Has that endless stream of watered down events got you down? Have you lost touch with the romantic feelings you used to have when you discovered MMA in the nineties? Then clear your head, slow those racing thoughts of perpetual combat down, and watch this all-access video of the December 6th BAMMA 17 event in Manchester, UK.
Remember this, weary watcher of a mainstream sport: every event is a potential source for combative beauty if you look at it from the right perspective. I don’t know if Marc Diakiase and Vernon O’Neil thrilled the crowd with a technical masterpiece. “Everyone looks good against a punch bag,” an observer says. But the show looks really good through the right lens, and that’s all that really matters at this moment.