Trash
Talk in Mixed Martial Arts: Detrimental
or Necessary?
(Commentary
by Johnathen Tan)
I
have been a follower of mixed martial arts (MMA) for about three years now. It
might not be that long, but enough for me to fall in love with a contest where
two individuals step in a cage, with the intention of choking or knocking each
other out, or breaking one of the eight limbs. It has recently been labeled a
sport – and rightfully so. But what happens in the cage, shall remain in the
cage.
Prior
to the commencement of the actual fight, fighters have to attend press
conferences, media scrums and interviews, and there is where the magic happens
– the art of trash talk. Let me run
you through on what trash talk is all about in the context of MMA. Basically, a
fighter blows out insults and derogatory remarks about his opponent’s skills,
with the purpose of building hype for the fight to generate audience attention.
Or in more strategic circumstances, to get his opponent frazzled enough to
fight with fired up emotions – becoming oblivious to counter attacks.
Trash
talk in mixed martial arts transcends the whole idea of professional athletes
and their efforts to maintain good public relations. In major spectator sports
such as tennis, football, basketball or golf, athletic management firms would
attempt to bring about a clean image of their athletes by telling them to avoid
making controversial remarks. Like, you never see Roger Federer shouting that
he’s the greatest from across the court to his opponents, or Michael Phelps
claiming that he can buy and sell his competitors twice after coming in first
for the 200-meter freestyle contest. It is undeniable that the verbal
aggression in mixed martial arts, if applied in any other sports, would be outrageous.
When
it comes to trash talk in combat sports, one cannot help but to mention
Muhammad Ali, whose demeanor have become a part of pop culture with sayings
like, “I am the greatest!” and “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” However,
the emergence of a “notorious” figure in the mixed martial arts scene a few
years ago, has changed the game once and for all. Irish superstar Conor
McGregor had discovered his pathway to the big bucks, well-equipped with a bad
mouth for anyone who comes in his way, and a heavy left hand that’s been
knocking people out left, right and center.
All
is well until as of late, when undefeated Russian wrestler Khabib Nurmagomedov
decided that McGregor, who made remarks about his father and religion, went a
little too far with his words. At UFC 229, Khabib defeated McGregor in
spectacular fashion – dominating the first four rounds before submitting the
trash talker in a neck crank, to defend his championship. However, what
occurred after, upstaged the actual fight. Khabib jumped out of the cage and
attacked McGregor’s teammates, who also had their fair share of some verbal
attack towards the Russian champion. To cut a long story short – both fighters
are now under suspension and are fined a massive amount.
Where
is the line drawn then? So, is it abusive or necessary? I was caught in a
dilemma, trying to figure out if trash talk is an aspect of the sport that
needs to be regulated, or something that needs to live on, to spark the
entertainment value of the sport. But, I now have an answer. The sport needs
trash talk to keep going. As much as I, a mixed martials arts fanatic, hate to
admit it – it is always more interesting to watch fighters who genuinely
dislike each other, going at it in the cage.
People
like controversy – and I cannot deny that I’m one of them. It’s just an
unspoken characteristic of human nature. Two bad-blooded individuals wanting to
punch each other in the face, will drum up interest not only amongst fight
fans, but also people who don’t even watch mixed martial arts in general. This
will benefit the new sport, as it helps to promote and drive traffic to the
event. This is shown through the Khabib-McGregor fight in Las Vegas, which
became the highest grossing event in the history of the UFC. It also had a major
economic impact on the Sin City, generating $86.4 million in total economic
output.
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References:
Image source: UFC
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