If you’re not familiar with the story of Noah’s Arc, there was once an apocalyptic tidal wave that came and destroyed pretty much everything. God gave some dude named Noah a heads-up that it was coming. He then built a huge floating structure approximately twice the size of the titanic (single-handedly) and gathered a gang of animals and vegetation into the ‘arc’ in an attempt to save them from certain extinction. Somehow he succeeded, and because of him, life as we know it exists today. If you consider Noah to be a prophet/savior, then you’ll probably agree Wallid Ismail is an equally iconic figure in the world of MMA and deserves one of those never-ending flames beside a shrine of biblical proportions to honor his life’s achievements.
Wallid Ismail was told that there would be a chance of rain in Vila Velha, Brazil on the same night he was promoting a nationally televised outdoor MMA event late last month. Rain is the primary reason that fight promoters tend to book indoor events, but none of that matters to Wallid. Rather than canceling “Jungle Fights 17” and leaving fighters without paychecks & fans without MMA, Wallid decided to let the show go on. A friggin monsoon hit the venue, but it couldn’t slow down what turned out to be an epic night of fights. Nearly 2,000 people were admitted free, and they didn’t leave until the final punch was thrown.
Here’s what Wallid had to say after the fight.
“As we promised, we made history,” Ismail said after the event. “It was the first MMA event on the beach, fought in the rain and broadcast live to all of the country.”
Ismail also said he will promote one Jungle Fight event per month this year, with the March edition taking place in São Paulo.
With that, Wallid Ismail just made Noah’s arc look like a minuscule tugboat transporting some Chihuahuas from the groomer to the Wesminister dog-show. Dude single-handedly saved the day for thousands of people like some hybrid of Poseidon, Aeolus, and Mother Theresa. If you haven’t yet built a shrine to Wallid Ismail, you should. While you’re at it, build 9 more shrines and when I come over to watch Monday Night Football, I’ll join your cult. [Source]
