Andrei Arlovski proved this weekend that even if your jaw lives in a glass house, you can still throw stones. In his performance of the night, he crumpled the most top-heavy opponent in combat sports, then shook his arms like King Leonidas at a Spartan disco.
But as he climbed the Octagon railing to celebrate his victory over the hometown gladiator, at least one fan in the Brazilian venue was not impressed. “Boo,” the guy presumably said.
“You boo?” answered Andrei. “F*ck you too!”
Yes, booing is a universal expression. No R’s that sounds like H’s. No accented flourishes. Just a tonal provocation designed to cut through the noise of an otherwise gratefully entertained crowd. After fans booed flyweights Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152, Dana White defied normal business logic and told the complainers to go home and never come back.
“Don’t ever buy another one,” White said. “I don’t want your money. You’re a moron. You don’t like fighting. You don’t appreciate great talent, or heart, if you didn’t like that flyweight fight.”
But heavyweight Arlovski doesn’t need the UFC President to do any mediating. Because he will interrupt his most exciting UFC performance in six years to single you out personally and label your booing what it is: an undeserved f*ck you to an exciting fighter.
