from training day in and day out with someone.  Especially when we are talking about a highly skilled coach such as Tompkins.  Tompkins even admitted that there are weaknesses he hopes to exploit.  "Do I think there's holes in Randy's boxing? Absolutely." He can look at us the same way. I think Mark Coleman has one helluva chin though. And I think that Randy's is a little bit questionable now." 

Knowing your opponent is essential in all sports and more knowledge is always better.  Having Tompkins in the corner is definitely an advantage for Coleman.  However, the fighters are still the ones who make the fight and get into the cage.  In the end, if one fighter is truly superior at this point then all the wisdom in the world can only do so little.  Shawn Tompkins provides Mark Coleman with an added advantage over Randy Couture, but most likely not a large enough difference to make a significant impact.

However, Shawn Tompkins will have a significant impact on this fight.  The real fight changer is that Mark Coleman is working with Shawn Tompkins, not that he is working with Randy Couture's previous coach.  Coleman has been notorious for lack of camps, not having proper coaching, and simply not preparing appropriately.  Just ask Chael Sonnen.  Coleman knows this and has taken the necessary steps this time around.  He has moved to Las Vegas during the training and has repeatedly talked about being more disciplined.  Tompkins mentioned how Mark has not prepared in the past and how this time is different, ""He's never had anybody who is his specific coach. Shogun fight he barely had a camp. I don't think he had a day of training. We trust each other. Sky's the limit for him.  There hasn't be a day he missed of training and there hasn't be a day that he's left early."  Tompkins will have a huge impact on the fight Saturday, but this is because of the work he has down with Coleman, not the work he is doing against Couture.