#1 Jeff Monson

Jeff Monson makes the world a more interesting place.

Many people drift into being MMA fans. After catching bits on the telly they maybe pick up a DVD and then finally go to a local show. We all love a knockout. It’s what we’re brought up on. Whether it was from watching Bruce Lee, Marvellous Marvin or geezers in the pub car park, we’ve all developed an appreciation of a solid strike followed by the thud of a dropped runner up.

The ground game is essential to any serious MMA fighter, but it doesn’t have the instant appeal for the casual observer. Be honest- a technical ground battle has been the signal for many a trip to the bar / fridge / bog. Grappling takes time to get into. The longer and closer you watch it, the more you grow to appreciate it. The thing is though, you need to make that investment. You’ve got to want to learn more. In these days of SKY plus and itchy fingered youths with the attention span of a crack whore goldfish , you’ve got to be something really special to turn people on to  the finer points of ground work. Step forward Jeff Monson.

Jeff ‘The Snowman’ Monson is a top submission guy. He’s an Abu Dhabi Heavyweight division winner and with a splendid MMA record- but that isn’t enough to make you a hero. Monson has style. He makes grappling gripping.

Fast transitions. Position. Can’t lock it in. Switch. Can’t get an arm. Try to pass. Look. Fake once, twice. Twitch. Bang- it’s on tight. You’re tapping baby. Every second the fight is on the floor he is working for the win. You can’t take your eyes off the man. You don’t only want to watch his fights. Whenever Monson has been on TV- you can bet the numbers are going to be up at BJJ classes.

His speed and intensity are off the chart. When The Snowman gets his victim in a spot, he puts his heart and soul into it. The guy looks like he’s going to explode - and I don’t mean pop a blood vessel or something. I mean literally do a Scanners and blow up. If Monson slipped his hooks in for a rear naked choke while I was at ringside, I’d be expecting a Shamu style soaking with his blood and brain matter at any second.

They way Monson looks is another drawing card. See a 5 ft 9” heavyweight and you think that guy is in the wrong division. When you’ve seen him leave a series of Goliaths on the canvas with confused looks and aching limbs you think- I want to learn how to do that. OK, he’s 17 stone plus, but that makes him even cooler. And what if he has come out second best to some top level guys. If it’s records or style- give me style every day of the week.

Jeff Monson does not look like an everyday person. Thing out of the Fantastic Four? Perhaps. A snowman? A really crap, scary one maybe.

People like the way Monson looks. If you’re ever in a room with little kids, they love Monson when he comes on the screen. They see him as some kind of big friendly cartoon character (see also dart player Andy Fordham and English football barrel scraping Peter Crouch for this effect). 

Whatever age you are- there is no doubt that Jeff Monson is an extraordinary looking man. The bull neck, the pumped to bursting physique- the tattoos. Ah yes- the ink. Monson’s tatt’s, or to be precise, the philosophy behind most of them is the reason why a large number of people can’t stand The Snowman. For every fan there is a hater who can’t get past the politics.  Those who spout that Monson is stupid, naïve, a hypocrite, subversive, Anti-American and if he likes anarchy so much why doesn’t he build a time machine travel back to 1976 and sniff glue with Sid in the toilets at the Roxy.

Inked on his chest is the black and red star of anarcho-syndicalism. Jeff Monson is an anarchist. He became politically aware while at college. After completing a Masters is Psychology, he became a counsellor working to improve the lot of mentally ill people. This was at the time of substantial welfare cuts in the USA, which is the kind of environment I’d guess does nothing to soften your political views.

I hear a lot of people giving Monson stick along the lines of – if he’s such a big anarchist, how come he’s covered in sponsorship?

The fact is, if you speak out about any issue, you’re going to get judged more harshly. We seem to expect higher standards of anyone who comes out as an environmentalist / Christian / nice bloke and there is an air of glee when they are revealed to have slight failings that mean they are imperfect losers like the rest of the world. Hip, hip hooray.

Monson speaks from the heart. Other fighters have made political statements from the UFC octagon and worn T-shirts bearing political slogans about the war in Iraq. They weren’t challenged to defend their positions or booed by the frat boy crowds. I’m guessing they didn’t have the Secret Service searching their gym and house as a result. It seems we only allow people to speak out if they say exactly what we agree with and they are totally in tune with the values of our society- which isn’t really speaking out at all. More like singing along. Whether you agree with him or not- I think that he should be applauded for having the balls to stick his head out of the trench.

Jeff Monson- Ace grappler – Short Heavyweight – Switched on caring type person -  Irritant to those who probably deserve irritating-

Jeff Monson- hurtbusiness hero.

Monson quotes

 I support our troops. I show that support by demanding that we bring them home from Iraq.

I am an anarchist, someone who would like to do away with all class hierarchy in society and the institutions that promote this inequality.

I'm not some sort of conspiracy theorist, I'm not talking about how the government is trying to hide UFOs. I just want to do away with hierarchy. I'm saying that our economic system, capitalism, is structured so that it only benefits a small percentage of very wealthy people. When I was travelling in Brazil, they had us staying at a really posh hotel. Outside the hotel there was a mom sleeping on the sidewalk with her two kids. That's when reality hits you. What did that woman ever do? Who did she ever hurt?