MMA On Point - Podcast

This sport is filled with some absolute jokesters. You wouldn’t think it. And maybe it’s a way to deal with the extreme toll this sport takes on them, but there are so many fighters who are legitimately funny, it seems to go so far beyond other sports too. Maybe that’s because there’s more promotional work that needs done in MMA, it’s hard to pin down why we have so many comics in mixed martial arts, but the best are as funny as anything you’ll find elsewhere looking for a good laugh. Now, we’re not talking about fighters who might make you chuckle but probably aren’t trying to, that’s a completely different category entirely. Tito Ortiz would probably top it. So if your favorite funny fighter isn’t on the list today, TheDiaz brothers, Jorge Masvidal, Brock Lesnar, just know it’s because our focus on this list is the ones actively trying to get a laugh, not inadvertently. 

As legendary race car driver Ricky Bobby famously said “If you’re not first then you’re last.” 

Or as the common phrase goes “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” Or maybe you prefer the saying “to the victor go the spoils.” You get the idea. In mixed martial arts, being second place really sucks. You get a broken jaw and half of your paycheck while your opponent gets that shiny belt around their waist, the love of fans, and a boost to their bank account via pay per view points. While doing well enough to earn a title shot is an accomplishment in and of itself, it pales in comparison to actually succeeding and being number one. Imagine the heartbreak of coming so close to your goal only to come up short in that high pressure moment. But in today’s video, we honor those legend’s struggle who tragically came in 2nd place. Yep, this one is gonna hurt a little.

Try this: go and watch The Joe Rogan Experience Episode #1. 

It opens with ten minutes of Rogan and Brian Redban struggling like two dads trying to use a computer for the first time. And all the while, animated low-res noise obscures your view of that  crisp 240p video feed. 

Now, remember you are watching the beginnings of the same show that sold to Spotify for a reported 100 million dollars. 

That is wild. 

But, of course, his podcast has evolved into a phenomenon that can attract the kinds of guests many mainstream television shows would be lucky to get. 

Still, as a UFC commentator and fan, his door has always been open to MMA fighters and personalities. And over the years, there have been some incredibly shocking moments with fighters and some of the sport’s most prolific figures telling us things we’d never expect to hear.

In sports - hell, in life - it is winners who get all the recognition. 

And, rightfully so: they earned it. 

But if you're in the market for a good story, you should never overlook those less fortunate. Especially when it's the UFC's formative years in question.

Sure, the Gracies, Shamrocks, and Severns of the world have stories that are worth telling. 

But they have already been told.

Today we want to share some of the obscure tales about the characters who often get lost in the shuffle.

It has to take a lot of courage to enter a sanctioned fight. Stripping to your underwear to throw hands with someone else with the intent to destroy one another surrounded by a massive crowd certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. Well, the massive crowd isn’t exactly an option at the moment but that’s only part of it with everyone watching at home. In short, fighting is not for the faint of heart. But even with the countless time spent training and that tinge of insanity needed to willingly choose this lifestyle in the first place that you have to respect, there are limits. But that doesn’t mean it’s always pretty and sometimes that pressure even forces a competitor to suddenly give up and no, we don’t mean from submission holds.

Mixed martial arts is wholly unique in that someone can loss and yet somehow truly 

gain in the eyes of the fans. In other sports, losers are not celebrated. The Buffalo 

Bills went to 4 straight Super Bowls in the 90s, something that should be considered

one of the greatest achievements in football history, but not, they lost all four, 

they’re losers. The Buffalo Bills are a bunch of failures. Doesn’t matter how much 

heart they showed or grit, nobody cares. Thankfully the price fighters pay physically

lends MMA to far more respect, and today we’re going to take a look at 10 losing 

performances that ended up giving fans a new appreciation for the fighter that 

came up short.