The reaction by the fans at UFC Mexico City was inexcusable, but we need to keep it in perspective.
Covington’s Corner: Don’t bring a Modelo to an MMA fight!
Bellator 216 immediately comes to mind when I think of the visceral reactions fans had at UFC Mexico City.
At Bellator 216, Roy Nelson vs Mirko Cro Cop was uneventful to say the least. Cheik Kongo was on the card and a complete snoozefest ensued because Kongo refused to let his hands go which he has become equally known for . Paul Daley and Michael Venom Page did absolutely nothing the entire fight; I mean it doesn’t get any worse than that. There was so much hype for that main event between MVP and Daley, fireworks expected from these two explosive fighters, instead we got sparklers.
Talk about fights not going the way you want them to.
Before that, we had the crazy similar finish to the Matt Mitrione-Sergei Kharitonov fight with the worst shot to the groin in MMA history at Bellator 215. Bellator disappointed fans on back to back cards on back to back nights!
On Saturday night, Brendan Fitzgerald took cover under a desk while bottles a Modelo came down, meanwhile PWTorch’s own Todd Martin (and his laptop) stood his ground while cageside.
Only hit by beer twice. Consider myself lucky. pic.twitter.com/J3Bpb4zZqM
— Todd Martin (@ToddMartinMMA) September 22, 2019
In a bygone era, legendary pro wrestler Classy Freddie Blassie was stabbed 21 different times and attacked with acid; a little popcorn and beer is harmless.
Disrespectful behavior is not to be condoned regardless of the circumstances but when it comes to sports they are to be expected.
Speaking of pro wrestling, remember when Hulk Hogan was revealed as the third man in NWO? Well there was a man, a fully grown man that had fully suspended disbelief, tried to attack Hogan, instead Kevin Nash beat his ass but the intent of that person was to bring real harm to performers.
This moment is one of Mean Gene's best ever.
"Look at all of this crap in the ring!"
Bash at the Beach 1996@HulkHogan @RealKevinNash @SCOTTHALLNWO pic.twitter.com/z3hfgmwZkQ— James Stewart (@IAmJamesStewart) January 3, 2019
Fighters are performers and their fights are there to entertain us. When we don’t get what we want sometimes we riot. Even in this decade, Vancouver rioted when the Canucks lost in seven games to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
However, when your main event between two good fighters like Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens in a battle that ends in the first 15 seconds because of an eye poke, the masses are going to be mad.
Also, I don’t think we have to throw the whole country away because some Tecate or Modelo splashed onto Todd Martin’s laptop.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if #CancelMexico was tending on Saturday night. Although the unwashed would assume a hashtag like that would have political connotations, it would have been started by overblown reactions from fans and critics.
Things can get far more serious than they did in Mexico, we should be counting our blessings that they didn’t. People are so used to crazy reactions on social media that they have forgotten what they look like in real life.
More from MMATorch
- MMA Talk for Pro Wrestling Fans – Vallejos and Monsey review UFC Mexico City, look ahead at UFC’s debut in Denmark, more
- HISCOE: Why I’m not watching UFC Mexico City tonight
- UFC Mexico City Live Report: Real-time results and analysis of Rodriguez-Stephens
- The MMA and Sports Betting Podcast: UFC Mexico City
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