Zuckerberg, Merab Dvalishvili spar on the water
Mark Zuckerberg and the UFC’s number one bantamweight fighter Merab Dvalishvili took to the water for another sparring match.
After a night that included an eye poke, an illegal knee and the general mayhem of a UFC event, Dana White was irritated.
The source of his frustration: In the UFC 330 main event, as the fifth and final round ensued, Ian Machado Garry high-fived reigning welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
“I think that Ian is a talented guy,” White, the UFC’s CEO, said at the post-fight press conference. “I think if he had even an ounce of killer instinct, in that fifth round, you know he’d been beating (Makhachev) to the body.
“Islam’s whole right side was beat up, his face was beat up. You don’t come out and hug and shake hands. That (expletive) drives me (expletive) crazy.”
UFC 330 did more than determine the welterweight champion. Makhachev won the competitive fight by unanimous decision. It also raised the issue of the place for decorum in an UFC fight.
What’s too nice?
White did not equivocate.
“When there’s so much at stake and there’s also a lot of mental gamesmanship, whatever you want to call it in this game, you come out in that fifth round flying a knee or something crazy and you try to finish the fight,” he said.
“I think this is one of those fights where Ian will go back and watch and say, ‘(Expletive), I wish I could do that over again.’ “
The week leading up to the fight revealed some peculiar behavior by Machado Garry. One moment he came across as arrogant and disrespectful. Not long after, he called over Makhachev to meet his young son.
Could that have been part of the gamesmanship of which White talks? Killing them with kindness?
No, Machado Garry did not win the fight. Nor did Makhachev dismantle him like he has other opponents. The bout looked closer than the scorecards indicated, with the judges scorring the fight 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.
As White pointed out, Machado Garry defended Makhachev’s takedowns with success. He also battered Makhachev’s face. Kindness did not curb the violence.
Yet the Russian champion, who won a record-breaking 17th straight fight, also expressed some bafflement over Machado Garry’s behavior.
“Bro, honestly I don’t understand, man,” Makhachev said. “This is the fight. This is not something where we have to hug each other every round …
“I respect all my opponents. Yeah, I don’t know. He respect too much.”
After the fight, Machado Garry approached Makhachev. What did he say?
“He just say, ‘I fight today with the greatest fighter.’ Yeah, I respect him. Yeah, he’s a good guy.”
Too good for the UFC?