Rashad Evans' actions during his bout against Forrest Griffin has many MMA pundits drawing a fine line on showboating in MMA.
During the second round of his championship bout against Forrest Griffin the championship fight, Rashad Evans laid the foundation that has become quite the debate over the past 10 days. After a brief exchange where his opponent got the better of him, Evans ducked a right hand, stood straight up with his arms by his side. Griffin could have punched away but refused to and in doing so Evans did the unthinkable while standing within the pocket: he grinned from ear to ear.
Evans kissed the inside of his right hand proceeded to grab his groin cup (with the same hand) and followed up with a left hook to Griffin's face. I remember the crowd's roar and the loud 'Oohs' after Evan's gesture and immediately thinking to myself; win or lose, this is what MMA reporters and fans will be discussing after the bout.
I have never been a fan of showboating, whether in MMA or any sport for that matter. I say this with a grain of salt as I tend to get drawn in to a fight when a fighter's cockiness comes to the surface. Not that it takes me much to get riled up during a bout but when I see a fighter begin to display a sense of brashness or disrespect for his opponent, I cannot help but hope to see him lose. Now, this isn't always the case.
There are times, like with Rashad, that I tend to root for "the bad guy". In meeting him on numerous occasions, I got to see a humble fighter who has always been the consummate underdog. He knows his role and no matter how many times people doubt him, he keeps finding a way to win. Evans is like the player you overlook and never pick for your team, but gets all the points. He is that one guy who always has the last laugh and walks around with the 'I told you so' attitude.
Showboating to me is all about personal taste and it's also something that many people selectively like or hate. If it's your favourite fighter showboating then you tend to be a fan. If it's somebody you despise or someone from an opposing team then it riles you up to the point where you jump out of your seat and curse the offender until you lose your voice.
Some see the cockiness as confidence, as is generally the case when fighters in their prime. Other see this type of behaviour as a recipe for eventual disaster. When Tito Ortiz was in his prime, you either loved the 'Huntington Beach Bad Boy' or you hated him. Every time Ortiz would win a bout, it was like fans drew a line and got ready for a war as you were ready to defend Ortiz's actions or attack him on how bad he was for the sport. The same is happening with the current career of Rashad Evans.
If it was up to me, I would encourage the showboating (mind you, with some good taste). It gets fans talking, debating and eventually picking sides. It builds characters in MMA, some of which you will pay to see win, others you will pony up to see lose. Showboaters generally become the bad guys in a fight; the heel many want to see lose to the 'good guy'.
We saw it in Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture. Lesnar cannot seem to buy a fan these days, and in that bout vs. Couture, the vast majority were hoping "Captain America" would save the day. During the Ortiz-Liddell battles, it was "The Iceman's" mission to silence his trash-talking opponent. When Ortiz and Ken Shamrock went at it, fans were divided amongst the two combatants but one thing was for certain: The aforementioned bouts were some of the highest-selling pay-per-views in the history of the UFC.
Who can forget Matt Serra insulting GSP's heritage or GSP telling Matt Hughes he was "not impressed" with his performance. How about Nate Diaz showboating the moment he locked in his triangle on Kurt Pelligrino? I remember immediately hoping for Pellegrino to somehow find a way out, but it was not to be. Diaz and his actions lived to see another day.
I have been fielding a variety of emails and been involved in a fair amount of debates recently with many MMA fans who have drawn the line on showboating. Many cannot wait to see Evans lose his next fight. There are those that are tired of Diaz and his antics. MMA fans are starving to see Serra and Hughes get it on, simply because one will silence the other.
What are your thoughts? Are you a proponent or opponent of show boating in MMA? Does it rile you up to the point where you cannot wait to see that cocky fighter taught an MMA lesson in humility?
