Maybe it was adrenaline … or maybe he’s just an idiot.
Either way, Joanderson Brito used a friendly handshake from William Gomis to make things physical during their featherweight face off on Friday morning, just a few minutes removed from the UFC Paris ceremonial weigh ins (get full results and video here).
Violently yanking the limbs of your opponent when they are relaxed and unprepared runs the risk of injury … or worse. For those fans with short-term memories, Jeremy Stephens cost himself a lightweight fight against Drakkar Klose at UFC Vegas 24, all because “Lil’ Heathen” wanted to play tough guy for the cameras.
More on that disaster here.
Equally confusing is the fact that UFC CEO Dana White shared an alternate angle of the altercation, hyping up the staredown shenanigans despite this laughably hollow stance about keeping athletes safe during fighter face offs. I guess it’s just easier to blame Sean Shelby or the MMA media.
GOMIS vs BRITO! #UFCParis is LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus at 3pmET pic.twitter.com/d4hLDwemCA
— danawhite (@danawhite) September 27, 2024
Fans on Twitter were unimpressed by Brito’s thuggery:
Please start fining people for this kind of shit.
What an idiot. Literally could have pulled his shoulder out and fight would be off.
Brito is legit but he’s such a scumbag lol. Why would you do shit like that?
UFC fighters have some of the worst personalities dear god.
Stupid. Hopefully, Will beats this fool tomorrow.
I see this clip appearing in one of those “Disrespectful fighters get humbled” videos.
Some punk b*tch ass sh*t if I eeeeever seen it, might even be worse than a sucker punch. A possible shoulder, wrist or arm injury to an opponent before the fight. FINE HIS ASS.
Poor Muhammad Mokaev watching this clip like “Hey wait a second…”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Paris fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Paris news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Moicano vs. Saint Denis” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.