Three “Huh?” Moments in MMA Last Week: Signed and Cut in 24 Hours, Hateful Emails, and Goodbye Ray Borg?

Diego Sanchez UFC 235
Diego Sanchez Credit: Rodney James Edgar/Cageside Press

An MMA veteran was signed and cut from the UFC in one day, a legend accused another legend of sending hateful emails back in the day, and another fighter is retiring. 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 anymore, and there’s always more to the story. Leaving us with one reply: “huh?”

Last week, the UFC signed LFA and Bellator veteran Kevin Croom to a contract, only to cut him 24 hours later, Diego Sanchez accused Nick Diaz of sending hateful emails about his parents back in the day, and Ray Borg retired, then didn’t maybe. Huh.

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 evolution (see: Tito Ortiz), 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?

Kevin Croom Credit: Bellator MMA

UFC signs veteran Kevin Croom to contract, cuts him 24 hours later

After 32 professional fights, Kevin “The Hard Hitting Hillbilly” Croom’s dream of signing with the UFC came true. That dream ended the next day, when he was cut by the promotion. Huh?

https://www.facebook.com/kevin.croom.395/posts/10222939276847765

Croom was slated to step-in for Giga Chikadze, who was pulled from his bout with Alex Caceres last week. But, “due to things completely out of his control”, it was Austin Springer making his UFC debut over the weekend against Caceres. Not Croom.

For such a roller coaster week, Croom seems to be taking it well. He’s on a three fight winning streak, and with more than a dozen UFC events remaining in 2020, and cards changing constantly, he’ll likely find a landing spot somewhere in the relatively near future.