This is probably going to be a long read, so I am going to try to post TLDRs at the end of the post for all of the things I wind up trying to say. I decided to post this in the UFC forum as much of what I have to say regards the UFC in particular. Again its a lot of stuff. But I think it may be interesting for the "Die hard" fans on this board to hear from the perspective from someone who was previously a die hard fan, stopped watching the sport for awhile, and then came back to watching it but with a totally different perspective.
1.) I started watching MMA towards the end of my senior year of high school (2010). I had always seen commercials for the UFC and would occasionally watch events if they were free and I were browsing through the channels with nothing else to watch, but a free demo for UFC undisputed 2010 on my xbox 360 and a late night of watching a marathon of UFC reruns on spike TV peaked my curiosity as a fan. I had participated in tae kwon do in my youth (from about 9 to 14 years old) and was always interested in fun and exciting ways to exercise and stay in shape. For this reason, MMA was a particularly interesting sport to me as I was interested in both the competition itself (as a fan I enjoyed the excitement of seeing who would win and who would lose) and in the training (as someone who enjoys being active and staying in shape). Although at first the violence and brutality of the sport was unsettling, I grew a tolerance for it pretty quickly.
Gradually I progressed from watching events casually (only occasionally watching the free cards on television) to watching every single card. It progressed to the point where I was almost obsessed with MMA. I would not only watch all of the events ("UFC party at my house this saturday!" was my absolute favorite thing to say), but I would watch training videos, interviews, behind the scenes footage, podcasts, etc. I would rewatch and analyze fights over and over again, fascinated by the nuances, changes in momementum, strategies, set-ups, etc. I knew all of the top fighters' records by heart, who they trained with and where they trained, what their backgrounds and styles were, etc. Also, I had watching thousands and thousands of hours of training and fight footage from not only the UFC, but also BJJ tournaments, amateur and pro boxing and kickboxing matches, etc. I was constantly looking up MMA news on my phone. To those of you on the forum, this is not unusual but rather is the norm. However, to the outside world, the majority of which who do not follow MMA even casually, this was strange to say the least. I had no idea who the top athletes were in any other sport and no desire to learn.
I began training at a local MMA gym, more seriously on my winter and summer breaks and occasionally during the fall and spring semesters of the school year when I was more busy with my studies. I bought a heavy bag and put it up in my sun room, regularly practicing the techniques I had learned in both tae kwon do and muay thai class on the bag, constantly drilling combinations, running sprints in my backyard, throwing high volumes of burpees, pushups, situps, pullups in the mix, etc. As of now, I am currently in my first year of physical therapy school. Now, I enjoy a wide variety of activities- weight lifting, mountain biking, running, sprinting, yoga, etc. Occasionally now I will hit the bag, but now its just one part of my many athletic interests.
However, at the peak of my time as an MMA fan, this was not the case. Every single workout revolved around MMA. I would watch videos of my favorite fighters training and try to emulate what they did. The hilarious part was that I never even actually competed in any form of martial arts! I never took part in a BJJ tournament, never had a kickboxing match, etc. I just never really had that 100% confidence that I was fully prepared. Ironically the coach at the gym I went to had much more confidence in me than I did in myself, but at the time I was a very serious undergraduate student with aspirations of getting into graduate school and that took up the time I felt I would've needed to be properly prepared to compete.
Alright, so if you made it this far you're probably wondering the point of my saying all of this. The point I was trying to illustrate was that I was a major fan- much like many of you. However,
2.) Towards mid 2014 (around May of 2014), my interest in MMA faded. It was actually spurred by a couple two events. Frist, I had a falling out with a friend of mine whom I used to train with. Sometimes, when married couples get divorced one of the parents gets custody of the kids. Well, in this situation (a "friendship divorce", if you will), he got "custody" of the MMA gym where we would train. He was buddies with the coach and I wasn't exactly welcome there anymore hahaha. Financially, I was in a rough spot and was actually getting a discount to train from the coach at my old gym, so I couldn't really afford going elsewhere (the going rate at the other gyms around where I live is about $140/month, and at the time I was applying to grad programs which wound up costing close to $2,000).
The second event which sparked my loss of interest in MMA was the Vitor Belfort- Chael Sonnen- Wanderlei Silva PED triangle of UFC 175. That absolutely disgusted me. I remember being upset that Vitor, who had obviously been abusing testosterone, faced no penalty for elevated testosterone in February of 2014. But then having Wanderlei literally run from a drug test before competing with Chael (who had previously failed a drug test against Anderson in 2010 and was just about to fail another drug test) be replaced by Vitor who had just failed a drug test, I just thought the entire situation was absurd, and it really made me suspicious and concerned about the state of PED usage in MMA.
Gradually, my interest started to fade. It wasn't intentional, I just started occasionally missing cards, started trying new workouts, started watching different sports etc. I remember the last card I really sat down and tried to watch was Lawler vs Brown towards the end of July in 2014. I remember being heartbroken and upset at how badly Nogeura lost, and at that point I was so uninterested I actually fell asleep during the main event! hahaha. Eventually, a long while had gone by and in that time I hadn't watched any fights at all. Not intentionally losing interest, just having my time occupied with other things. I heard about some of the bigger events- Anderson failing a drug test, Rousey losing, etc- through friends who still followed the sport, but never really took the time to research or follow-up.
3.) It almost pains me to admit this, and I know for a fact its going to anger many of the die-hard fans on this forum, but the dude who wound up bringing MMA back into my interest was Conor McGregor. I had watched the Brimage and Holloway fights (before he tore his ACL), but by the time he returned from the injury I had already begun losing interest. I saw his return fight against Brandao in Ireland in July of 2014, but was sort of ambivalent and stopped paying attention to the sport before he ever had the chance to compete for the title.
The marketing for UFC 194 was fantastic, I simply couldn't get away from the commercials and advertisements. The marketing for UFC 189 was similarly great, but for whatever reason it didn't catch my attention the way that those for UFC 194 did. Ihad been a big fan of Aldo and was just very curious to see whether or not Conor's skills were actually legitimate enough to dethrone the champ. I decided to really tune in for fights for the first time in over a year.
I now knew what it was like to be a "casual fan". And it now totally 100% made sense to me why the UFC loves personalities. As a die hard fan it always frustrated me why a top fighter (like Demian Maia, for example) could be on a long winning streak while beating top competition, but receive no title shot in favor of a fighter coming off a lesser streak against lower competition. The reason is because $60 is $60 regardless of whether or not you are a die-hard fan or a casual fan. BUT, the die-hard fans are going to tune in regardless of the personality, looks, or behavior of the competitors. Casual fans are mainly looking to be entertained. They aren't as interested or tuned in as the die-hard fans to rankings, credentials, etc. And it isn't necessarily because they don't "respect the sport" or anything like that. They are just interested in other things. Furthermore, in a sport like MMA where there is no playoff system, tournament, etc to properly designate rankings, the term "top fighter" can become very subjective, as can designating those most deserving of placement or opportunities.
4.) While watching UFC 194, I remember having very strange and mixed feelings. While I had grown a tolerance towards the brutality of the sport during my years as a fan, spending time away from the sport made me forget just how brutal it can be. It wasn't until I returned and rewatched that I fully appreciated the violence and risks of the competition.
I remember actually being relieved during the Holloway-Stephens fight when it went to decision! I was actually relieved that no one got knocked out, even though the fight wasn't necessarily the most thrilling or exciting. The results of the title fights actually made me feel uneasy. But, strangely enough, I wasn't as shocked to see Aldo lose as I would've been when I was "die-hard". Although I was glad to see Mcgregor and Rockhold be successful, I was heartbroken for Weidman and Aldo and concerned for the long term health consequences of their defeats (Admittedly, this concern probably mostly stemmed from my research of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during my first semester of grad school). Although I understood and understand that the competitors knowingly take the risks and are active participants in the competition (I get it, no one has a gun to their head and is forcing them to fight), I still can't help but to feel concerned.
5.) In the last 3 months, I have caught up on most of what I missed, and have watched a few of the cards since UFC 194 (but not all I admit). I saw the Condit-Lawler fight, the Cruz-Dillashaw fight, the McGregor-Diaz fight, and possibly a few others. However, in my time away, my views of the sport had changed drastically.
First, I now believe that for the most part, in most divisions, there is no "number one" guy. Obviously, this isn't necessarily the case for some of the divisions, such as flyweight where DJ has essentially cleaned out the division, or light heavyweight where Jones has done the same. But, so many times in MMA an athlete has looked invincible in one fight, just to lose their next fight. Rousey, Holm, and Tate all exemplify this perfectly. Rousey look absolutely unbeatable until facing Holm, where it was Holm who looked unbeatable. And then, in her next fight, Holm loses to Tate, who lost to Rousey twice. In this situation, maybe these three are the top 3 in the division, but it is difficult to say who is truly number 1. Yes, Miesha has the title now, but she seems to be a poor matchup for Ronda. Who seems to be a poor match up for Holm. Who seems to be a poor matchup for Tate. etc. I really think that for the most part, in divisions like lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, every fighter in the top ten (including the champions) have fighters that they can beat, and fighters that they can lose to, but I don't really believe in the idea of any division having one person who can beat everyone. Someone can look unbeatable one fight, and lose quickly the next fight, regardless of whether they are the champion or not.
For all we know, Wonderboy can submit Lawler in one round for the title, get TKO'd by Maia to lose the title, and then Maia can lose by TKO against Lawler for Lawler to regain the title. Who in this hypothetical scenario is the "number one" guy? Yes Lawler would have the belt, but its hard to truly say he is number one over Wonderboy. There is just a lot of guys with strengths and weaknesses.
6) Another thing is that I understand that fighters are humans with real lives and are not just robots who eat, sleep, and train. Life can absolutely get in the way. I have friends in my classes who do not have part time jobs, no obligations outside of their studies. And typically they do very well. I also have friends who have those obligations (part time jobs, famly obligations, etc), and they still do well but maybe not as well as those who have all of their time to prepare. The point I'm trying to make is that these athletes have lives, and that sometimes life can get in the way of your ability to perform or prepare.
7.) Another thing, is that very rarely do I watch a fight and believe that the way the fight ended is 100% reflective of how the fight would always end. Look at the Cain-JDS fights for example. Three different fights, two wildly different conclusions. Even though Rockhold brutally beat Weidman in December it would in no way surprise me to see a completely different outcome in the rematch. There are just too many factors and variables involved in my opinion.
8.) Another thing is that the attitude of fighters makes much more sense to me. If a fighter loses and takes the loss badly- makes excuses, complains, etc- its because it takes an otherworldly type of confidence in yourself to compete in MMA to begin with. Losing or performing poorly in any capacity can be very difficult to deal with. These are people who have been bred into competition and even a small fault in their confidence can mean a violent, life altering defeat. I suggest to anyone who wants to downplay the legitimacy of the damage that concussions and blows to the head can have on someone to do research. Maybe because I just don't take it so seriously anymore (at the end of the day it really is just a sport with little to no impact on society and the major problems of the world), but it just totally makes sense to me now.
If fighters behave in a manner which is deemed "classless" or "make excuses" its because they are involved in the most ridiculous competition one can compete in. Nate diaz said it best: "You are expected to act civilized in a situation which is uncivilized". It is a competition which brings out the most primitive survival instincts in an individual. And for this exact reason the behavior is obviously going to be ridiculous.
The reality is that when you watch a fight, the majority of the fans who are cheering and screaming when fighter A is in full mount pounding fighter B with elbows and punches in the first round, are the same exact fans who will be cheering and screaming in the second round when fighter B brutally knocks out fighter A with a roundhouse kick and follows up with 4-5 hammer fists to the unconscious opponent before the referee can get between them and call off the contest. I have been to fights with this exact outcome, and yes, they often are the same exact fans cheering. They don't care or know about either of the participants, they just want to see something exciting and violent before they go home. How would you act if you were a fighter in a situation like that?
Its a gritty, dangerous sport. And even despite the efforts of USADA I am sure that it will never be completely devoid of PED usage. Just listen to any interview with Angel Heredia Hernandez about the subject for clarification.
9.) Finally, although I have referred to it as a sport in this post, I am not sure if I truly consider it a sport anymore. I think the term sport downplays the potential consequences of the competition.
Truthfully I'm sure not many people will even take the time to read this whole post. Which is fine with me, it felt good to get some of these thoughts off my chest.However,if you have read this, thank you.
TLDR list
1.) I was a huge MMA fan from 2010-2014
2.) Stopped watching MMA for awhile, found new interests
3.) Advertisement works- casual fans love drama, want to be entertained, etc.
AKA- the conor effect is real
4.) In my time away, totally forgot just how violent the sport could be.
5.) My views have changed - I don't always believe the champion is truly the number one guy
6.) Fighters are people, too
7.) I don't necessarily believe in definite outcomes
8.) You can't always expect fighters to act civilized in something which is uncivilized
9.) MMA is a real life competition, but the term "sport" may down play the seriousness of the potential consequences
1.) I started watching MMA towards the end of my senior year of high school (2010). I had always seen commercials for the UFC and would occasionally watch events if they were free and I were browsing through the channels with nothing else to watch, but a free demo for UFC undisputed 2010 on my xbox 360 and a late night of watching a marathon of UFC reruns on spike TV peaked my curiosity as a fan. I had participated in tae kwon do in my youth (from about 9 to 14 years old) and was always interested in fun and exciting ways to exercise and stay in shape. For this reason, MMA was a particularly interesting sport to me as I was interested in both the competition itself (as a fan I enjoyed the excitement of seeing who would win and who would lose) and in the training (as someone who enjoys being active and staying in shape). Although at first the violence and brutality of the sport was unsettling, I grew a tolerance for it pretty quickly.
Gradually I progressed from watching events casually (only occasionally watching the free cards on television) to watching every single card. It progressed to the point where I was almost obsessed with MMA. I would not only watch all of the events ("UFC party at my house this saturday!" was my absolute favorite thing to say), but I would watch training videos, interviews, behind the scenes footage, podcasts, etc. I would rewatch and analyze fights over and over again, fascinated by the nuances, changes in momementum, strategies, set-ups, etc. I knew all of the top fighters' records by heart, who they trained with and where they trained, what their backgrounds and styles were, etc. Also, I had watching thousands and thousands of hours of training and fight footage from not only the UFC, but also BJJ tournaments, amateur and pro boxing and kickboxing matches, etc. I was constantly looking up MMA news on my phone. To those of you on the forum, this is not unusual but rather is the norm. However, to the outside world, the majority of which who do not follow MMA even casually, this was strange to say the least. I had no idea who the top athletes were in any other sport and no desire to learn.
I began training at a local MMA gym, more seriously on my winter and summer breaks and occasionally during the fall and spring semesters of the school year when I was more busy with my studies. I bought a heavy bag and put it up in my sun room, regularly practicing the techniques I had learned in both tae kwon do and muay thai class on the bag, constantly drilling combinations, running sprints in my backyard, throwing high volumes of burpees, pushups, situps, pullups in the mix, etc. As of now, I am currently in my first year of physical therapy school. Now, I enjoy a wide variety of activities- weight lifting, mountain biking, running, sprinting, yoga, etc. Occasionally now I will hit the bag, but now its just one part of my many athletic interests.
However, at the peak of my time as an MMA fan, this was not the case. Every single workout revolved around MMA. I would watch videos of my favorite fighters training and try to emulate what they did. The hilarious part was that I never even actually competed in any form of martial arts! I never took part in a BJJ tournament, never had a kickboxing match, etc. I just never really had that 100% confidence that I was fully prepared. Ironically the coach at the gym I went to had much more confidence in me than I did in myself, but at the time I was a very serious undergraduate student with aspirations of getting into graduate school and that took up the time I felt I would've needed to be properly prepared to compete.
Alright, so if you made it this far you're probably wondering the point of my saying all of this. The point I was trying to illustrate was that I was a major fan- much like many of you. However,
2.) Towards mid 2014 (around May of 2014), my interest in MMA faded. It was actually spurred by a couple two events. Frist, I had a falling out with a friend of mine whom I used to train with. Sometimes, when married couples get divorced one of the parents gets custody of the kids. Well, in this situation (a "friendship divorce", if you will), he got "custody" of the MMA gym where we would train. He was buddies with the coach and I wasn't exactly welcome there anymore hahaha. Financially, I was in a rough spot and was actually getting a discount to train from the coach at my old gym, so I couldn't really afford going elsewhere (the going rate at the other gyms around where I live is about $140/month, and at the time I was applying to grad programs which wound up costing close to $2,000).
The second event which sparked my loss of interest in MMA was the Vitor Belfort- Chael Sonnen- Wanderlei Silva PED triangle of UFC 175. That absolutely disgusted me. I remember being upset that Vitor, who had obviously been abusing testosterone, faced no penalty for elevated testosterone in February of 2014. But then having Wanderlei literally run from a drug test before competing with Chael (who had previously failed a drug test against Anderson in 2010 and was just about to fail another drug test) be replaced by Vitor who had just failed a drug test, I just thought the entire situation was absurd, and it really made me suspicious and concerned about the state of PED usage in MMA.
Gradually, my interest started to fade. It wasn't intentional, I just started occasionally missing cards, started trying new workouts, started watching different sports etc. I remember the last card I really sat down and tried to watch was Lawler vs Brown towards the end of July in 2014. I remember being heartbroken and upset at how badly Nogeura lost, and at that point I was so uninterested I actually fell asleep during the main event! hahaha. Eventually, a long while had gone by and in that time I hadn't watched any fights at all. Not intentionally losing interest, just having my time occupied with other things. I heard about some of the bigger events- Anderson failing a drug test, Rousey losing, etc- through friends who still followed the sport, but never really took the time to research or follow-up.
3.) It almost pains me to admit this, and I know for a fact its going to anger many of the die-hard fans on this forum, but the dude who wound up bringing MMA back into my interest was Conor McGregor. I had watched the Brimage and Holloway fights (before he tore his ACL), but by the time he returned from the injury I had already begun losing interest. I saw his return fight against Brandao in Ireland in July of 2014, but was sort of ambivalent and stopped paying attention to the sport before he ever had the chance to compete for the title.
The marketing for UFC 194 was fantastic, I simply couldn't get away from the commercials and advertisements. The marketing for UFC 189 was similarly great, but for whatever reason it didn't catch my attention the way that those for UFC 194 did. Ihad been a big fan of Aldo and was just very curious to see whether or not Conor's skills were actually legitimate enough to dethrone the champ. I decided to really tune in for fights for the first time in over a year.
I now knew what it was like to be a "casual fan". And it now totally 100% made sense to me why the UFC loves personalities. As a die hard fan it always frustrated me why a top fighter (like Demian Maia, for example) could be on a long winning streak while beating top competition, but receive no title shot in favor of a fighter coming off a lesser streak against lower competition. The reason is because $60 is $60 regardless of whether or not you are a die-hard fan or a casual fan. BUT, the die-hard fans are going to tune in regardless of the personality, looks, or behavior of the competitors. Casual fans are mainly looking to be entertained. They aren't as interested or tuned in as the die-hard fans to rankings, credentials, etc. And it isn't necessarily because they don't "respect the sport" or anything like that. They are just interested in other things. Furthermore, in a sport like MMA where there is no playoff system, tournament, etc to properly designate rankings, the term "top fighter" can become very subjective, as can designating those most deserving of placement or opportunities.
4.) While watching UFC 194, I remember having very strange and mixed feelings. While I had grown a tolerance towards the brutality of the sport during my years as a fan, spending time away from the sport made me forget just how brutal it can be. It wasn't until I returned and rewatched that I fully appreciated the violence and risks of the competition.
I remember actually being relieved during the Holloway-Stephens fight when it went to decision! I was actually relieved that no one got knocked out, even though the fight wasn't necessarily the most thrilling or exciting. The results of the title fights actually made me feel uneasy. But, strangely enough, I wasn't as shocked to see Aldo lose as I would've been when I was "die-hard". Although I was glad to see Mcgregor and Rockhold be successful, I was heartbroken for Weidman and Aldo and concerned for the long term health consequences of their defeats (Admittedly, this concern probably mostly stemmed from my research of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during my first semester of grad school). Although I understood and understand that the competitors knowingly take the risks and are active participants in the competition (I get it, no one has a gun to their head and is forcing them to fight), I still can't help but to feel concerned.
5.) In the last 3 months, I have caught up on most of what I missed, and have watched a few of the cards since UFC 194 (but not all I admit). I saw the Condit-Lawler fight, the Cruz-Dillashaw fight, the McGregor-Diaz fight, and possibly a few others. However, in my time away, my views of the sport had changed drastically.
First, I now believe that for the most part, in most divisions, there is no "number one" guy. Obviously, this isn't necessarily the case for some of the divisions, such as flyweight where DJ has essentially cleaned out the division, or light heavyweight where Jones has done the same. But, so many times in MMA an athlete has looked invincible in one fight, just to lose their next fight. Rousey, Holm, and Tate all exemplify this perfectly. Rousey look absolutely unbeatable until facing Holm, where it was Holm who looked unbeatable. And then, in her next fight, Holm loses to Tate, who lost to Rousey twice. In this situation, maybe these three are the top 3 in the division, but it is difficult to say who is truly number 1. Yes, Miesha has the title now, but she seems to be a poor matchup for Ronda. Who seems to be a poor match up for Holm. Who seems to be a poor matchup for Tate. etc. I really think that for the most part, in divisions like lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, every fighter in the top ten (including the champions) have fighters that they can beat, and fighters that they can lose to, but I don't really believe in the idea of any division having one person who can beat everyone. Someone can look unbeatable one fight, and lose quickly the next fight, regardless of whether they are the champion or not.
For all we know, Wonderboy can submit Lawler in one round for the title, get TKO'd by Maia to lose the title, and then Maia can lose by TKO against Lawler for Lawler to regain the title. Who in this hypothetical scenario is the "number one" guy? Yes Lawler would have the belt, but its hard to truly say he is number one over Wonderboy. There is just a lot of guys with strengths and weaknesses.
6) Another thing is that I understand that fighters are humans with real lives and are not just robots who eat, sleep, and train. Life can absolutely get in the way. I have friends in my classes who do not have part time jobs, no obligations outside of their studies. And typically they do very well. I also have friends who have those obligations (part time jobs, famly obligations, etc), and they still do well but maybe not as well as those who have all of their time to prepare. The point I'm trying to make is that these athletes have lives, and that sometimes life can get in the way of your ability to perform or prepare.
7.) Another thing, is that very rarely do I watch a fight and believe that the way the fight ended is 100% reflective of how the fight would always end. Look at the Cain-JDS fights for example. Three different fights, two wildly different conclusions. Even though Rockhold brutally beat Weidman in December it would in no way surprise me to see a completely different outcome in the rematch. There are just too many factors and variables involved in my opinion.
8.) Another thing is that the attitude of fighters makes much more sense to me. If a fighter loses and takes the loss badly- makes excuses, complains, etc- its because it takes an otherworldly type of confidence in yourself to compete in MMA to begin with. Losing or performing poorly in any capacity can be very difficult to deal with. These are people who have been bred into competition and even a small fault in their confidence can mean a violent, life altering defeat. I suggest to anyone who wants to downplay the legitimacy of the damage that concussions and blows to the head can have on someone to do research. Maybe because I just don't take it so seriously anymore (at the end of the day it really is just a sport with little to no impact on society and the major problems of the world), but it just totally makes sense to me now.
If fighters behave in a manner which is deemed "classless" or "make excuses" its because they are involved in the most ridiculous competition one can compete in. Nate diaz said it best: "You are expected to act civilized in a situation which is uncivilized". It is a competition which brings out the most primitive survival instincts in an individual. And for this exact reason the behavior is obviously going to be ridiculous.
The reality is that when you watch a fight, the majority of the fans who are cheering and screaming when fighter A is in full mount pounding fighter B with elbows and punches in the first round, are the same exact fans who will be cheering and screaming in the second round when fighter B brutally knocks out fighter A with a roundhouse kick and follows up with 4-5 hammer fists to the unconscious opponent before the referee can get between them and call off the contest. I have been to fights with this exact outcome, and yes, they often are the same exact fans cheering. They don't care or know about either of the participants, they just want to see something exciting and violent before they go home. How would you act if you were a fighter in a situation like that?
Its a gritty, dangerous sport. And even despite the efforts of USADA I am sure that it will never be completely devoid of PED usage. Just listen to any interview with Angel Heredia Hernandez about the subject for clarification.
9.) Finally, although I have referred to it as a sport in this post, I am not sure if I truly consider it a sport anymore. I think the term sport downplays the potential consequences of the competition.
Truthfully I'm sure not many people will even take the time to read this whole post. Which is fine with me, it felt good to get some of these thoughts off my chest.However,if you have read this, thank you.
TLDR list
1.) I was a huge MMA fan from 2010-2014
2.) Stopped watching MMA for awhile, found new interests
3.) Advertisement works- casual fans love drama, want to be entertained, etc.
AKA- the conor effect is real
4.) In my time away, totally forgot just how violent the sport could be.
5.) My views have changed - I don't always believe the champion is truly the number one guy
6.) Fighters are people, too
7.) I don't necessarily believe in definite outcomes
8.) You can't always expect fighters to act civilized in something which is uncivilized
9.) MMA is a real life competition, but the term "sport" may down play the seriousness of the potential consequences
R version was too long, can we get cliffs of that pls?
