UFC Charlotte, the Morning After: Fighters remind us what’s really important

At UFC on Fox 27 in Charlotte, I was reminded of The Important Things™. Sure, the violence (some of it) was fun. Mirsad Bektic’s straight right KO to the body was awesome, and not even the first body shot finish of the night, Cory Sandhagen’s being the first.

Ouch.

We had Drew Dober and Frank “The Crank” Camacho punch each other for all they were worth to open the main card. Yet, the fans were booing after that fight- partly because of the decision, a close call that went Dober’s way. Dober kicked off a series of refreshingly honest interviews by admitting he didn’t know about that decision, but he and Camacho were just happy to spill their blood in there for the fans. The life lesson? Enjoying the moment... and the process is sometimes just as important as the outcome. As tonight showed more than once, you can’t always control the outcome. You can only control the process.

Also from this fight:

The post-fight interviews would continue to show that the fighters had more important things on their mind. With Gregor Gillespie, it was fishing. “The Gift” never misses a chance to let us know he’s the best fisher in UFC, and judging by his Instagram, that’s completely true. After smashing their hometown fighter Jordan Rinaldi, he won over the confused crowd by asking them, “North Carolina probably has some good fishing, huh?” Who’s gonna boo after that?? Either way, the lesson here is clear: go fishing. Oh, and maybe take time to enjoy the outdoors, have a hobby, get good at something you enjoy. Fishing (or whatever you do to unwind) is damn important to a balanced life.

Dennis Bermudez probably did enough to win his fight against Andre Fili, but the judges didn’t see it that way. Fili, though, was most concerned about his grandma. She turned 70 last night, and he had been thinking about missing her birthday all training camp. Happy birthday to Andre Fili’s grandma, whoever you are. You are definitely loved. The lesson? Love your loved ones, especially the ones that won’t be around forever. (None of them will).

Even Jacare, who ended Derek Brunson’s night with a head kick that sent Brunson halfway across the cage, had his wife’s anniversary to remember. He was happy all night, his dancing walkout taking 3:40, just ten seconds less than the fight itself. Maybe that’s because he knew he was about to win and tell his wife happy anniversary on live TV. Maybe it’s because, as he also said, four months ago he was in a hospital. Jacare’s lessons for us are clear too: Count your blessings, because life is crazy. And remember your wife’s anniversary.

Now that we’ve got those life lessons out of the way, here’s some bonus fight footage for you to feast on before going to apply them.

You thought Jacare’s head kick KO was awesome? Then you’ll love this.

Down and out.

I love this triangle setup, because he was setting it up even before he hit the canvas.

Enjoy your Sundays, Maniacs!