Sportsmanship (and lack thereof) after the fight

How much do you personally care about sportsmanship in general?


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Depends how deep seeded the animosity is. If the pre-fight shit talking crossed the line then I wouldn't blame the guy on the receiving end of it for not being open to a performance display. If you're the one who disrespected then got your ass handed to you and you reject a show of respect after tge fight, then you're just a cunt.
 
If your opponent is an absolute cunt leading up to the fight, I think you have the right to rub it in their faces should you win. Poirier could have whipped it out and turkey slapped Conor on the ground and I would have approved of it.
 
I guess I'm old, but I think martial arts are pretty shit without sportsmanship. Pre-fight, selling the fight, I totally get. I don't personally enjoy it but it's a business so I understand.

Post-fight, after standing across from each other doing your best to break the other guy, I think respect is due, from the winner and loser. A small percentage of the population has what it takes to even train in a combat sport, much less compete in it at the highest level. The only real caveat to that is if things get incredibly personal before(Conor/Khabib, Conor/Poirier, DC/Jones, etc.) or something dirty happens during the fight(Romero/Kennedy).

I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one though judging by how much shit talking the 20-somethings do in the gym no matter how badly they get smashed.
 
Case by case basis. For the most part it doesn't hurt to show good sportsmanship in victory or defeat.
 
I like to see fighters perform as functioning adults. Not asking for something extra nice, but no post fight brawls and name calling is good to see.
However in some cases lack of respect is justified and hilarious (Bisping-Rockhold 2)
 
The best is "good" sportsmanship as an act of further humiliation.

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No Gay Jesus bless.

<RomeroSalute>
 
Yes,but they dont have to be role models or superheroes to have sportmanship. We have seen fighters who are no choir boys at all,and still show respect to their opponents after the fight. So it's something different. it's a mentality. Usually instilled by prior example,and also maybe the way they are raised/trained

It has been my observation that fighters who show sportsmanship are invariably better fighters than fighters who don't.

Reason being, they are able to control their emotions better. The fighter who can control his emotions will usually have the longer career, the better career, and will stand the test of time better.

By contrast, the "heated emotions" fighter will generally be a flash in the pan, usually a brutal type of person, but who will fail to stand the test of time. They are more likely to be inconsistent, get arrested, become (or continue to be) criminals, precisely because they canNOT control their emotions.

My personal belief is the ability to control emotions, and operate under a code, is a form of strength and honor, the backbone of professional fighting.

Those who do have it, tend to be more consistent in their training, their personal lives, and are simply more enjoyable to watch. They will invariably enjoy a longer career.

Those who don't have it, tend to be more inconsistent in their training, their personal lives, and often become cringe to watch. They will invariably have a shorter career.
 
I think this should be assessed on a case by case basis. Two fighters may do or not do same things and fetch entirely opposite reactions. For example, one fighter may win via cheapshot and get hate for it. The other may actually get praise for his fight IQ and will to win and "remember what referee said about protecting yourself."
 
The best is "good" sportsmanship as an act of further humiliation.

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No Gay Jesus bless.

<RomeroSalute>
This moment is soooooooooooooooooooo funny. Simply because Yoel's hilarious "Gay Jesus" tirade.

Demian Maia is also a good sport!


Anderson Silva also showed some real class in Azevedo fight and with Weidman at weigh-ins.

I also remember the amazing broad cast of disastrous Battle at Neva in 2009 where Gegard Mousasi defeated Alexander Kokoev. He approached Kokoev, who was sitting on the canvas, and started comforting and kissing him. Kokoev, who was upset and in tears, explicitly asked "Don't kiss me."

You never know when your affectionate opponent may approach you and add insult to injury, in a way.
 
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case by case.

if you talk shit in the pre-fight to sell tickets, don't expect your opponent to be nice afterward.
 
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Voted #2, be an adult or a professional ffs, exception to the rule being situations like Jones/DC for example, the entire back story, the years of back and forth, too many things happened, especially the finale... a failed drug test, I’d never expect or ask DC to respect Jones...

On the flip side, I was somewhat of a Covington fan up until after UFC 245, watching Colby run out of the building with his tail tucked without even acknowledging Kamaru was an absolutely disgraceful show of sportsmanship. Even after going 5 hard fought rounds with the champ he couldn’t bring himself to say a positive thing about anything related to the fight or effort of Usman besides EPO allegations... sad. Interestingly, it’s been Usman as of late who’s pulled me into his corner and made me a fan, it kinda started on that night when he could’ve buried Covington, but took the high road.
 
This topic, like so many other social phenomena, is more interesting to analyze through the lens of a collapsing civilization than individuals. There's always individual variation in behavior, people not holding the door for others, people committing violent crime, and so on, but when the general level of "bad behavior" goes up across the board, that's a sign of a societal change, not individual behavior.

It's totally predictable that a country transitioning from high social trust, racial homogeneity, cultural homogeneity (religious and civic values largely shared), a respect for tradition and traditional social norms/roles/manners, etc., to the opposite of those things, would see things like sportsmanship in their professional athletes go down and things like violent crime and scandals in their professional athletes go up.
 
After seeing that Deontay Wilder after losing to Tyson Fury,refused to show respect to the victor,I ask you how much do you personally care about sportsmanship in general

I would ask the mods if they could make a poll.

1 - You think sportmanship is something that should always happen no matter what
2 - In some instances of personal animosity,sportsmanship could be understandably put aside,but should be the exception to the rule
3 - Case by case basis
4 - I dont care at all,bring on the hate!

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TIMESTAMPED


The Ronda Rousey incident of her stomping off with a pout (having WON) after the Miesha Tate fight was the most petulant display of immature school-playground childishness I've ever seen in a fight cage.
 
This topic, like so many other social phenomena, is more interesting to analyze through the lens of a collapsing civilization than individuals. There's always individual variation in behavior, people not holding the door for others, people committing violent crime, and so on, but when the general level of "bad behavior" goes up across the board, that's a sign of a societal change, not individual behavior.

It's totally predictable that a country transitioning from high social trust, racial homogeneity, cultural homogeneity (religious and civic values largely shared), a respect for tradition and traditional social norms/roles/manners, etc., to the opposite of those things, would see things like sportsmanship in their professional athletes go down and things like violent crime and scandals in their professional athletes go up.


So the devils winning?
 
So the devils winning?
Without putting a moral judgment on the analysis, simply ask yourself whether you think sportsmanship and other signals of "good behavior" were likely higher or lower during the heydays of civilizations like Greece, Rome, the Iberian Peninsula, Britain, versus during their collapse or post-collapse times?
 
The Ronda Rousey incident of her stomping off with a pout (having WON) after the Miesha Tate fight was the most petulant display of immature school-playground childishness I've ever seen in a fight cage.

I agree ....

Ronda was a teenager in a woman's body for her entire fight career....most likely cuz she wasn't able to be a normal teenager when she was a teen cuz she was neck deep in Olympic judo...

Its funny how that works...as adults we sometimes become who never were as teens or kids and other times as kids we become adults before we need to...
 
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You are a fucking professional.
Act like it!

Many still thinks this is human cock-fighting.
Proving that you are a professional DESPITE hating your opponent, you show him/her respect inside the octagon (before/after the fight).

100% this.
Didn't expect this from you.

Hespect is a fundamental part of MMA.
 
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