January 18, 2025 The Disrespect

Today Merab Dvalishvili will fight Umar Nurmagomedov to defend his bantamweight belt after winning the title when he defeated Sean O'Malley by fifth round decision at UFC 306.  Leading up to this fight, there was a lot of tension between Umar and Merab, with Merab explaining that he felt it was disrespectful for Umar to think he deserved a title fight against him, when he has only fought 6 opponents in his four years since joining the UFC.  Merab has been fighting in the UFC since 2017, where he had to fight  his way to his championship belt by fighting 13 opponents and being undefeated in his last 11 fights with his only two losses being his first two fights in the organization.

Merab stated he felt Umar was being fast tracked to the championship fight because he was the cousin of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Umar has an impressive record of 18-0. He fought previously in the Eagle Fighting Championship and The Professional Fighters League (PFL) before being signed to the UFC.  Merab on the other hand fought for several promotions before being signed on Dana Whites Looking for a Fight series. He had a record of 7-2 before competing in the UFC.

Most fighters got their start in other organizations before being signed to the UFC so none of this is new, but is Merab correct in stating that fighters should have to face more opponents, and work their way to the top before being granted the title bout? It seems more fighters are being signed nowadays and given the headlining opportunity in the organization , without having to work their way up, based on their status before entering the UFC.  Ben Askren, Bo Nickal, Michael Venom Page and Kayla Harrison are a few examples of recent years. Most of whom have had impressive records in their prior organizations before being signed to the UFC. 

Kayla Harrison is 18-1-0. Michael Page is 22-3-0. Ben Askren was an Olympic wrestler who went on to compete with Bellator and One as the welterweight champion with an undefeated record for over a decade. So yes, they put in a lot of time and faced many opponents before being given their main card bouts with the UFC. Should they still have had to start in the prelims and move their way up the ranks in their new organization to prove themselves worthy of main card status? Or does their previous undefeated, or championship status allow them to be fast tracked? 

But what about Bo Nickal? Bo Nickal is 7-0. That's his entire MMA career record, yet he has never been on a prelim card, and has only been given top ranked fighters to compete against. Now don't get me wrong, he was an outstanding collegiate wrestler who was a three time NCAA division 1 national champion who claimed the 2019 U23 world championship, he was a finalist for the 2020 Olympic team trials and Final X contestant before having his first amateur MMA fight in which he won by arm triangle, before going on to win his second amateur fight and moving on to his first pro fight in 2022. He then went on to have his second professional fight in Dana Whites Contender Series 49 where he won by rear naked choke, He wasn't awarded  a contract on that series, but would go on to win his third pro fight during his next chance at Dana Whites Contender Series 56 where he would win a contract after beating Donovan Beard.  His first fight in the UFC  was a main card bout against Jamie Pickett.  All four of his fights in the UFC were main card fights with an entrance pro fight record of 3-0. For fighters like Merab is this considered a slap in the face?  Is there some truth in what Merab is saying, that to be moved up the ranks so quickly when others have been fighting for years to achieve a title shot is disrespectful? 

Or is Umar just the best opponent for Merab right now? Umar is ranked #2 in the bantamweight division as of August 2024. So to give him the title shot against #1 ranked only makes sense. But the real question is, did he do enough to claim the #2 spot, or is Merab correct in saying he doesn't deserve it, just yet?

 

December 9,2024 The Hate Game

This last Saturday, while sitting at home scrolling through all of the posts leading up to UFC 310 and the co main event featuring Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov, I noticed a startling difference between the lead up to this fight compared to the lead up of Ian's last fight against Michael Venom Page at UFC 303 late June of this year. The hate. Ian has been plagued with hatred since he came on the scene as a great upcoming talent on the UFC roster, advancing into the UFC as a young Irish fighter out of Cage Warriors, being hyped as the next Conor McGregor. Up until this last weekend, he had an impressive undefeated record of 15-0, with his first loss being to Shavkat. It was an exciting fight to watch, and Ian almost got the win with a rear naked choke in the final round. Shavkat is 19-0 and Ian took the fight last minute when Belal Muhammad had to cancel his fight due to a nasty toe infection. Not many fighters would step in on short notice to fight Shavkat, so it says a lot about Ian Garry to take this fight last minute knowing he could lose his undefeated record. I think in doing so, he gained  a lot of respect from fighters and fans. I felt reading the comments leading up to the fight, there seemed to be a little more respect and support shown, as compared to many of his other fights, but after his loss, the hate showed back up. Although mixed in with fantastic reviews about his performance, and his ability to go the distance with Shavkat, the oh so common insults were thrown at him from people who call themselves fight fans.

So why the hate? At UFC 298, Garry was set to fight Geoff Neal and was met with a huge round of boos from the fans at the press conference. With as much class as a fighter could have, when asked if he would shake Geoff Neals hand after the fight, Garry explained he would shake any fighters hand who would be willing to step in the cage with him. That's sportsmanship. I have never understood the fans hating on a fighter, and I cringe with disbelief every time I am at the fights and the fans break out in synchronized boos for the fighters as they make the  walk to entertain us all.  So the question is, if you are a fight fan, and you respect the hard work that each and every one of these fighters has had to do in order to get to where they are at now in their careers , why hate?  Why take the time out of your day to sit and write negative comments towards them, their families and their hard work?

Being a fight fan from day one of the UFC, I know there have always been personalities that the fans do not like. Some are true personalities, Nick Diaz for one example. Some are fake, Colby Covington as another example. When Nick Diaz was fighting George St.Pierre, he was the bad guy. Not because Nick is actually a bad guy, but when matched against such a positive image as GSP, Nick, who grew up in a tough neighborhood, and was teased as a kid and  got into many fights growing up, hardened. After the death of his high school girlfriend he chose to train to be professional and became an incredible fighter, but that raw aggressive, defensive personality in one that is inherited from life experience, not from imagination, or a need to grow an audience. It's in it's purest form, and it made him the world class fighter he became. 

Then you have a personality like Colby Covington, whom everyone knows, created the fake image we see before us today. Everyone knows the story of how he used to behave, but was not getting any attention, so created this cringe  worthy personality that the fans have either grown to love or hate. Regardless of whether you like him or not, it worked. From a personal standpoint, I am not a fan of Colby as an entertainer, I am however a fan of his as a fighter.  I shake my head every time there is a Colby fight, and I have to listen to him speak at media day. Partly because I can't stand the thought of my favorite sport, MMA being turned into a circus show like the WWE. Colby is just that, a circus show, from the ladies he hires to stand with him like he is some sex god, to the all American political statements, to the costumes, it's all a joke. I hate what he has brought to my favorite sport, but I would never boo him. Outside of the tacky, cringey, fake persona, he is still an amazing fighter. He trained hard to make it to the UFC and has stood toe to toe with some of the best fighters to grace the roster. As a fight fan, I respect his fighting techniques and IQ, and I look forward to this weekends fight of his against Joaquin Buckley. 

Since the days of the gladiators, fans have always picked one fighter they want to see win in a match, sometimes the most exciting fights are those with two fighters we love and can't even pick who we want to see win. The energy in a packed arena full of cheers cannot be matched. If you have ever been to a Conor McGregor fight live, full of cheers and chants you can't get that feeling anywhere else. It is amazing. But a room full of negative boos feels different as  a fight fan, and I could only assume as a fighter as well.  That fighter, making their walk to the cage, who worked so hard to get to that point in their career, is so hated for what? As a fight fan it is something I have never understood. 

Todays fight fans are a different breed. Armed with social media, and being given a platform to praise or attack a fighter directly, was not something I grew up with. Is any interaction a good interaction when trying to make a name for yourself? Is it better to be hated and keep the fans engaged than to be considered boring with no real engagement? Todays fight game seems so based on social media, and what gets likes and dislikes, what keeps the fans wanting more? 

Maybe the hate game does benefit fighters to some extent, but to think that all that person did to acquire such hatred was go to the gym everyday, train hard, get signed to a contract to fight the best fighters in the world, show up and give the fans a show.  And yet they boo. 

The hate game is a crazy one.