Pardon the Excitement: Why I Love Weird Matchups

I may have been the only person who watched the Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale with the hope that Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister would be pulled up to the main card, just as I may be the only person who thinks that Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk is the most interesting fight currently on the UFC 97 card (sorry David Loiseau), or that Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Denis Kang could be fight of the night.

There are fights that I care about that no one seems to notice. I’m not sure whether I see something different in these fight than most people, or if I just hallucinate to see something worthwhile in the matchup.

Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk excites me because it has the potential to be K-1 in the UFC. While two grapplers sometimes choose to stand, rarely do two strikers decide to turn a fight into a grappling match, and I’m more worried about getting hit by lightening than one of these guys turning this into a submission contest. Hardonk has infamously poor ground skills and Kongo’s aren’t worth speaking of, which makes them S.O.L. against most of the guys in the heavyweight division, but against each other, they have a genuine opportunity to showcase their skills.

Hardonk has the leg kicks from hell and Kongo has a clinch that throws off most of his opponents (at least, those he doesn’t knee in the crotch protector). There’s something about Dutch kickboxing that I find exciting, just like there’s something about watching Thai fighters (and by that I mean guys from Thailand, not just guys who do muay thai). Perhaps Hardonk is the genuine article, perhaps not, but there’s something about his game that drives my curiosity and, while certainly not on the same level as the great Dutch kings Aerts and Hoost, seems like the closest thing I’ve seen in the UFC in a while.

Now, the inevitable question, since I brought up the second matchup at UFC 97, which seems to have a good deal to offer to the unconventional fan. Why do I care about Denis Kang smashing a guy like Xavier Foupa-Pokam? After all, everyone seems certain that’s going to happen, and for good reason. Professor X’s 20-9 record is not that impressive, but since the start of 2008 the good Doctor has gone 7-0 without the help of the judges. Xavier has been around the European underground scene for a long time and he’s never beaten a substantial fighter. There’s no reason to believe that there will be a change now.

Still, Xavier has the potential to turn the fight into something interesting. If he doesn’t show up at the top of his game, he’ll get killed. There’s a possibility that even if he does look his best, he’ll still get killed. Then we get to see the revitalization of Denis Kang, but if Xavier shows up and makes it a war, then we’re in for a treat that may not end up on the main card, and since this is the UFC and he knows how important it is, I expect him to.

Maybe I an MMA-schizophrenic, finding importance or potential in matches that just doesn’t exist, but it’s worth acknowledging that, while my taste is weird, it helps find meaning in the undercard, and build some respect for guys most people have never heard of, and probably never will.