It always surprises me how long it takes some folks to catch on.
I’m referring, of course, to the self-loathing world of mixed martial arts (MMA), which for some reason, is convinced it lives in some tiny little bubble. Sorry, but this is the same bullshit that gets dealt with in every professional sport.
Heck, anybody who watched Jack McDowell flip off baseball fans after getting booed out of Yankee Stadium can tell you that we don’t need the internet for this nonsense. If you want to be a pro athlete and make millions of dollars, then you have to live under the microscope.
And sometimes the magnifying glass.
Coach Bob Perez, who sent Derrick Lewis into battle against Junior dos Santos at UFC Wichita last weekend on ESPN+, appears to be having a hard time dealing with the fallout from “The Black Beast’s” technical knockout loss in the heavyweight main event (watch it).
“All these trolls and all these haters and all these fucking idiots — Derrick sucks? Come fight him, see how that goes for you, dumbass,” Perez told MMA Fighting. These reporters that have never competed in anything other than a pie-eating contest, they’re having trouble breathing while they’re fucking typing because they’re morbidly obese, they want to question Derrick about his fucking cardio? Fuck you.”
That’s what happens when you say things like this.
Lewis (21-7, 1 NC) has been fortunate enough to headline five UFC events and even completed for the 265-pound title last fall. He’s also recognized as a fan favorite, a result of his exciting finishes and hilarious post-fight interviews.
Perez should be grateful he’s not in this spot.
“We’ve had a couple of guys show up to the gym thinking they could beat Derrick in a fight and they got slept, bro. They got slept,” he said. “People just don’t get how hard this is, how hard it is on the fighter, what they have to do in preparation. The aches, the pains, the heartache, the blood, sweat and tears — the cliche stuff. It’s fucking true, man. These guys go through so much and these fans are just the most wishy-washy flip-flopping — they’re worse than politicians, man. You’re winning and it’s ‘We love you, you’re the best, your balls are hot, you’re the Black Beast.’ And you lose, ‘Aw, fuck you, you suck!’ These fans, they’re fucking terrible, man.”
Rampage Jackson feels your pain.