To Be A Fighter

Dana White coined the phrase “do you want to be a fighter?” (although his actual quote has more “colourful” words included), and this past week three of his UFC charges proved that, yes, they do indeed want to be fighters.  The three in question would be former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and the number contender for the heavyweight title, Junior dos Santos.  All three proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are true fighters; they showed their “gameness”, as the expression goes.

For a true mixed martial artist, belts, titles and rankings mean nothing.  They are not in the sport for accolades; they are in the sport for the competition, they are in the sport to test themselves.  They are fighters because they want, and need, to fight.  So rather sit on their laurels, like many others due once they’ve achieved a certain level of success, Lesnar, dos Santos and Pettis are pushing forward.  Brock Lesnar just came off a humbling defeat at the hands of Cain Velasquez, who pummelled him, bloodied him and took his championship belt.  The easy route for Lesnar, the path most travellled by other fighters, is to follow up his loss with a “bounce back” fight versus an overmatched opponent.  Lesnar very easily could have fought a washed up heavyweight like Frank Mir or Mirko Cro Cop in order to get an easy victory and restore some of his confidence and repair his reputation.  But instead, Lesnar has taken the most difficult fight out there – versus Junior dos Santos.  Plus, despite his aversion to the big city lifestyle and the spotlight, he’s agreed to do it as a coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.  A ballsy move by the former champ.

But the same can also be said for his counterpart, dos Santos, who was promised the next shot at the heavyweight crown.  But with Velasquez expected to be on the shelf for the rest of the year, dos Santos chose to not sit around, twiddling his thumbs waiting for his shot (like Rashad Evans did with Mauricia Rua).  Instead, dos Santos is risking it all – letting it all ride – by fighting Lesnar, the former champ and the most physically imposing fighter in the game today.  Same deal with Anthony Pettis – his shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship got put on hold when it was announced that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were going to fight yet again for the title.  Rather than sit tight and await the winner of that fight, Pettis is taking on Clay Guida, a far more experienced fighter on a three fight win streak.  Pencil this one in for 2011 Fight of the Year.

So it’s refreshing that some fighters know what it means to be a fighter.  Rather than to pull a “lay and pray” outside of the cage, Lesnar, dos Santos and Pettis and letting their fists (and feet and knees and…) decide their fate.