Christmas is the greatest celebration of love and friendship each year. Does it makes sense to talk about love and friendship on a fighting forum?
Best selling MMA author Sam Sheridan explains, based on research from 1973 Nobel Laureate Conrad Lorenz.
"Those that fight each other harder do better... two furiously aggressive animals must bond and live together in a small space, all without weakening intra-species aggression. They have evolved inhibitors, behavior-changing devices, that turns the aggression they normally feel toward others of their species into something else when they mate. The same thing, although in a more complex way takes place among men and women of the same tribe of family, bound together for increased success against the outside world... friendship is found only in animals with highly developed intra-species aggression, and the more aggressive the animal, the deeper the friendship. The ability to love and form bonds has evolved as a way to temper aggression, to turn it into something more powerful when defending hearth and home. Friendship and love are essentially evolutionary by-products of aggression. Men and women who form these deep bonds - who evolved ways to mitigate interspecies aggression - have great success in passing along their genes.
"That's the secret, it's all about love."
In short, beings develop bonds within their species to balance aggression. No aggression, no love.
Today I want to send love to the fight world.
Merry Christmas to all, from those of us in the comfortable Western world, to shootfighter Eddie Gombye in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , who has so many countrymen about who it can be lamented "Do they know its Christmas time at all?"
Merry Christmas UG, from the foobiest newbs to the Oeeiest Gees.
And a Bah freakin Humbug to all the injuries plaguing our sport in 2012.
Merry Christmas Ronda Rousey - you are the star on the MMA tree this year, and just getting started.
Bah Humbug to the UFC 151 cancellation.
Merry Christmas Flyweights, Uncle Creepy especially.
A simultaneous Merry Christmas and a Bah Humbug to Hollywood. It is cool you gave Gina Carano a great job and all, but it would be really neat if we could have her back for a fight.
Merry Christmas Fox, FX, and Fuel - thanks for all the free tv.
Merry Christmas and welcome back GSP.
Merry Christmas Junior dos Santos. You seem wicked friendly, I appreciate that all the more today.
Above all, from those of us so far from danger, to my countrymen and women who served or are serving in theaters of combat so far from home, Merry Christmas.
What do you have to be merry for this Christmas? If there is a lot, share the joy. I want to know.
If this year you have not so much to be merry for, let me know too. MMA is real, and so is sadness and loss - they are one side of this life's coin, and I'd like to hear that, too.
