UFC Fighter found Jesus through pain
As much as I love watching UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva perform (Silva is near-universally regarded as the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world at the moment), I’m going to be rooting for Vitor Belfort to upset the champ this weekend.
Why?
Vitor is my favorite type of fighter–extremely dominant, yet extremely humble and content to allow God to have the spotlight. Other notable fighters who share Vitor’s approach to faith and fighting, whom I also root for always, are Rich Franklin (whose last loss was actually against Vitor) and Fedor Emelianenko. If you aren’t a fan of MMA and think of it as barroom brawlers trying to prove who has the most testosterone, I would invite you to watch the fights and interviews of these three athletes in particular in order to see what makes MMA so great to so many of us…even those of us who love Jesus!
Blessings this weekend to both Vitor and Rich as they compete at UFC 126!
JM
ps: for a fuller discussion of the intersection between MMA and being a follower of Jesus (as well as how many overzealous MMA-loving Christians get it wrong!), please read my article “Ultimate Fighting…Jesus??“
Categories: Blog, Martial Arts