In this day and age combat sports are changing drastically. While boxing loses favor, kickboxing sits in limbo, and mixed martial arts grows more popular, the landscape is ever evolving and shifting with the times. As such there are a bunch of individuals who have their own ideas on the state of combat sports and what it truly stands for. One of those individuals is a little known fighter named Ronda rousey.
By now everyone must have heard the comments that former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has made. If you haven’t just wait for the quote at the jump, by the gist of it is that the purity of combat sports is being compromised by one specific and all important element.
Money.
For the exact comments that Rousey made, just take a look at the quote below.
“If money is the motivation, then f— that,” she says. “All these Money people… Money [Floyd] Mayweather, Money [Conor] McGregor. I see they’re trying to do an angle or whatever. People buy it.
The worship of money in our society is so deep. But just because that’s the easiest way to keep people’s attention or entertain them doesn’t mean that’s the right way.”
Now, while I can agree with this statement to an extent, we have to unpack things to get a clear understanding of Ronda Rousey and her stance. The reality is that despite the fact that money shouldn’t be a motivation for being the greatest fighter in the world from a purest standpoint, the endeavor of professional fighters is prize fighting. For some, the prize is the most important thing not even certainly becoming the best of the best.
But is it so wrong to want to be the best of the best while at the same time getting paid as such? Would Conor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather be better men if they decided to burn their prize money and simply say “the win is all I need.” I’m going to go out on a limb and say no.
Let’s also not forget that Rousey has profited a great deal from her winning ways. Sure, she may have cared more about winning her fights than the money and that’s certainly commendable. But all those big wins she’s collected has allowed her to make a tremendous amount of money and even transcend the sport allowing her other opportunities to make a lucrative income outside of fighting. Not all fighters get that kind of opportunity.
So while she may disagree with people who are obsessed with making more money, she has to remember that like it or not she’s included in that crowd and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s about what you do after making all that money that shows a person who they really are.
What’s your thoughts on the comments made by Ronda Rousey?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Source: http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/espnw-rousey161215/how-ronda-rousey-preparing-return-ufc-amanda-nunes
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