Ok so you may find that strange.. but i dont think its is.
I am a big fan of GSPs, have been ever since he made his UFC debut and have stuck with him throughout his losses as well as loving his dominant wins.
I guess what im saying is that im not a 'fairweather fan' like a lot of people tend to be. Nor will i now suddenly decide i want him to lose that he is going up against a brit.
I kinda felt a similar thing when Hardy took on Marcus Davis, however i am nowhere near as gay for Davis as i am for GSP.
iF HARDY WINS, THEN GREAT!! UK CHAMP!! but not only is it unlikely, i cant see myself celebrating one of my fave fighters being beaten.
I am sure others can relate to this, for example Brett Rogers is American but im guessing most Americans still wanted Fedor to win??...
REALLY gay for GSP
In all seriousness though, i may get some flack from the other UK dudes on here, but i feel my point stands.
Fave Fighter v Home Nation
pretty tough choice but im going with fave fighter.
I'm from the UK, never really understood the idea that nationality should determine who I want to win a fight. GSP is one of the best fighters in the world and a great champ, I would hate to see him lose in a freakish manner against someone he should beat 10 out of 10 times just so a Brit can win.
Maybe if everything is equal I would support the Brit but in most cases there is more than enough to seperate the two fighters that I know who I want to win before considering nationality.
I was exactly the same for Pacquiao v Hatton....and I live in Manchester. Luckily I watched the fight in Iceland or there may have been consequences!
Awesome.
Good to see i dont stand alone with this!!
Ive yet to root against Bisping though.
"Fave Fighter v Home Nation
pretty tough choice but im going with fave fighter. "
I don't think this is a tough choice at all. Of all the things that influence whether you support a fighter- their fighting style, attitude etc why would the place they happened to be born be such a big factor? It's an individual sport.
Should I seriously be expecting to support James Thompson vs Nogueira or Ian Freeman vs Fedor just because they happen to be from the same country I am?
I'm pretty unpatriotic when I think about it lol.
I remember wanting the great Lightweight Stevie Johnston to beat Billy Schwer years ago in a world title fight.
I wanted Roy Jones to beat Calzaghe and was cheering him on in Madison Square Garden.
I wanted whoever fought Neil Grove in the UFC to destroy him.
I dont pick on nationality at all.
billy914 - "Fave Fighter v Home Nationi am glad im not alone on this then. Its just until now ive not read anything from any of the UK contingent about this match up apart from that they want Hardy to win.
pretty tough choice but im going with fave fighter. "
I don't think this is a tough choice at all. Of all the things that influence whether you support a fighter- their fighting style, attitude etc why would the place they happened to be born be such a big factor? It's an individual sport.
Should I seriously be expecting to support James Thompson vs Nogueira or Ian Freeman vs Fedor just because they happen to be from the same country I am?
If im honest i would guess that a lot of UK MMA fans will just want anyone from the UK to win simply because there are not many UK fighters at the moment.
However i am a legit fan of Bisping, Nick O, Etim, Taylor, Daley, Pearson
Jury is still out on Hardy (as a fighter, he comes across great as a person) and Wilks (hit and miss)
Oh and i would Love Thompson to beat Nog!!!! haha
LoiseauElbow - I'm pretty unpatriotic when I think about it lol.Didnt really pay any attention to that Grove fight, undercard wasnt it? Dont even have a clue who beat him!!
I remember wanting the great Lightweight Stevie Johnston to beat Billy Schwer years ago in a world title fight.
I wanted Roy Jones to beat Calzaghe and was cheering him on in Madison Square Garden.
I wanted whoever fought Neil Grove in the UFC to destroy him.
I dont pick on nationality at all.
Someone heel hooked him. Grove is terrible and a bad advertisement for UK MMA.
billy914 - never really understood the idea that nationality should determine who I want to win a fight
Here fuggin here.
I don't get the whole "hometown hero" thing. So the guy is from the same place as you? Awesome...so what? I don't know about the rest of you, but there were plenty of douche bags where I came from. Lots of great people, but lots of people I couldn't give two shits about as well. I'm not gonna cheer someone just because they happened to have been born in a close proximity to where I live/lived.
Mike Ciesnolevicz subbed him and I agree, would never support Grove in the UFC.
The James -I guess maybe some people apply the 'team' mentallity to individual combat which doesnt directly translate.billy914 - never really understood the idea that nationality should determine who I want to win a fight
Here fuggin here.
I don't get the whole "hometown hero" thing. So the guy is from the same place as you? Awesome...so what? I don't know about the rest of you, but there were plenty of douche bags where I came from. Lots of great people, but lots of people I couldn't give two shits about as well. I'm not gonna cheer someone just because they happened to have been born in a close proximity to where I live/lived.
Example; England v Brazil in the world cup. You'd be pretty hard pressed to find an englishman supporting Brazil no matter how much they love going there! But when its about individuals (who are essentially repping for themselves more than their country) i think its fine to choose who you root for despite what country they are hailing from.
x Shogun The Great x - Ive been watching Hardy since he was havin 2 fights a night and KOing bitches so no you noob!
So you're a Hardy fan then, thats cool.
Question for you though - would you root for the UK each fight? or do you have a non UK fave fighter who you would support if put up against a UK fighter?
Heartbroken Lee - I can see where you're coming from Mammoth, and I wouldn't support ANY fighter just because they're from the UK. For example, I never like Naseem Hamed because I think he's a douche.Wand/Bisping - feel you there mate, i hated the idea of that match up as i love both fighters.
But at the same time I would never root against Bisping, Hardy, Daley, Taylor or Etim. Partly because they're from where I'm from, and partly because they don't get the respect they deserve, and that always makes you pull for a fighter more.
But yeah, some of my favourite fighters are from other countries. When Wand was set up to fight Bisping it was a bit sad because I knew one of my favourites would have to lose.
Naseem is clown shoes. Good fighter but highly unlikable.
I fully support all our UK lads in the UFC and they are doing great at the moment, and i didnt even give any of this subject a single thought until i realised after Hardy won that he would be facing GSP. And while Hardy is good and gets the job done, ive supported GSP for years now and i cant suddenly decide i want him to lose. Especially as i genuinely believe he is the p4p best fighter on the planet anyway (a fact i dont think many people will realise until its too late in his career).
It's ok guys. There is a reason the UK is less patriotic than other nations. You can't keep having your dreams broken over and over again, it's soul destroying.
Just kidding.
I agree with what you're saying, except when Elvis is fighting! Oi, oi, oi. <<Never said that before.
likatiga - It's ok guys. There is a reason the UK is less patriotic than other nations. You can't keep having your dreams broken over and over again, it's soul destroying.105 Called and demands a written apology!
Just kidding.
I agree with what you're saying, except when Elvis is fighting! Oi, oi, oi. <
ttt