It’s not easy to be a role model in a sport where your primary job is to take advantage of the weaknesses of your opponent, sometimes including beating him or her to a bloody pulp. This type of violence is generally viewed negatively by the main stream which has taken its fair share of jabs at the sport of mixed martial arts throughout the years.
However there are competitors and ambassadors for the sport who have broken the perceived mold of being beer-chugging thugs who have anger problems. It’s not an easy thing to do, but these people have taken it upon themselves to not only place themselves on a level of physical superiority, but also conduct themselves in a way that would attract positive attention to the sport.
Sure, there will always be the Nick Diaz’s and Brock Lesnar’s of the world who sometimes make questionable decisions outside the cage, so these MMA role models will have to continue to do their job while hoping that their actions rub off on others if they hope to change the way that MMA is perceived in the mainstream media.
With so much emphasis always being placed on the negatives in sports and the world in general, I thought it would nice to take a look at the good guys of MMA. So in this slideshow, we’ll examine eight MMA role models who should be viewed as examples of how both physical and mental preparedness come together to create some of the best athletes and all of professional sports.
