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Nick Newell, a 31-year-old congenital amputee with 15 pro bouts under his belt, is more than worthy of the UFC’s Octagon.
I don’t see how you could even make a case that he isn’t.
After all, the standard of a ‘UFC calibre’ fighter has never been lower. And in all honesty, there are men on this weekend’s UFC London card that I would handily pick Newell to beat.
Not to mention, despite his disability, Newell has proven to be a serviceable fighter, beating respectable opposition en route to a 14-1 record.
The American lightweight won his third-straight fight last weekend, disposing of Sonny Luque at a Legacy Fighting Championships event in Texas.
“I’m one of the best fighters in the world, and I belong in the UFC,” he pleaded after the easy submission win.
“That’s it. That’s final. I gave you 14 reasons why I belong in the UFC. I’m one of the best fighters in the world, and I’ve proved it 14 times.”
He’s not wrong.
The lone blemish on Newell’s record is to balls-to-the-wall action fighter Justin Gaethje, who has skyrocketed to the top of the UFC lightweight rankings after just two fights in the promotion.
So what gives? Why isn’t Newell plying his craft in the big leagues?
If you ask UFC boss Dana White, the promotion’s eight-sided cage is simply no place for a one-armed fighter.
“It’s hard to fight here with two arms,” he snickered when asked about the possibility of Newell joining the promotion in 2012 at a press conference.
“Maybe he can get away with that in some of these other states. I don’t know. Fighting with one arm is just craziness to me.”
If you ask me, though, it’s obvious the promotion is fearful of the backlash that would come if an amputee gets battered on live television.
And, in fairness, World Series of Fighting – the D-level promotion that hosted the Gaethje-Newell title fight – did receive it’s fair share of negative comments when Newell was bloodied and beaten on NBC’s free-to-air television platform.
That’s a risk you take when you host violent fist-fights inside a cage though, regardless of how many limbs the combatants possess.
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What that eight-minute fight between Newell and Gaethje doesn’t show you is that Newell is a serious fighter with more accomplishments as an athlete than most of his contemporaries at 155 pounds.
Six amateur MMA wins, 14 professional MMA wins, a former Xtreme Fighting Championships lightweight titlist, the owner of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and a wrestling pedigree that includes over 300 victories between high school and college.
Tell me again why Newell isn’t UFC ready?
I might accept White’s story that Newell isn’t capable of fighting in the UFC simply because of the way he was born if he didn’t promote pro-wrestler-turned-godawful-fighter Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks in 2016.
Not to mention, Brooks, the worst fighter to ever step into the Octagon, is boasting on Twitter that he will get a second crack at competing inside the eight sides of steel in June.
Make no mistake, Newell – even with one arm and giving up at least 30 pounds – would beat Brooks brainless. It wouldn’t even be close.
Oh, and don’t forget this is the same company that once tried to book a fight between commentator Joe Rogan and Wesley friggin’ Snipes.
Yes, that’s right, Blade was UFC-worthy but an actual fighter with almost a dozen stoppage wins isn’t.
Give me a break.
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