Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz had already seemed to have some bad blood walking into their fight at UFC 141. They don’t like each other, and though both have tried to convince fans and journalists alike that it wasn’t personal, at the press conference today it finally boiled over and they had to be separated.
Its not surprising that Diaz and Cerrone let their emotions get the best of them. Neither is exactly friendly when it comes to fighting, and both can get downright nasty when they want to. Cerrone openly showed rage toward one of his opponents in the past when he squared off against Jamie Varner in the WEC.
Diaz has also shown contempt for many of his fellow fighters before his fights.
So it isn’t shocking that both of these men let themselves go a little too far when faced with each other.
And when it comes to MMA, it’s surprising that more fighters aren’t like them.
That isn’t to say that their actions are something that should be emulated. The sport is young enough and with enough detractors that such actions would only hurt it.
While it would be ideal for all fighters to be removed from such negative actions and emotions, it isn’t always possible. Many fighters are able to split fighting from their personal lives and make it so that there are no unhealthy issues before a fight.
But at the core of MMA is a sport where one man is trying to inflict punishment on another and in doing so get more money for himself. If he wins he has not only beaten his opponent, but in effect taken money from him as well.
Many men could handle this. Diaz and Cerrone just aren’t those kind of fighters.
They don’t want to make friends and they want to be able to keep fighting full-time.
It may fly against the very things that we as a society tell fighters to do, but it taps down into a primordial sense of something that has been there since the dawn of man.
The urge to be able to have the most resources at one’s disposal and to be the victor. It may not be pretty, but it is a part of fighting and humanity’s darker nature.
Fans shouldn’t be surprised when fighters choose to live in it.
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