After much debate, congenital amputee Kyle Maynard got his day in the cage as he took on Bryan Fry of Baraboo, Wisconsin in a mixed martial arts match on Saturday, April 25.

Maynard, who was born without elbows, hands, feet, or knees, did his best to remain a moving target and keep Fry off-balance, but in the end, the winless 135-pounder Fry won a decision over the former star wrestler.

Now, Maynard’s performance is raising questions about whether or not he should fight again. Maynard said he enjoyed his time in the cage and wants to fight another MMA betting fight, but some people believe it’s not a good idea.

There’s no question that Maynard’s fight was an inspiring story for disabled people and athletes everywhere, but anyone who saw the fight should realize that Maynard doesn’t belong in the cage from a competitive standpoint. It’s simply the truth.

Maynard and Fry danced a lot for most of the three rounds, with Fry moving away and taking it a bit easy on Maynard while working in a few jabs. Fry was stunned by the speed and mobility of Maynard, but most fans could tell that Fry, a heavy favorite, did his best to avoid striking Maynard in a way that could have left him seriously injured. A barrage of kicks by Fry likely could have ended the fight at any moment but he mostly backed off and picked his spots while staying out of Maynard’s small range of attack.

The highlights even made ESPN’s Sportscenter (surprising and actually embarrassing as well since they never show other more competitive MMA highlights) but that doesn’t legitimize Maynard’s fight in any way. This was a publicity stunt through and through.

Maynard will probably find another opponent and keep his MMA career going for a while, but if he ever wants to be taken seriously he will need to find an opponent more on his level or else stick to wrestling because what we saw in the cage wasn’t legitimate competition by any stretch of the imagination on Saturday night.

You might compare MMA to pizza in that even when it’s bad, it’s usually pretty good, and people would enjoy seeing two talented-but-disabled competitors go at it in the Octagon some day. Fights are always entertaining as long as they’re put on the right way with safety in mind and the fight is competitive.

Perhaps Maynard should now move on and try to find fighters of similar ability that he can face in the future, because while his story is inspiring and he has now turned himself into a borderline celebrity, he simply doesn’t belong in the cage with more able-bodied MMA fighters.

This information is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

More ...