UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo’s celebration in the Rio de Janeiro crowd may have been “excessive” and dangerous, but that’s the name of the game.
Yes, there are times when celebrating too much can be legitimately harmful, and Aldo’s antics in Brazil may have been one of those times (as Jonathan Snowden pointed out), but in most situations, excessive celebration isn’t the least bit excessive.
Sure, when your opponent breaks his leg in a freak accident, parading around the cage and celebrating like it’s VJ day (which was the case in a fight between Duane Ludwig and Darren Elkins) might make the sport look bad, but it also makes the sport look more visceral and real.
Celebrations make the sport (yes, MMA has rules, so it’s a sport) look like a true fight.
After one fighter bests another and leaves his opponent’s body bloody, starched and unconscious on the canvas, or lying there with a destroyed knee or elbow socket, how can he not engage in an emotional celebration that is almost primal in a sense?
Boasting, puffing out your chest and celebrating are part of MMA and the UFC, just as “real talk” is part of the UFC; fighters are generally encouraged to be who they are and not conform to the—quite frankly—absurd PR standards that other athletes are forced to conform to.
For example, after the New England Patriots bested the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Tom Brady admitted he had a less-than-stellar game.
And he didn’t go the Dana White rouse and curse up a storm, mind you. He just told CBS he “sucked pretty bad.” Apparently, “sucked” was too much for the Patriots franchise and the NFL’s PR to handle.
When the team tweeted what Brady said, it had to alter “sucked” to “stunk.”
Furthermore, San Francisco 49ers receiver Vernon Davis wasn’t even allowed to walk up to the camera stand without being penalized.
Idiotic. Beyond. Belief.
What does this have to do with celebration and the UFC?
A lot.
The NFL is chided as being the “No Fun League” because of its ridiculous policies (fining players for wearing improper cleats, fining a player for wishing fans a “Happy New Year,” etc.).
If the UFC puts the lid on excessive celebrations, it’ll just be one step closer to becoming just like the NFL: cold and corporate.
Part of the reason why the UFC has been so successful is because it is real. The fighters don’t sound like they’re being told what to say and by pathetic PR interns and emotionless empty suits. They can act like themselves and celebrate like themselves.
Even UFC president Dana White has an “everyman” appeal to him with the way he acts and dresses; he is an MMA fan running an MMA promotion, not a CEO running a business, and fans love him for it.
Thus, it’s would actually be banning “excessive” celebrations that would cause more harm than good; it would ultimately cost the UFC its very heart and soul in a time where it needs them the most.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com