Whether we like to admit it or not, we develop an emotional attachment to our sporting heroes.
We’re over the moon when they’re victorious. During their defeats? Frankly, we’re pretty down in the dumps.
The worst cases of sporting sadness often occur when we watch our heroes fall from grace. Sometimes it’s a slow descent.
Other times it’s a rapid tumble that reminds us just how delicate one’s physical prime is. And honestly, it makes us feel old.
UFC 168 was a sad day for MMA fans as we witnessed the potential end to one of the finest careers the sport has ever seen.
The tragedy of Anderson Silva got me thinking about other moments in the sport’s history that left me wallowing in misery. Here are a two of my personal ones:
Chuck Liddell’s knockout streak (not the good kind)
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar may have launched the sport into mainstream consciousness, but it was Chuck Liddell who was the UFC’s poster boy during the initial rise of MMA.
A week after Griffin and Bonnar’s epic scrap, Liddell knocked Randy Couture out at UFC 52 to win the light-heavyweight title.
It was easy to like Chuck.
The mohawk, killer instinct and knockout power made Liddell a popular figure among fans. A string of title defence knockouts against the likes of Couture, Jeremy Horn and Tito Ortiz endeared him to both casual and hardcore followers.
He was even making cameo appearances in TV shows and music videos.
The first sign of decline came when he lost the title to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via TKO in the first round.
An abysmal decision loss to Keith Jardine was followed by a win over Wanderlei Silva in a long-awaited fan’s ‘dream match’.
The Silva fight was Liddell’s last glimmer of greatness. Fighting just once a year between 2008 to 2010, Liddell suffered three straight knockout losses to Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua and Rich Franklin.
It was heartbreaking to witness the knockout artist on the receiving end of his own trademark.
The formerly sturdy Liddell had become afflicted with a glass jaw following the wars he had been through. Perhaps it was the prolonged sense of false hope that made it so distressing. The feeling that maybe, just maybe we would see a glimpse of vintage Liddell again.
Fedor’s loss to Bigfoot
For the better part of a decade, Fedor Emelianenko was undefeated and recognised as the sport’s pound-for-pound king.
The stocky Russian was small for a heavyweight but seemed almost inhuman in beating some of the world’s best during his reign in PRIDE.
After the promotion folded, he continued his dominance in other promotions before signing with Strikeforce.
Fans had built a mystique around Fedor. The stoic Russian who trained in secrecy in the snowy mountains and was almost unheard from outside of his fights. He showed up, kicked ass and disappeared back to Stary Oskol.
In a sport built on unpredictability, it seemed almost written in universal law that Fedor would always win.
In 2010, Fedor suffered his first real loss against Fabricio Werdum. Fedor carelessly jumped into the BJJ champ’s guard and was quickly submitted by a triangle choke.
As shocking as this loss was, when the dust settled it was a quick defeat that didn’t reveal any major signs of declne. Fedor would surely bounce back.
Early the next year Fedor faced off against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in the first round of Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix. I eagerly anticipated the return of ‘The Last Emperor’.
For lack of a better term, the next two rounds simply broke my heart. Here was the sport’s best swinging wildly and missing as he was outsized and more importantly outmatched by Bigfoot.
I waited for Fedor to turn the tide as he had done so many times before but to no avail. He was pummelled by the better fighter until the doctor called a stop to it at the end of round two.
Hindsight would say that the decline began as early as the Brett Rogers fight. But so enamouring was the mystique of Fedor that I refused to see it until the Bigfoot loss really hit home.
Universal law, no more.
*****
If nothing else, the downfall of both Liddell and Fedor showed me that the sport I’ve loved since I was a kid is still growing and evolving.
While it’s an exciting sport to watch and be a part of, I can’t help but lament the loss of the sport’s legends.
Roarers, what are your saddest MMA moments?
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