Science of Fights

The appeal of fighting sports is its capacity to feed our primal need for destruction. Fighters approach fights differently: there are fighters that prefer to bulldoze the competition with brute power and strength, and in contrast, other fighters are methodical assassins. Whatever the approach, spectators love to see someone “hurt” or get knocked out. It is in our drive, it is what Freud refers to as man’s “Death Instinct”. But this article is not about the Freudian theory. This is about individuals who had made reputations of themselves as fearsome fighters. These 25 fighters of last 25 years are not inside the ring or cage to win on points. They are not in there to sting you with punches or kicks, instead, they are there with the full intention to hurt you or knock you out cold. Win or lose, going against them always guarantees pain.

Every globally recognized sport has its own fair share of bizarre incidents and hateable characters. We have Lebron as NBA’s most recognized choke artist, the polygamous Tiger Woods for golf, and the enhanced Sosa’s and Mcgwire’s of baseball. These personalities are amazing players of their chosen sport but they do have flaws and had made decisions that shook the sporting world. In boxing right now, we have Floyd Mayweather Jr. His last fight against Victor Ortiz is just another testimony to Floyd’s outrageous personality as a leading sports figure. His beautifully executed left-hook, right-straight combination knockout of Ortiz is overshadowed by the fact that Ortiz (and referee, Joe Cortez) seemed to be caught off-guard when it happened which made people think of Mayweather’s win as either cheap or a cheat.

The combination of Manny Pacquiao’s pugilistic genius and whirlwind aggression inside the ring made him boxing’s biggest draw. He’s an all-action fighter with an uncanny blend of affability and killer instinct. Outside the boxing ring, the top pound-for-pound fighter has a remarkably untiring sociability without a hint of arrogance. This made him endearing and marketable as he does not only sell tickets and pay-per-views, he has also become an effective product endorser. He purses around 25 million dollars with his usual two-fights-a-year schedule. Add the ever increasing endorsement deals and bonuses, he has become one of highest-paid athletes of this generation and a constant presence in Forbes’ richest athletes list. His recent deal with HP is proof that he can carry a brand that is not even remotely related to the sport. Watch the HP Veer commercial below.

“Shane Mosley has the power to knock the lights out of Manny Pacquiao. The first four rounds are crucial.” Leading up to the fight, that was the common consensus among boxing fans—analysts and laymen alike. Even Roach was in agreement of this. Nazeem Richardson, Mosley’s trainer, had been saying that he was training his fighter to fight a defensive fighter because once Pacman felt Mosley’s power, the Pound-for-Pound king will go on the defensive.

Brock Lesnar was dethroned as “The Baddest Man Alive” after Cain Velasquez decimated him in UFC 121. It only took Velasquez one round to make it happen as he left Lesnar beaten to a bloody pulp after referee Herb Dean motioned to stop the fight. Velasquez winning the fight did not really surprise me. His well-rounded skills and innate speed is certainly difficult to overcome even for someone like Lesnar. Rather, it was Lesnar’s performance in that fight that made me realize something about the monster. Ever since Lesnar’s prominence in the UFC, I see him as an enigmatic fighter. I definitely revere his awesome size, strength, and athletic ability as they were instantly recognizable but I had lingering doubts about his composure, heart, adaptability, defense, and overall skills as a true MMA competitor. The problem with Lesnar is the hype that surrounds him. It was really difficult to profile him and rank his aptitude in different aspects of the fight game because of the ex...

UFC, as part of its yearly tradition, aims to start its first event of the year with a stacked fight card. 2011 will be no different as UFC announces " UFC 125: Resolution , Edgar vs. Maynard". The event is set to take place in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on New Year's Day. The main event will be a lightweight title fight between the current champion, Frankie "The Answer" Edgar, and the number one contender, Gray "The Bully" Maynard. This fight is also a rematch between the two lightweights as the undefeated Maynard will look to repeat his win over "The Answer". Edgar, on the other hand, will try to avenge his only loss to retain his UFC lightweight belt.