Amateur female fighters will have the opportunity to win a professional contract next year, people are teasing a bout that nobody wants, and one of MMA’s loudest voices continues to speak on a variety of topics. Huh?
Finding the proper response to much of the news finding its way into our social media feeds is becoming a tougher task every day. Nothing is surprising, and there’s always more to the story. Leaving us with one reply: “huh?”.
Last week, Invicta FC announced that the winner of an amateur tournament in early 2018 will be awarded a professional contract in the promotion, Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov are talking about competing in a fight that zero people are interested in seeing, and UFC President Dana White once again shared how he really feels.
The reason “huh?”, in its various forms, is such a quality reply is simple. The word is as versatile as a response gets, and while it may require some explanation, “huh?” is sometimes the only way to react to the news of today. Defined by Merriam-Webster as an interjection that’s “used to express surprise, disbelief, or confusion, or as an inquiry inviting affirmative reply”, “huh” or “huh?” can mean a lot of different things.
Despite some of the follies of human evolution (see: Press Secretaries), the development and growth of “huh” is something we should embrace. To be the change we want to see in the world, here are a few MMA stories last week that made us go “huh?”.
Amateurs will fight for an Invcita FC contract in early-2018
At World Class Fight League 20 next February, an amateur female fighter will have the opportunity to earn an Invicta FC contract. Huh.
We don’t have a ton of details, like who’s participating, or the weight class of the tournament, but the move seems like a good one. After a quiet end to the summer, Invicta has roared back this fall, with a top-notch card slated for Invicta FC 26 to go along with the upcoming tournament. Quality events and interesting tournaments are a great way for Invicta to showcase what many MMA fans already know: they’re awesome.
Amateur fighters will have a chance to win a contract with Invicta FC through @worldclassFL’s first 8 Woman Tournament! pic.twitter.com/ndKKFWLycN
— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) October 20, 2017
Malignaggi-Lobov: the boxing bout absolutely nobody wants
Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov won’t shut up about fighting each other in a bout that nobody cares about. Huh?
I’m going to keep this one short, because it’s barely worth the time to write up, but I’m hoping to create some positive momentum for a worthwhile cause. The cause being ending all attention paid to former boxer and current analyst Paulie Malignaggi. The one-time sparring partner to actually-relevant Conor McGregor is still attempting to squeeze all of the spotlight he can out of his momentary return to notoriety, and is reaching new lows.
As the world continues to completely ignore the possibility of a McGregor-Malignaggi boxing bout (thankfully), the former title-holder has turned his attention to McGregor’s teammate and sub-.500 MMA fighter Artem Lobov. Huh?
This is exactly the type of thing fans, and the media, need to stop reinforcing. From now on, no more attention for Paulie. No articles (like this one), no retweets, no chuckles at the expense of a man clearly so obsessed with a sparring video that he’s gone insane.
Nobody wants to watch Paulie Malignaggi box Artem Lobov. And that shouldn’t need to be pointed out. Ugh.
Dana White continues to share how he really feels
Never afraid to share his true feelings on a variety of subjects, UFC President Dana White once again used some of his favorite verbiage when asked about legal issues with one of his champions. Huh?
Never accused of having an abundance of class, White utilized former UFC fighter Mike Swick’s podcast to vent about Michael Bisping’s recent assault accusations.
“I gotta talk to Bisping but I’m sure it’s that typical p**sy who opens his mouth at the f**king gym, then Bisping goes over and – I don’t know what Bisping did to him, but now he wants to f**king sue Bisping. You should have shut your f**king face in the first place.” – Dana White on “Real Quick with Mike Swick” via MMA Fighting
Huh. That’s an awfully hot take for a guy who admits that he doesn’t have the full story. This isn’t exactly new behavior from the face of the promotion, who lets loose on podcasts, TMZ, and social media on a regular basis.
It still feels weird though, especially considering there’s a pending legal battle with one of the UFC’s champions. Of course Dana is going to defend his guy, but there are probably better ways to go about it.
We’ll be getting more details soon on an amateur tournament where the winner will earn a professional contract to fight in Invicta FC, while we hopefully start hearing less and less about “P-word M-word” from here on out. That’s unlikely, just as it’s unlikely UFC President Dana White will change the way he handles potentially sensitive situations as the mouthpiece of MMA’s premier promotion.
Huh? for the road
Demian Maia saying that Colby Covington has been saying all along that he respected him and was only trying to promote the fight.
— Fernanda Prates (@NandaPrates_) October 29, 2017
