A World without MMA or any Sport
From the Hub’s point of view…..
It is currently early April 2020 and the world is struggling against the Covid19 virus. My country, India is in a complete nationwide lockdown and we’re all completely restricted to our respective homes. World over, almost every major sport event has been cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future. In some cases like ‘The Wimbledon Tennis Championship’, we see a cancellation for the first time since The Second World War.
Writing this as a hardcore MMA fan and enthusiast and not as an MMA coach or Gym owner, I feel a deep void, right in the center of my very being. Ok! I’m being a tad dramatic. But damn! I miss the sport so much. I miss the anticipation and excitement about absolutely everything the sport brings. The matchmaking, the trash talk, the pundits with their predictions and analysis, and of course…. The Fights.
These are mentally, financially, spiritually, very trying times for most people on planet earth right now. Unpleasant but necessary words like Pandemic, Quarantine, Mortality Rates are being broadcasted 24/7 by the news, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, strangers and I bet I speak for many fight fans when I say that I would give so much to just be able to take the clock back a few months and watch a UFC PPV event with a few cold ones and a few close ones. That simple pleasure, at this time, seems to be a very, very distant reality and it makes me appreciate the good ol days even more. Right now, the most important and absolutely essential goal for all mankind is to find ways, no matter how small, to battle this pandemic and save as many lives as possible. It’s just that I have a fantasy playing in my head, to ride into this battle against this vicious virus, with a fresh Fight Night waiting for me around the corner. I mean just imagining the tingling thrill of watching two fighters stare each other down hours before they are locked in combat or the anticipation of watching them heading into that fifth round when you have given both fighters, two rounds each in your head.
For a hard sports fan, a live sporting event feeds and nourishes us in ways no other art form or substitute can. In the Fight Game we spend weeks and sometimes months mentally playing around with the various permutations and outcomes of the fights and the direction ahead for our favorite heroes in a win, loss or draw situation. As of right now roughly 5 PM (Indian Standard Time), 3d April 2020, UFC 249 is still a go… Dana White seems adamant to make sure we get to watch some fights on April 18th… The next few days will be rather interesting to see where this goes. Me, I shall patiently observe the powers decide whether this fight card takes place or not, but should it come through, I will watch and relish every single minute with a deep appreciation for the fighters, the sport and world of professional Mixed Martial Arts…