5 Times we loved watching fighters getting knocked out cold
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a sport that brings together martial artists from different parts of the world, giving them the opportunity to test their skills against one another. However, MMA is also a multi-billion dollar industry- a ruthless one at that.
The business aspect of MMA involves constant promotion of fighters from different organisations, which in turn involves hyping up these fighters to the sky and beyond. Now although our beloved fighters deserve the hype and adulation, anything in excess is bad.
The UFC, the world’s premier MMA organisation has hyped its fighters time-and-again, at times, force-feeding their most marketable stars to fans. However, once the Octagon door slams shut, merit outshines hype. And nothing makes a true MMA fan happier than a skilful and hard-working fighter exposing the truth and the difference between media-driven hype machines and true fighters.
Five such instances of media-built hype machines being destroyed by blue-collared MMA stars have been listed below:
#5 Cain Velasquez proves that skill trumps size
Cain Velasquez (14-2) is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion with an MMA base of wrestling and kickboxing. Brock Lesnar (5-3-1) is a current WWE star, former UFC Heavyweight (HW) champion and NCAA-Div 1 Heavyweight wrestling Champion.
Lesnar has been criticised for being a one-dimensional fighter, with rudimentary striking throughout his career.
Velasquez faced Lesnar at UFC 121 in October of 2010, for Lesnar’s UFC HW strap. Now Lesnar was considered an anomaly in the sport of MMA, and rightly so, holding wins over the likes of Frank Mir, Randy Couture and Shane Carwin. However, Lesnar was and is an out-and-out wrestler, with negligible striking.
The UFC on its part, however, promoted Lesnar as an unstoppable monster, which left the promotion and Lesnar red-faced after Velasquez’s one-round shellacking of ‘The Beast Incarnate’.
Lesnar lunged at Velasquez and muscled him to the mat, however, he failed to control him due to Velasquez’s own excellent wrestling pedigree. They resumed the fight on the feet and Lesnar panicked when he realised that taking down the fellow All-American wasn’t as easy as he’d expected.
Velasquez used his crisp kickboxing and chopped down the global pro-wrestling and MMA Superstar. He secured a brutal ground-and-pound finish, won the UFC HW strap and with it, the hearts of several hardcore MMA fans.
At UFC 121, Cain Velasquez proved that skill trumps size and hard work trumps hype.