Top-level fighters usually go through 3-4 months of hard and gut-wrenching training before a single fight. When all the work is said and done, the fight is always said to be the fun part. One way to marketing yourself to gain some fans is to give them something different. Yes, people who pay their hard earned money for a ticket want to see good fights, but when fighters go the extra mile and give the fans that, well, the fans love it.
Below are some of my favorite walkouts to MMA fights where the fighters had a little bit more fun.
Enjoy!
David Kaplan rocking the "Tenderness" by General Public.
James Te-Huna keeping it classy with the "Men in Black" theme.
Who let the dogs out? More like who let Tom Lawlor out?
Jason "Mayhem" Miller, the old host of Bully Beatdown definitely has some dance moves.
Oh hey look! More Tom Lawlor. This time he is doing his best impersonation of Apollo Creed.
On April 6, 2013 UFC newcomer Gegard Mousasi will lock horns with Alexander Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden.
This contest at 205 pounds will prove quite the impact for the UFC light-heavyweight title. With Jon Jones talking on Chael Sonnen at the end of the month, Alexander with a victory will all but be the number one contender. So let's take a closer look at this fight.
For those of you who don't know Gegard, he is coming into the UFC as a veteran sporting an impressive 33-3-2 record (18 knockouts, 11 submissions). He is one of many talents brought over from the now disassembled Strikeforce promotion.
Some of the things that Gegard has working for him are:
Experience (22 more fights than Alex)
Striking, he is considered one of the most technical strikers at 205 pounds
Slight edge in grappling
Underdog "X-Factor", you never know when an upset will happen
Now the Swedish countrymen Alexander has a few more things in his favor which include:
Fighting in front of a "hometown" base in Sweden (his native country)
Having fought arguably much more difficult competition in the UFC
Height and reach advantage at being 6'4 (Gegard is only 6'1)
With those things being said, here is how I think the fight will play out.
Expect the fight to remain standing dominantly. This will be a striking chess match to see how makes the first mistake. I can't see this fight ending with a finish due to the durability and youth of both fighters, especially when so much is on the line. Expect it to go all 5 rounds. Either man is capable of submitting or knocking the other one out, and it literally could happen at anytime.
If Alexander fights tall and uses his reach, he can win a hard fought decision or get a late stoppage. If Alexander starts to brawl with Gegard, expect Gegard to capitalize and get the finish. With all of the Strikeforce fighters now in the UFC, and winning in dominating fashion, I don't believe this fight could be any harder to predict.
Alexander will win via decision.
Hope this has boosted your interest a little and be sure to tune in on Fuel-TV next weekend. Enjoy!
I'm sorry, but this was too good to pass up on. ESPN did a story on a 23 year-old MMA fighter, Garrett Hoelve. Let's take a break from business to just appreciate something wonderful.
Garrett is truly an inspiration. This is not just another "overcoming the handicap" story in sports. Mixed martial arts or any other combat sport for that matter, is truly one of its own. This young man's courage is truly something to be envious of.
"I will never back down from a fight. I will keep going." -Garrett Hoelve
That is truly what this sport is about.
So the next time you feel like you can't get that last lift in your workout, can't stay up any longer studying for a test, can't overcome a drug addiction or depression, keep going.
I've said it every time, you won't be sorry you did.
That is one of the most important tools that you can have on your side in today's advertising world. I have mentioned selling a fight before with the trash-talking kingpin, Chael Sonnen, but I have yet to discuss selling the fight by means of social media.
There are two ways to get the fights you want if you are a fighter, which are:
Defeating your opponents and letting them come naturally, in due time.
Calling them out (challenging them).
What happens if you try both of these and you still can't get the opponent you want? You and your fans "twitter-bomb" the ever-loving crap out of your boss, Dana White, and demand the fight. Dana has stated several times on record, that if the people want to see it, then they will get it.
Sometimes the fights don't necessarily have to make sense, but just set up to please the fans. I mean, we are the ones buying the pay-per-views, am I right?
Mark Hunt celebrating his first win in the UFC at UFC 127
Let me introduce you to Mark Hunt. This 38 year-old (soon to be 39) is a world renown kickboxing champion and MMA fighter from the legendary organization of Pride. He now fights in the UFC in their heavyweight division. Making his UFC debut in 2010 with a record of 5 wins and 6 losses (an absolutely awful record) he was defeated in a little over a minute by Sean McCorkle to further his record to 5-7. Literally the only reason he was fighting in the UFC is because they (UFC) were legally obligated to either pay him his contract amount from Pride (which the UFC purchased) or to give him his fights left on the contract. Well, Mark Hunt took another fight in the UFC.
Since that loss in 2010, Mark Hunt has won four in a row with three via knockout. Now let me get to the social media part.
With a record of 9-7, it doesn't necessarily scream "title shot". The fans love him. He's old school, he puts on entertaining fights, he has a great personality and the list goes on and on.
In 2012, Alistair Overeem was suspended before his title fight with now former champ Junior Dos Santos. With a very short time frame to find a replacement, Dana White was scrambling for one. Mark Hunt's fans "twitter-bombed" Dana attempting to give an unwarranted shot to Hunt (they used this article's title as the twitter handle). Dana stood strong saying the fight didn't make sense at the time and Hunt was denied.
Well its 2013 and guess was? Alistair Overeem is out of his already rescheduled bout with Junior Dos Santos due to an injury. Hey Dana, I think you know who should get the fight this time. Below is a fan made video that was tweeted to Dana that almost swayed him into giving him the shot the first time.
If you are a fan of MMA, or if you simply just read this blog for shits and giggles, please tweet @danawhite saying "make it happen!" using the twitter handle #RallyForMarkHunt .
This is as close to a real Rocky Balboa story that we will ever get.
