"And yes, I think that mike tyson would be turned into a bitch if he went against a good grappler. Lets look at ken shamrock for instance - muscle wise he compares to tyson but also has rounded fighting skills on top of that including grappling."
A) That would require Shamrock to grab Tyson.
B) That completely ignores that Tyson is a fighter first, and a boxer second.
I used Tyson not because of his boxing skills, but because he is a recognized figure who will do anything in a given situation to win the fight. I think Ken would be killed by Tyson if they were put face to face, have you ever seen what Tyson can do to someone with one pucnh? Do you realize the velocity with which his fists move? He is a street fighter first and foremost, doing whatever it takes to win. The fact that someone took his rage and showed him the basics of boxing doesn't change who he is, just how we know him.
Ignoring that, let's say that Shamrock did manage to get a hold of Tyson, first off the raw brute strength makes him far more difficult to deal with, secondly he will do anything to get out of holds. There are very few effective possible positions to put someone in that they can't get out of if they are willing to do *whatever* it takes.
"THere is a reason why a 175 lb gracie can take on a 300 lb big weightlifter, because when he gets in tight he neutralizes much of their strength."
Joyce(SIC?) won because he outsmarted his opponents. Everyone he faced let him take the fight to a method he felt comfortable in. If you try and grapple with a grappler who is better then you, you will lose. Stay up, and stay back. Let him come to you hit and move back. Repeat until fatigue sets in.
"TKD competition is very unlike a real fight. UFC is closer."
Neither of them are close to a real fight. One has rules that are set up to favor grapplers, the other doesn't. Without allowing the best counters to grappling, you can argue that you should eliminate grappling. UFC is more represenative on one level because it allows a variety of styles, but it is still nothing like a real combat situation.
If you set up fighting where you were not allowed to block kicks, but could block punches, it would make for a good demonstration of kicks being the superior technique. UFC removes the best defenses and counters to grappling, making the event favor those fighters heavily. Suppose they allowed biting/gouging, how many grapplers would make it through the tournament? Few, if any.
Take an example more people can relate to on this board. Let's use Quake3. Say Thresh's favorite weapon was the rail gun(I don't think it is, much like Tyson just using him as a name with recognition). He enters into a tournament and is limited in his weapons, he can't use the rocket launcher. Now, without the rocket launcher Thresh can't fight his way into the room he needs to to get the rail gun because he is pinned down and needs the splash damage of the rocket launcher to get into the room.
Thresh looses the match, and badly, because he gets his @ss kicked trying to get into that room so he can get into *his* game. By eliminating the ability to counter grappling you effectively restrict people into a role that they wouldn't take part of. Strategical elements of fighting, what makes two people different then two pit bulls, need to be altered significantly by removing the only effective counter to one style.