If there is any curse in the world of combative sport, it’s that of being a fighter who cannot deliver force with any kind of note, especially via punches.
Much like trying to carry water with a hole in the bottom of the bucket, scoring punches that do little to no damage—no matter how cleanly they land—is a hard obstacle to overcome; such fighters can still score points, but once their opponent realizes they have nothing to fear from those fists, the fight can turn quickly.
After all, these men and women are in the hurt business, where it is far better to give than receive; if you have nothing to give, then you are going to receive, usually until your cup runneth over.
But there is also an unfounded stigma around such fighters; the notion is if a fighter has “pillow hands” or is “feather fisted,” they can never acquire the power to do serious damage if God hasn’t seen fit to give it to them at birth.
While some fighters can indeed train to confound said notion, it still takes a great deal in order to compete with the Fedor Emelianenkos, Benson Hendersons and Johnny Hendrickses of the game—men who can deliver devastating force so casually it almost seems unfair.
No one enters the fight game and achieves anything considerable without being of the mind that they are good enough and have the necessary desire to take such considerations as “fair” and “unfair” and render them moot.
Fighters have always been a breed apart from the rest of us, which is why we watch them ply their trade; as fans, ours are vicarious joys.