Mixed martial artists tightrope between glory and disaster with a precariousness unfamiliar to all but the most daring athletes.
To fight professionally in a cage or a ring is to intentionally flirt with the ultimate price, and in this way there wasn’t anything especially noteworthy ahead of an MMA card that took place in Dublin, on 9 April.
An evening of fights with UFC superstar Conor McGregor watching from cage-side, fun as that was, simply marked another moment modern people, presumably trained to engage in extremely demanding and dangerous pursuits, took their turns in an atavistic arena.
And so it was that the MMA community came to learn of Portuguese welterweight Joao Carvalho – the 13th MMA fighter to lose his life since this type of competition exploded in popularity after the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993.
The leaders of the UFC, the top organization in the sport, have always been quick to point out that no fighter has lost his or her life inside the octagon – presumably because UFC fighters are almost always considered top of the line, and regulation of UFC events are generally top shelf. But this defense of the UFC brand has always made me cringe. Immunity from such a thing cannot last. At some point detractors who view MMA as packaged barbarism rather than intense competition driven by determination and technique will be able to say, “told you so”.
This is why loud pronouncements from fighters about a willingness to lose everything should never be glossed over. Tinged with hyperbole and ego, “kill or be killed” – a morbid phrase uttered by countless fighters including McGregor and his current foe Nate Diaz – is rooted in the hard truths that fighters endure as a regular course of business.
I have shared the same space with fighters after watching them do this work and wondered why anyone would wish to do it again.
“To see a young man doing what he loves, competing for a chance at a better life, and then to have it taken away is truly heartbreaking,” said McGregor, whose team-mate, Charlie Ward, will live the rest of his days knowing he took an opponent’s life. “We are just men and women doing something we love in the hope of a better life for ourselves and our families. Nobody involved in combat sports of any kind wants to see this. It is such a rare occurrence that I don’t know how to take this.”
At times MMA’s violence is callously celebrated, as if the spectacle comes and goes without consequence to the victim or the viewer. MMA is a base and brutal sport. No one should dare suggest otherwise. I know the sickeningly hallow sound of a shin colliding with a skull. Blood has splattered on my face. One time the tip a fighter’s tongue landed on my thigh. I have seen too many fighters struggle to stand after taking a shellacking.
And yet, like many millions of people, I’ll eagerly watch in amazement as men and women, knowing and ignoring the stakes, give everything they have in a form of combat that dates back thousands of years.
“Combat sport is a crazy game and with the recent incident in boxing and now this in MMA, it is a sad time to be a fighter and a fight fan,” McGregor said in his statement. “It is easy for those on the outside to criticise our way of living, but for the millions of people around the world who have had their lives, their health, their fitness and their mental strength all changed for the better through combat, this is truly a bitter pill to swallow. We have lost one of us.”
Carvalho was 28 years old as he entered the third bout of his professional career. Following a standard technical knockout loss, he reportedly felt dizzy and died less than two days later from head trauma. He is the eighth MMA fighter to suffer this fate since American Douglas Dedge collapsed after an unregulated match in Kiev in 1998. The likely truth is that in years to come more fighters will pass. As the sport expands so will the number of participants, many of whom won’t sniff the top of their respective divisions but will seek to fight because it is what they are compelled to do.
Pico’s next move: TBD
As far as compelled goes, take Aaron Pico.
A little more than two years ago, Bellator MMA announced the signing of Pico, a 17-year-old stud wrestler who was touted as one of the best prospects MMA had seen in years. After falling short last weekend of securing a spot at 143lb on the US Olympic team headed to Rio, Pico has a decision to make. Sometime next week, Pico will meet with his coaches, representatives and family to determine whether to remain focused on wrestling or shift towards his true love: fighting.
If the time is now for Pico he’ll make the transition anticipating establishing himself as the biggest star for the Viacom-owned Bellator.
“The only thing about wrestling that sucks is you can’t punch,” said Pico, who will start his career at 145lbs. “I love it. Ever since I was a little kid, it’s funny, in the classroom I always used to think I’m going to be a fighter some day. I didn’t know how it would happen, but that’s what I want to do. I went on to box and do pankration and things like that. Finally, the puzzle is starting to come together. Now with this, it’s all making sense. But I love to fight and I love combat. It’s just a great feeling. Maybe I’m sick but I can’t describe. Combat? Maybe I was born to do it.”
It’s unclear how falling short of his Olympic promises will impact Pico’s marketability. Henry Cejudo, who won a gold medal for the U.S. in 2008, will challenge UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on April 23, is a good example of an elite wrestler who stepped into the cage on his terms. Pico’s wrestling pedigree won’t be as accomplished as Cejudo’s, but the young Californian could turnout to be a much better fighter if the testimonials of folks who have seen him in the gym translate to real competition.
“I travel the world a lot and you step out of the airplanes and see David Beckham supporting a watch company or clothing. Why not us fighters someday?” Pico said to a gaggle of media in 2014. “So with global Viacom and Bellator, where they’re headed, we can do that. Launch worldwide. I feel I can be that man.
Bendo begins anew next week
From his initial plans of pursing free agency, through the process of fielding offers, to landing a deal with Bellator MMA, Benson Henderson says the calendar feels as if it’s quickly turned and he’s physically, emotionally, and spiritually ready to complete the move from the UFC, where he defended the lightweight title three times.
Henderson is focused on the welterweight division as he prepares to fight Bellator 170lb champion Andrey Koreshkov on 22 April at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, a weight class he dabbled in twice before leaving the octagon. Wins over Brandon Thatch and Jorge Masvidal sent Henderson, 32, merrily on his way, and as he discussed a new deal with Bellator he was offered first crack at Koreshkov, a once-beaten Russian who has improved steadily since getting manhandled by Ben Askren in July 2013.
Henderson scouted Koreshkov more closely than many of his UFC opponents, he said, because he didn’t know anything about the 25-year-old Russian. It didn’t take Henderson more than a couple fights to realize how good an athlete the young champion was. Against Douglas Lima, whom Koreshkov defeated last summer to take the Bellator title, Henderson said the current titleholder was “super smart, super aware, and showed how much room he has to grow.”
Beating the Russian would produce Henderson’s third title for a major organization, “a big deal,” he said. It would also mark the first step towards courting sponsors he hoped would avail themselves to him after leaving the UFC for Bellator. Represented by NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick’s management group, Henderson acknowledged that he required a slow and steady build to capitalize on a depleted sponsor market, but the possibility certainly exists.
Moving to 3-0 at welterweight is a must.
GSP and UFC in talks, not much else
It may seem differently based on all the talk floating around, but former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (25-2) has not yet decided to fight again for Zuffa. That was his message during and interview at a Toronto Raptors basketball game this week, and it was reiterated to the Guardian on Wednesday by the star fighter’s manager and friend, Rodolphe Beaulieu.
“Obviously he left the sport for reasons, the sport has changed since he left and as you can imagine UFC wants to know if and under which circumstances Georges would come back,” Beaulieu said. “So yes we’ve been in discussion with UFC since day one but [no return] is planned.”
St-Pierre, 34, relinquished his title and took a hiatus from the UFC after a receiving razor-thin decision defense over Johnny Hendricks in November 2013, balking, in part, to what he perceived to be inadequate drug testing inside the organization.
Rumors have regularly made the rounds about the Montreal fighter’s imminent return, though GSP has long been coy about his status. His reemergence in the octagon would provide the UFC a massive boost at the gate and on pay-per-view, and would immediately bolster a welterweight division currently headed by veteran bomber Robbie Lawler.
USADA leaving its mark on UFC
Several UFC fighters in recent days have felt the brunt of Usada, the independent testing organization hired to manage UFC’s performance-enhancing drug testing program.
The latest is Brazilian former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who according to the UFC stated during a drug screening last week that he was, unknowingly, using a banned substance. Machida claimed ignorance about the supplement 7-Keto which contains the prohibited anabolic agent DHEA. Upon revealing that bit of information to Usada, the UFC subsequently yanked Machida from his scheduled fight this Saturday in Tampa against Dan Henderson.
It’s a good time to remember Lorenzo Fertitta’s words the day the UFC officially announced it’s program with Usada: “If we lose main events, we lose main events.”
In this case, it was a co-main.
Machida-Henderson moved up to co-main status for UFC’s Fox card on 16 April after Tony Ferguson was forced out of his firecracker of a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. That bit of news last week along with the revelation that Daniel Cormier was forced to bow out of his title “defense” against Jon Jones on 23 April has muddled up the picture for the best fights this month, but there’s still a lot to look forward to presuming Usada or the injury bug don’t bite again.
