What makes you root for a fighter?

[Blackjack]

When two fighters that you don't know are fighting, what makes you root for one of them?
Is it:
Style?
Race?
Nationality?
How he looks?
Age?


Gotta say nationality. I always root for murricans.

Did you mean to type "Moroccans"? I don't know of any fighters from Morocco.

The main thing that makes me root for a fighter is personality inside and outside of the cage. I need to like the fighter to care if he wins or loses. I like larger than life, charismatic personalities.

All other things being equal, I will root for a fighter whose main background as an athlete is wrestling, especially catch wrestling.

I also like to see a relatively old guy beat a fighter who is in his prime. That's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much when Randy Couture would beat guys 10 or 20 years younger than him. And he had the wrestling background.

My ideal fighter would have the personality and speaking style of Ric Flair and the fighting style of Sakuraba.

If you aren't familiar with Ric Flair, here he is:

[YT]oESVMyJ20Ik&list=FLtRXZDk6OxumwC9A-sW1rPQ[/YT]

 

[Scheme]

How much they are not like Jon Jones.

 

[Organic Damage]

yeah i tend to go this way. i'm not always a fan of a certain fighter so much as i root for one over another based upon the upset. and i become a fan when i see someone show a lot of heart. i'm not quite a fan of rory, but when i see him going crazy trying to get the win in late rd. 3 when he might be down on the cards (or it's just a close fight) i really start to respect a guy.

I am in the same boat as you, except that unlikeable fighters (guys you probably wouldn't have a beer and shoot the shit with) have to go ham for me to get on their side.

Rory falls into that category for me.

 

[drewmoney]

None of the Above

It's all about fighting style, If they're creative and flashy regardless of race or anything else That's who a I root for. The true Martial "Artist"

 

[knfprty]

Race, religion, sexuality of course.
Or I mean these are the reasons others force on you when you dislike a fighter.
"Oh yeahh!? just because s/he's X hmpff!!!!

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Not always, tribalism is the mentality behind gangs/hooligans/frats/etc and can cross the same lines as nationalism.

That seems contrary. So it's broad-minded to support someone with a shared language/culture/history? More broad-minded than only supporting family sure, but hardly more broad-minded than supporting someone with a different language/culture/history because you can appreciate them as an individual

On an individual level it is awesome to go beyond one's own cultural milieu. Nothing about nationalism precludes that.

 

[wompuscatwilly]

True fighters with heart. My favorite fighters are guys who try to finish fights no matter the circumstance.

 

[dmwalking]

I usually pick based on proven ability, but there are some guys I always root for.

I root for underdogs. Guys with heart. Guys who are entertaining "people's champ" kind of guys (not self proclaimed Tito). And I usually root for the BJJ guys because they're rare these days.

 

[Face Punch]

Style and attitude

 

[Jesus Freak]

If his name is Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

 

[immy92]

i respect fighters who train the hardest and fight too win

 

[VicariousVice]

I'm going to actually give you a serious answer and say Style. Guys like Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo, Renan Barao, Jordan Mein, Carlos Condit, Brandon Thatch etc. are my favorites to see. They're what I call mixed strikers as they combine various striking styles. If they came from a Grappling background and later learned Boxing or Muay Thai(like Phil Davis) and are subpar in this aspect I'm much less likely to root for them. Someone like Anthony Johnson, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes or Jon Jones are exceptions though in that they came form a strong Wrestling base, but put in the time to learn how to strike. I can appreciate guys like that.

 

[icex48x]

If we don't know who they are?

I'll root for whoever seems to have the better stand up.

 

[Andre Xiong]

clean technique + exciting (but not just a brawler) + unwilling to quit

Examples: Wanderlei, Sakuraba, Kondo, Condit, Chan Jung sung

 

[quick5pnt0cobra]

I tend to root for guys who have good technical skills AND are exciting. You have to have both. GSP was a great technical fighhter but I didnt find him exciting. Matt Brown's fights can be exciting but he has little technique Anderson Silva has both.

 

[Ehs]

I tend to root for people that comes from less fortunate backgrounds.

 

[Perrichet]

Style and personality.

Couldn't care less about what race or what country they are from

 

[rac2]

technique !

 

[Wibblekitslaldi]

Whichever guy is the most thick, solid & tight

 

[Night Owl]

Mostly style.