SCRAP SHOTS
COVID be damned! UFC putting on strong card in Jacksonville ... Gaethje is ‘proud’ to be part of event ... Cruz says it’s all about making a difference during these difficult times
For better or for worse, UFC 249 is happening this Saturday.
There are lots of people who don’t like that MMA’s most prominent promotion has pushed forward with plans to hold three events in a week with no fans in the stands in Jacksonville, Fla. — a state that reported 113 COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday.
The debate about whether the UFC should be holding fights in the midst of a global pandemic has raged since mid-March and has often been incredibly ugly. There is little use rehashing the whole topic here.
The facts are pretty simple: The Florida State Boxing Commission has signed-off on the UFC holding fights and the company has gone ahead and booked a 12-fight pay-per-view for Saturday night. Hate it or love it, it’s happening.
The UFC is administering both the diagnostic swab COVID-19 test and the antibody test on fighters and their camps when they arrive in Florida this week, according to ESPN, and there will be daily temperature readings and symptom checks throughout the week.
For many people, that won’t be enough. There’s an argument that cagefighting should be put on hold until officials at all levels have a better handle on managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justin Gaethje, though, has a counter-argument.
“I’m f---ing proud to be a part of it,” said Gaethje, who will be taking on Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title on Saturday night’s main event. “It’s an opportunity to inspire. People need to be inspired right now. They need to not let themselves become depressed (or) emotional. They can’t control what’s going on right now.
“They need to be inspired in a way, and we can do that. We have that opportunity.”
In normal times, an interim title fight between Gaethje and Ferguson would have the MMA world completely abuzz. They’re two of the UFC’s most exciting fighters, although there styles are nothing alike. Ferguson is as unconventional as he is relentless, capable of winning anywhere the fight goes and incredibly creative in his attacks. Gaethje, meanwhile, seems to relish getting hit. He’ll eat shot after shot, but his ability to finish opponents with one blow means he’s never out of it.
Combined with a co-main event that sees bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo defend his belt against former 135-pound king Dominick Cruz, and then a heavyweight clash between Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik — both of whom throw nasty stuff — and you can begin to understand why the UFC wanted to get this card off the ground.
Top to bottom, it’s a strong card that might be a little light on mainstream stars but has lot of fighters with reputations for delivering excitement within the MMA bubble.
And in a North American sports landscape that’s completely barren right now, it’s understandable that the UFC would want to seize the opportunity to put those sorts of fighters in front of an audience that’s starved for live athletic competition.
“This is awesome, you can hear it in both of our voices. There’s no bulls--- with this,” Ferguson said on a media conference call on Tuesday afternoon. “When they had the (World Wars) going on, there was no sport. They only had the Olympics going on. Right now, there’s no Olympics. There’s no Wimbledon. There’s no NBA Draft. There’s no NFL Draft. There’s no tennis, no soccer, hockey and there’s no baseball.
“This is what we bring to the table, man, and we’re going to go out there and do our best and we’re going to keep sports alive.”
A cynic would argue that the UFC coming back so quickly probably has more to do with money and delivering on its promise of providing ESPN, its American broadcast partner, with a certain number of shows this year.
The fighters competing on Saturday certainly have a financial incentive to get back in the octagon, too.
Ferguson and Gaethje, though, really do sound sincere in their excitement and in their belief that there’s real value in giving sports fans something to cheer about. For that, they can hardly be faulted.
IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Cruz who best articulate his thinking behind why Saturday’s fight was important to him.
Cruz is one of the most articulate fighters on the UFC roster and can regularly be heard doing commentary on the promotion’s broadcasts.
He made a simple argument for using the platform that Saturday night’s fight will provide to help people in need.
“I really look at it as this a lot different than belts and all the things we have,” Cruz said. “It’s really about how can you make a difference in these times when you have a platform. I look at this as a time when I can make a huge difference.
“What’s the value of champions’ belts or Olympic gold medals when there’s 33-million Americans who just filed for unemployment benefits, who haven’t been able to see their families since midMarch? (Seventy-two thousands) Americans died in the United States.
“There’s no vaccine for COVID-19 coming and probably no end in site, so what’s the value of belts or even Olympic gold medals unless you use it to make a difference in lives and in the service of humanity, really.”