MMA/UFC

MMA Fight Junkies

St-Pierre Vs. Koscheck UFC 124

The sweat on their backs glimmers from the stage light, defining each and every tense muscle. Their eyes are dark, and their tight fists high, ready to dodge any move at any moment. One fighter fakes a kick, and the other fighter dodges, only then, after losing his balance, he realizes that it would soon be over. All he could see now was a fist, then darkness, and he falls to the ground. The crowd roars. Victory; the sweet sound of every fighter’s dream. It is the result of hard work; mental, physical and emotional strength.

Although St-Pierre, pictured above, may look a bit unsatisfying, he really has a handsome face. If interested, scroll to the last picture. In the cage, expect it to get ugly, really ugly. A fighter has no time to look good for their fans, in fact, the more the ugly, the better. In the cage, all they think about is the next hit, and surviving. From the experience of my brother, as a fighter himself, the cheers and hoots of the crowd cannot be heard from the cage. All a fighter can hear is the loyal voice of his trainer and his blood pounding in his ears.

I know what a tough, dedicated fighter goes through to achieve his goals. I have spent summers watching him repeatedly run through routines and perform deathly exercises that I, myself, would have terribly failed to do. I have seen numerous cuts and bruises he has obtained and seen his faces of accomplishment as well as his faces of failure. This is my brother. This is my best friend. I have learned so many things from him, while watching him fall, hurt, and fail. I learned that when you have a dream, the obstacles can never stop you.

Furthermore, there are things you have to know. A few things to know about fighters are; 1. Do not judge a book by its cover. If he looks weak, he really is tough. 2. If you “piss” off a fighter, it will not be easy to get out of their chokes. 3. Good fighters don’t boast and brag about how awesome they are unless it is Brock Lesnar. The ones who say they know Brazilian Jui Jitsu and have a black belt are usually, not always, but usually, not good fighters or fighters at all. They are just huge fans, addicted to their thoughts of action and the excitement inside the cage. And 4, if you don’t know who Brock Lesnar is, then you probably should. In short, he’s the just the toughest guy in the heavyweight division. Although that may change.

A few terms to know are MMA and UFC. The term MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts, and pertains to the wide variety of fighting styles used around the world. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, where the greatest fighters get together to show off their skills, eat a couple of punches, and collect a couple of bruises. This sport; watching guys get bloody noses and bloody lips, is becoming a bigger sensation by the minute.

Brock Lesnar

Shown above are pictures of Brock Lesnar, which captures his fame in a fight against Carwin. Even though growing up, graduating last in his class, Lesnar still has become a big role model for many teenagers.

Fights are held here, in Fort Smith Arkansas. The local fights here are held almost every two months or so. You can’t even imagine who you will see, because this sport is becoming more popular, very fast. The more fights you attend, the bigger the crowd grows.

Tap Out girls shirt, boys shirt

Many of the fans who attend the fights are there to represent their hometown teams. They will be wearing their team shirts or a brand of fight clothing. An example of a brand is TAP OUT outfits, which are mainly advertised to MMA fans. There are also many more shirts, sweaters and hats from other clothing brands as well such as THROW DOWN, SO CAL, and SKINFLY. Whenever you see those very detailed shirts that have a heart with wings or wings on a skull, then it’s a shirt representing fights. The shirts are purposely supposed to fit very snug to the point where every muscle, as well as things that are not muscle, will show. These shirts are something I am seeing more often nowadays. Take a stroll at the park or run to the store, and I’m sure you’ll spot one of these t-shirts, caps, or shorts.

Local fighters/fans in the Fort Smith area

Garrett Cox, Son Vue, Dustin Keeter

Many of the fight fans wear these kinds of clothing, inside the cage as well as outside the cage. From this picture, you can tell right away that these three are fight fans; they are fighters, as well as fans. On the far left, the fighter has a Mohawk and is wearing a SKINFLY shirt. The fighter in the middle is wearing a t-shirt representing his hometown team. The fighter on the far right is wearing TITLEMMA shorts, and of course, they all are in their fight stance. As you can tell, every fighter has a different fight stance. Fight clothing is never anything too flashy, but more “laid back kind of clothing”. “FIGHT” is written all over these three. This is just one example of many fight fans. Ask a group of fight fans to pose for you, and at least one will flex their arms; or throw up a fist. It’s a guarantee.

Many of the fight fans today are working on their physique to look much like the “tough” fighters of the UFC. The UFC champions attract men who like the “tough” look; it excites fans and the more damage a fighter can cause, the better he is. Having big muscles will automatically make a man look tough, therefore many younger men today are working to tone their bodies. Maybe some people don’t work out to look tough, but to keep in shape. It doesn’t matter though, because if you have big muscles, you look dangerous. Each fighter in the UFC is hefty and look extremely dangerous, not to mention the interesting variety of hairdos. From mohawks to balds, you’ll find it all, but you will rarely find a fighter with very long hair. The fighters who do have hair to their shoulders will usually craft them into corn rolls. The hair cannot be a distraction; I’ve never recalled a fight being stopped because hair was being pulled, but really, anything can happen.

Felice Herrig, right with her opponent

Another interesting fact is that not all fighters are men; there are plenty of tough women fighters as well. These women are great role models, because they train as hard as men fighters, which mean they are physically, mentally and emotionally tough as well. I give them more credit though, for having the courage to step into the cage and not worry about what will hang out of their clothing. I envy them, and I’m sure many other girls do as well.

Although you can usually tell if someone is a fighter or a fight fan from their clothes, these civilians still wear normal clothes as well. You could catch them in tuxedos or dresses such as Georges St-Pierre at an interview, pictured here with his next opponent.

St-Pierre with Koscheck

We can learn many things from fighters. They really don’t just fight to collect bruises and bloody noses. It’s really what the fighter goes through (such as his training and diets )to finally get a bloody nose and bruises. Of course, we’d really never know what a fighter goes through unless we become a fighter ourselves, but that’s really what the youth is doing today. They demand a challenge, and they get one. Through it all, success is sweet.

Works Cited

“Brock Lesnar.” ufc.com. UFC PRIMETIME, n.d. Web. 20 Apr 2011. <http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Brock-Lesnar

"Georges "Rush" St-Pierre." ufc.com. UFC PRIMETIME, n.d. Web. 20 Apr 2011. .

"Mixed martial arts." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 28/04/2011. Web. 27 Apr 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_martial_arts