To those who fight in the cage...
My heart was racing.
There was more than just money riding on the results of this fight. My faith in the sport was also on the line as doubts of authenticity raced through my head. Was Wes right? Were these fights being rigged? The sport has become so popular that perhaps the greed of the owners had become more important to them than providing the world with an authentic match of blood and pain. Three minutes into the third round and everyone in the room was screaming. I had my fair share of beer and words, but nothing I could have said could articulate my feelings. My hands were shaking, my legs felt weak, but thirty nine seconds later I would be the happiest man there. I had won more than just money, I had sealed my faith in both the sport and in "The Ice Man." Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz put on a great show, but as was the result the first time they fought, the champion came out victorious.
Often times my friends will go off in random tangents about the superiority of people with helmets and pads chasing around a brown ball. Names and teams are shouted and represented but I'm left unphased as I always have been. I couldn't care less for football or any of your traditional sports. That was before Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben became celebrities from "The Ultimate Fighter." Sure, cage fighting isn't exactly a traditional sport, but it is the only sport in which a man has to prove his worth as a fighter by hurting his opposition. There are no goals to make, no passes to catch and no quarterback to sack. You step into that cage and its you and your opponent, gloves on, fists balled, and your will to impose. I believe that is why, and the growing population of fans will agree, that cage fighting is the greatest sport around. Look at the decline in boxing revenues. No one wants to watch some eight foot Russian beat the shit out of every person he runs into. People want to see fighters like Tito Ortiz drop elbows from top guard and cut some one's face open. They want to see fighters like Chuck Liddell connect with one looping punch across some one's chin and have it make their legs crumble. Consider me violent, but theres something you have to respect about these modern-day gladiators.
So I sit here, the day after the last UFC event of the year, with a smile on my face and only great expectations for the sport to come. Quinton Jackson and Mirko Cro Cop are coming, something that should ignite both the heavyweight and light-heavyweight divisions. February 3rd should be an excellent pay-per-view as it is the first event where the new Middleweight and Welterweight champions Anderson Silva and Georges "Rush" St.Pierre respectively defend their titles for the first time against The Ultimate Fighter 4 finalists Travis Lutter and Matt Serra.
And there I go. I'm just as bad as those people who spout off names like Tony Romo and claim the colors grey and blue until death. To most of, if not all of you, everything I'm saying in this post is just a blur that might have one or two sparks go off in your brain. To me, some one who says things like what I've said above is instantly a person I want to have a conversation with. Maybe if the fighters wore girl's pants and listened to Indie rock you guys would be fans. Instead, we have people like Forest Griffin who comes out to Trick Daddy or Tito Ortiz who comes out to Eminem, or Eric Schafer who comes out to Disturbed. The sport isn't for everyone I guess.
I just wish it was for one of you.
There was more than just money riding on the results of this fight. My faith in the sport was also on the line as doubts of authenticity raced through my head. Was Wes right? Were these fights being rigged? The sport has become so popular that perhaps the greed of the owners had become more important to them than providing the world with an authentic match of blood and pain. Three minutes into the third round and everyone in the room was screaming. I had my fair share of beer and words, but nothing I could have said could articulate my feelings. My hands were shaking, my legs felt weak, but thirty nine seconds later I would be the happiest man there. I had won more than just money, I had sealed my faith in both the sport and in "The Ice Man." Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz put on a great show, but as was the result the first time they fought, the champion came out victorious.
Often times my friends will go off in random tangents about the superiority of people with helmets and pads chasing around a brown ball. Names and teams are shouted and represented but I'm left unphased as I always have been. I couldn't care less for football or any of your traditional sports. That was before Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben became celebrities from "The Ultimate Fighter." Sure, cage fighting isn't exactly a traditional sport, but it is the only sport in which a man has to prove his worth as a fighter by hurting his opposition. There are no goals to make, no passes to catch and no quarterback to sack. You step into that cage and its you and your opponent, gloves on, fists balled, and your will to impose. I believe that is why, and the growing population of fans will agree, that cage fighting is the greatest sport around. Look at the decline in boxing revenues. No one wants to watch some eight foot Russian beat the shit out of every person he runs into. People want to see fighters like Tito Ortiz drop elbows from top guard and cut some one's face open. They want to see fighters like Chuck Liddell connect with one looping punch across some one's chin and have it make their legs crumble. Consider me violent, but theres something you have to respect about these modern-day gladiators.
So I sit here, the day after the last UFC event of the year, with a smile on my face and only great expectations for the sport to come. Quinton Jackson and Mirko Cro Cop are coming, something that should ignite both the heavyweight and light-heavyweight divisions. February 3rd should be an excellent pay-per-view as it is the first event where the new Middleweight and Welterweight champions Anderson Silva and Georges "Rush" St.Pierre respectively defend their titles for the first time against The Ultimate Fighter 4 finalists Travis Lutter and Matt Serra.
And there I go. I'm just as bad as those people who spout off names like Tony Romo and claim the colors grey and blue until death. To most of, if not all of you, everything I'm saying in this post is just a blur that might have one or two sparks go off in your brain. To me, some one who says things like what I've said above is instantly a person I want to have a conversation with. Maybe if the fighters wore girl's pants and listened to Indie rock you guys would be fans. Instead, we have people like Forest Griffin who comes out to Trick Daddy or Tito Ortiz who comes out to Eminem, or Eric Schafer who comes out to Disturbed. The sport isn't for everyone I guess.
I just wish it was for one of you.