Search - Chuck Norris Presents: World Combat League - Season One on DVD

It's like K-1 for people with ADD

The Wickerman | Austin, TX | 01/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a big fan of mixed martial arts, I was pleased to see that Chuck Norris founded a league of his own. Way back before he was nothing but Mike Huckabee's lapdog and a webpage of humorous facts about his abilities, Chuck was in fact a world champion fighter, and what better way to carry on his legacy than to pass on the torch? However, this particular format is something I just really have trouble getting behind.

The World Combat League is initially compelling. It's a team martial arts competition, similar to the IFL, except that it's striking arts only, much like Japan's K-1. This means no clinching, no grappling, and no fighting on the ground. Furthermore, the organization puts emphasis on "fast-paced action". The rounds are very short, and the fighters are encouraged to push the action as much as possible. This results in fights that feel way too rushed, and often turn out to be rather sloppy and uninteresting. Now, I'm a big fan of grappling, so I am a bit disappointed that Chuck Norris, being a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt himself, has chosen to cut that aspect of fighting out of his organization just to try to make it more "exciting" to people who don't have the attention span for a ground fight. This is why in the UFC these days you see fights getting stood back up a lot faster. I just feel like Chuck is pandering to the lowest common denominator, and I'm not happy with it. And hey, I love kickboxing and muay thai fighting too, but even compared to most other striking competitions, this feels like it's tailor-made for people with no attention span, and I for one don't like it.

3 stars because they are talented fighters, and some of the fights are interesting, sure, but this format just feels way too rushed for me. I guess I just have a different idea of what makes for an exciting fight. I just hope that third fist doesn't come out of Chuck's beard and knock me out for saying so..."

Fast paced kickboxing!

Valiss | Earth | 04/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of kickboxing, then you might find the World Combat League enjoyable. This is certainly different than K-1 or Muy Thai fights, but if you like the ruleset then you'll love the action.

To be sure, the first season of the WCL started a little rough around the edges. There was no logo in the ring. There were a lot of silly and confusing rules. And the fighters seemingly wore way too many pads to be effective. However, during the course of the season, they really improved the league by modifying some of the rules and polishing up the stage and TV presence. By the championship series, they had ditched the footpads, allowed leg kicks and limited holding, and we were cheering for our favorite teams/fighters. Everyone was just waiting to see who would get knocked out next.

And speaking of knockouts, this league has a ton of them. This is due to the fact that they only fight two 3-minute rounds, so the fighters really go all out each round. Those with boxing or kickboxing backgrounds seem to excel. There are probably two or three KOs per episode and as a result, the league has grown its very own stars. Be sure to keep an eye out for Raymond "The Real Deal" Daniels, Tim "Irish Pride" Connors, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, and Kevin "The Hitman" Engel among others for some spectacular fights.

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