Where I come from, if a fight ends with you trapping your helpless opponent’s face between your sweaty butt cheeks, you’ve done enough to win.
If you’d spent the preceding minute choking him dizzy before finally giving him your descending colon as a breathing tube through which to gasp oxygen, you’ve got a rock solid case for being the victor—especially if you emerge without a scratch.
Unfortunately for Efrain Escudero, Nevada State Athletic Commission judges are not trained to honor these criteria when rendering judgement. The season eight Ultimate Fighter winner may have lost on every judge’s scorecard, but he finished the fight with honor. And that’s the most a true warrior could hope for.
Escudero was the only one who came close to finishing the fight—Volkmann later told MMA Fighting that he was starting to black out.
For a fight he took on late notice and finished so impressively, Escudero should feel proud. And UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, in his emanating brilliance, should keep him around.
Lucky for Escudero, there’s a good chance he’ll get another shot. The UFC is immensely popular among Mexicans, but the Mexican contingent on the organization’s roster is on shaky legs at the moment.
Cain Velasquez was recently humiliated by Junior dos Santos on network television. Miguel Torres barely survived RapevanGate with his cojones attached and Tito Ortiz is surfing off into the Huntington Beach sunset after losing his last two by TKO. If you compare any of those situations to the way Escudero handled the closing moments of his fight with Volkmann, he’s got the most momentum and dignity of them all.
Let’s not forget it was Volkmann who had called Escudero “cocky,” and then showed up at the weigh-ins with a first aid kit for Escudero. As a publicity stunt, this has to be one of the most cocky, and least original, jokes of its kind.
Escudero was already a winner in the hearts of some after Volkmann failed to give him any reason to even open that first aid kit. Though he lost the first to rounds via yawn-worthy top control, he took no damage before taking over the fight late in the third.
A hero’s job is to restore order to the universe. Escudero’s 11th-hour push may have come up short, but it was nonetheless an act of heroism. Escudero had the last word. We can only hope, for Escudero and for Mexico, that his pre-fight meal had included plenty of refried beans.
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