The fight introductions have been completed and you have just taken your seat in your favorite armchair as the main event is about to begin. Anticipation runs through every vein as you have been waiting for this moment almost as much as the fighters themselves. At that exact point someone leans across and asks a simple question, “who do you think is going to be the winner in this one?”
At times it is an easy call for you to make, there are no loyalties in the fight, no added emotion, you just come straight out with your opinion. However, there are always those fights and you know which ones they are, that cause that conflict between head and heart over who is more likely to win and who you want to win. When you have to give the answer, “I think Fighter A will win, but I hope Fighter B does.”
When the head and heart in this decision are at conflict, the simple question of who will win, when you can only choose one fighter, becomes much harder to answer, subjectively at least.
Head vs Heart – The Ultimate MMA Fan Battle
Almost every MMA fan has his or her favorite fighters no matter how unbiased their role within the industry is. It is just a fact of normal life. The reasons for this can vary from actually knowing the fighter right through to the appreciation of their fighting style or approach. Whatever the cause it is always there.
Personally I can list active fighters Dan Henderson, Brad Pickett, Jake Shields and also countless retired ones, that for different reasons have a place in my heart. I root for them in their fights regardless of their opponent. The same can be said for fighters that for some reason you dislike, that no matter what they do and what they achieve, you almost always want someone to beat them. This is the heart taking over as the subjective, rational and knowledgeable part of your MMA psyche is ignored for the sake of a fighter you want to win on pure favoritism alone.
That is until you think realistically for a second and decide to take a mental step back and look at the most likely outcome of the upcoming fight. That fighter that has that special place in your heart is on a three fight losing slide, is forty-one years old and has not held a title since 2007. Their opponent is on a five fight winning streak, is only twenty-seven and has just beaten three former champions on his way to this fight. That is not to even mention their greater wrestling ability, better reach and their solid ground game. It is at that point that the conflict comes and you are forced to choose between what you think will happen and what you hope will happen and that is the difficult one.
Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor
In less than three weeks time at UFC 189, the battle between head and heart will take place in Las Vegas as Jose Aldo meets Conor McGregor. McGregor has been a revelation in the UFC and has got himself into the title picture like a whirlwind. Personally, I love his aggressive style inside the octagon, the way he conducts himself outside of it and everything about the McGregor ‘train’. My heart is firmly in his corner, I want to see him lift the title, to go onto defend it in Ireland in the future — I am sure the list of opponents will be a long one — and breathe a fragment of fresh life into a currently dominated, yet undoubtedly exciting, UFC weight-class.
On the opposite side of the cage is the pound for pound king that is Jose Aldo. A fighter who is 25-1 with a resumé that includes wins over Cub Swanson, Mike Brown, Urijah Faber, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes (twice), Ricardo Lamas and Frankie Edgar. A fighter that looks like he can be hurt, but is never out of control. Who seems indefinitely confident that he cannot be beaten by anyone – also see Demetrious Johnson for that feeling and appearance. My heart lies with Conor McGregor but my head says Jose Aldo and it will be difficult for that conflict to be resolved by any news that I will hear between now and fight night.
Finding Resolution
In the end the winner of the head v heart battle come fight night will be down to the individual fan. Some people will be able to strike a happy balance of the two or even be lucky enough that they both align on the side of one fighter when the bell rings. Personally, I let the head rule most of the time, it is the more sensible option and if asked outright what I think the outcome of a fight will be I will go with what I believe statistically it will be, rather than any personal preference I might have.
That will in no way stop me shouting into the rafters for my personal favourite to win, that is part of being a fan and after all we all watch MMA for the enjoyment it brings, regardless of the outcome. Oh and when UFC 189 finally comes around, just before the Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor fight when someone inevitably asks, “who do you think is going to be the winner in this one?” My answer will be….the fans.
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