Fighting and religion have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Ancient Gods have inspired men to fight and kill each other for as long as civilisation has existed.
Pankration, an Ancient Greek precursor to MMA that mixes wrestling and boxing, is shrouded in the mythology of the time. The origins of the sport go back to stories of Hercules and Theseus, who used the techniques to defeat the Minotaur. As historian Kostas Dervenis writes;
“It is no coincidence that the Parthenon's walls were decorated with scenes of the martial arts; indeed, it is fairly clear that the martial arts went hand in hand with religion and spirituality in ancient Greece, much as they did in medieval Japan and China.[1]”
This curious relationship extends from antiquity to modernity, with many contemporary fighters professing religious belief.
In boxing, a young fighter called Cassius Clay began an affiliation with Islam in the latter half of the 20th century and changed his name to Muhammed Ali. During the nineties, the man widely considered to be the other greatest heavyweight boxer of the modern era, Mike Tyson, converted to Islam during his imprisonment for rape.
Is it just coincidence that the fighters considered the greatest share a belief in a higher power?
In MMA, some of the best fighters to have ever graced the sport have professed how important their belief in the Christian god is to them.
Elite level fighters such as Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman and Jon Jones have all spoken about the importance of their religious beliefs.
Whilst this phenomenon should be no surprise in a sport where the majority of fighters come from countries with high levels of religious belief such as Brazil and the USA, we cannot ignore the fact that again it seems to be especially profound in those considered to be the greatest.
In particular the two men generally considered to be the greatest mixed martial artists of all time: Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.
Despite their wildly contrasting personas, both men have competed believing they are operating under divine guidance.
Fedor Emelianenko is thought by many to be the greatest heavyweight, if not also one of the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artists of all time, retiring in 2012 with a 35-4-1 record. In a sea of trash talking testosterone he often appeared the epitomy of calmness, humility and stoicism.
Rewatching his fights, he often looks bored and sometimes half asleep. He always avoids talking trash about his opponents and would routinely refuse to meet their eyes during the pre fight stare down, meekly looking at their chest instead.
When the fight began however, he would (particularly later in his career) on occasion rush forward in an aggressive manner, throwing wild strikes. Other times he would coolly plod forward until the opportunity for a strike or submission presented itself.
The ‘Last Emperor’ went on to be undefeated for a decade, stopping many of his opponents in a fashion that exuded an inhuman belief in himself and his abilities.
What was the source of such confidence? Perhaps the answer has to do with the fact that sometime in 2009, Fedor found God;
“It all happened in Nizhniy Novgorod. I was invited to a competition there as well as a trip to some holy sites. After visiting there, something inside me changed. I didn’t just understand, but I actually felt that God exists. A lot of questions that troubled me then were answered. Everything fell into place.[2]”
Not long after this, Fedor suffered his first real defeat (he had previously ‘lost’ one fight due to a doctor stoppage) to Fabrício Werdum in 2010. During the post fight interview he shrugged his shoulders and philosophically claimed through his interpreter that “The one who doesn’t fall, doesn’t stand up.[3]”
Fedor’s conversion to the Russian Orthodox faith clearly had a profound effect on his life and his approach to MMA. He surrounded himself with Rasputin lookalike Russian Orthodox priests as part of his entourage, wore a cross necklace during training and began talking of God’s will in interviews. Clearly this had an effect on his approach to fighting;
“Later, I met Father Andrei in the church where I pray. I started coming to confession with him and we often talked about various things. And then I asked him to become my spiritual advisor and he agreed. Since then he blesses me before every fight.[4]”
Is it merely coincidence that a great like Fedor has embraced religious certainties?
Perhaps, but then we cannot ignore the fact that man widely considered to be the other greatest ever fighter in MMA is Anderson Silva.
Silva’s style is much more of a showman, often dropping his hands in front of his opponents and inviting them to hit him, only to effortlessly dodge out of the way and return with devastating counter strikes. This other worldly confidence in his abilities led him to a record 16 wins in the UFC until he was knocked out, and then badly injured in a pair of matches with Chris Weidman last year.
What is the source of this? He has spoken very candidly of the importance of his Catholic faith, claiming “I think God gave me the talent and opportunity, and has placed the right people in my path so I could get where I am.[5]”
Prior to his recent defeat, Silva’s biggest test in the octagon arguably came at the hands of wrestler Chael Sonnen who took Silva down and pounded on him relentlessly for the first 4 rounds. Spotting an opportunity to prevent the fight from going to the scorecards where he was clearly losing, Silva fastened a triangle choke on Sonnen and ended the fight with minutes to go in the last round. He later spoke about the importance of his faith;
“What people sometimes forget is that God is above it all. I didn’t stop thinking of him for a moment, and he didn’t let me down. Of course, we have to train and all, but it’s really important to have faith. I remember having looked up between rounds and asked him to guide my movements and he enlightened me… Anyone who watched the fight could see all was lost and there were just two minutes to go. I felt a very strong presence from God there and that was important.”
We have every reason to think that the deities that inspire these men to greatness are as fictional as those that inspired the Ancient Greeks. Should we be surprised that the men and women who participate in this sport may be guided towards a belief in divine guidance?
MMA is not the only form of combat that inspires religious devotion. Centuries of war fighting have littered our lexicon with a number of phrases reassuring us of divine supervision and the importance of religious belief in times of battle.
For example, “If he be for us, who be against us?” and the claim that there are “no atheists in foxholes”.
Faith is irrational, but then what is fighting? Is it rational to strip down to your shorts and beat the living hell out of each other in front of thousands of people?
The life of a fighter contains incredible amounts of stress and determination. 99% of us will never know what months of toiling away in a training camp, pushing yourself to the limits of exhaustion that will only end when you step into a crowded arena to put everything on the line. Whilst a camp will have a team of people, in the end everything rests on the shoulders of the fighter, who could be knocked out and humiliated by one lucky punch in a second.
Yet another pound-for-pound legend, George Saint Pierre who has never spoken of religious belief (though his does routinely cross himself as he walks into the octagon) has recently given up his welterweight UFC belt, claiming the stress of fighting has become too much and that he needs a break. Claiming; “Nobody can understand the situation that I am in. It's all this pressure, all this weight I carry on my shoulders has been building up over a long time.[6]”
He went on to say that;
"People are like, ‘You only fight maybe ever four months.' But what they don't understand is there's so much promotion going with it. It's the press tour, the Primetime, the cameras, the this, the trash talking, the build-up. Everywhere I go -- in restaurants, as soon as I step out of my house now in Quebec because the sport now is popular -- everybody says, ‘Hey, good luck with fight. Hey, the fight this. Hey, the fight that. Hey, what are you going to do to that guy?' They talk about me, about this, all the time, and it's completely insane. It's everybody day of my life. So nobody can understand this pressure.[7]"
This is not to insinuate that GSP’s issues result merely from a lack of religious belief, I use these quotes merely to illustrate the huge pressure high level fighters experience, and how this must play on their conscience.
In contrast the sincere religious believer is perhaps able to shield his or herself from these pressures. Why is this?
Sigmund Freud believed that religions “are all illusions, they do not admit of proof, and no one can be compelled to consider them as true or to believe in them.”
However, he also understood the fact that people drew immense power from their belief. He wrote that this was because “it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."
“The true believer is in a high degree protected against the danger of certain neurotic afflictions, by accepting the universal neurosis he is spared the task of forming a personal neurosis.”
Perhaps it is the adoption of this “universal neurosis” that shields the Fedor's and the Silva's from the nagging insecurities that would plague the rest of us if we were to step into the ring or octagon.
Pankration, an Ancient Greek precursor to MMA that mixes wrestling and boxing, is shrouded in the mythology of the time. The origins of the sport go back to stories of Hercules and Theseus, who used the techniques to defeat the Minotaur. As historian Kostas Dervenis writes;
“It is no coincidence that the Parthenon's walls were decorated with scenes of the martial arts; indeed, it is fairly clear that the martial arts went hand in hand with religion and spirituality in ancient Greece, much as they did in medieval Japan and China.[1]”
This curious relationship extends from antiquity to modernity, with many contemporary fighters professing religious belief.
In boxing, a young fighter called Cassius Clay began an affiliation with Islam in the latter half of the 20th century and changed his name to Muhammed Ali. During the nineties, the man widely considered to be the other greatest heavyweight boxer of the modern era, Mike Tyson, converted to Islam during his imprisonment for rape.
Is it just coincidence that the fighters considered the greatest share a belief in a higher power?
In MMA, some of the best fighters to have ever graced the sport have professed how important their belief in the Christian god is to them.
Elite level fighters such as Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman and Jon Jones have all spoken about the importance of their religious beliefs.
Whilst this phenomenon should be no surprise in a sport where the majority of fighters come from countries with high levels of religious belief such as Brazil and the USA, we cannot ignore the fact that again it seems to be especially profound in those considered to be the greatest.
In particular the two men generally considered to be the greatest mixed martial artists of all time: Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.
Despite their wildly contrasting personas, both men have competed believing they are operating under divine guidance.
Fedor Emelianenko is thought by many to be the greatest heavyweight, if not also one of the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artists of all time, retiring in 2012 with a 35-4-1 record. In a sea of trash talking testosterone he often appeared the epitomy of calmness, humility and stoicism.
Rewatching his fights, he often looks bored and sometimes half asleep. He always avoids talking trash about his opponents and would routinely refuse to meet their eyes during the pre fight stare down, meekly looking at their chest instead.
When the fight began however, he would (particularly later in his career) on occasion rush forward in an aggressive manner, throwing wild strikes. Other times he would coolly plod forward until the opportunity for a strike or submission presented itself.
The ‘Last Emperor’ went on to be undefeated for a decade, stopping many of his opponents in a fashion that exuded an inhuman belief in himself and his abilities.
What was the source of such confidence? Perhaps the answer has to do with the fact that sometime in 2009, Fedor found God;
“It all happened in Nizhniy Novgorod. I was invited to a competition there as well as a trip to some holy sites. After visiting there, something inside me changed. I didn’t just understand, but I actually felt that God exists. A lot of questions that troubled me then were answered. Everything fell into place.[2]”
Not long after this, Fedor suffered his first real defeat (he had previously ‘lost’ one fight due to a doctor stoppage) to Fabrício Werdum in 2010. During the post fight interview he shrugged his shoulders and philosophically claimed through his interpreter that “The one who doesn’t fall, doesn’t stand up.[3]”
Fedor’s conversion to the Russian Orthodox faith clearly had a profound effect on his life and his approach to MMA. He surrounded himself with Rasputin lookalike Russian Orthodox priests as part of his entourage, wore a cross necklace during training and began talking of God’s will in interviews. Clearly this had an effect on his approach to fighting;
“Later, I met Father Andrei in the church where I pray. I started coming to confession with him and we often talked about various things. And then I asked him to become my spiritual advisor and he agreed. Since then he blesses me before every fight.[4]”
Is it merely coincidence that a great like Fedor has embraced religious certainties?
Perhaps, but then we cannot ignore the fact that man widely considered to be the other greatest ever fighter in MMA is Anderson Silva.
Silva’s style is much more of a showman, often dropping his hands in front of his opponents and inviting them to hit him, only to effortlessly dodge out of the way and return with devastating counter strikes. This other worldly confidence in his abilities led him to a record 16 wins in the UFC until he was knocked out, and then badly injured in a pair of matches with Chris Weidman last year.
What is the source of this? He has spoken very candidly of the importance of his Catholic faith, claiming “I think God gave me the talent and opportunity, and has placed the right people in my path so I could get where I am.[5]”
Prior to his recent defeat, Silva’s biggest test in the octagon arguably came at the hands of wrestler Chael Sonnen who took Silva down and pounded on him relentlessly for the first 4 rounds. Spotting an opportunity to prevent the fight from going to the scorecards where he was clearly losing, Silva fastened a triangle choke on Sonnen and ended the fight with minutes to go in the last round. He later spoke about the importance of his faith;
“What people sometimes forget is that God is above it all. I didn’t stop thinking of him for a moment, and he didn’t let me down. Of course, we have to train and all, but it’s really important to have faith. I remember having looked up between rounds and asked him to guide my movements and he enlightened me… Anyone who watched the fight could see all was lost and there were just two minutes to go. I felt a very strong presence from God there and that was important.”
We have every reason to think that the deities that inspire these men to greatness are as fictional as those that inspired the Ancient Greeks. Should we be surprised that the men and women who participate in this sport may be guided towards a belief in divine guidance?
MMA is not the only form of combat that inspires religious devotion. Centuries of war fighting have littered our lexicon with a number of phrases reassuring us of divine supervision and the importance of religious belief in times of battle.
For example, “If he be for us, who be against us?” and the claim that there are “no atheists in foxholes”.
Faith is irrational, but then what is fighting? Is it rational to strip down to your shorts and beat the living hell out of each other in front of thousands of people?
The life of a fighter contains incredible amounts of stress and determination. 99% of us will never know what months of toiling away in a training camp, pushing yourself to the limits of exhaustion that will only end when you step into a crowded arena to put everything on the line. Whilst a camp will have a team of people, in the end everything rests on the shoulders of the fighter, who could be knocked out and humiliated by one lucky punch in a second.
Yet another pound-for-pound legend, George Saint Pierre who has never spoken of religious belief (though his does routinely cross himself as he walks into the octagon) has recently given up his welterweight UFC belt, claiming the stress of fighting has become too much and that he needs a break. Claiming; “Nobody can understand the situation that I am in. It's all this pressure, all this weight I carry on my shoulders has been building up over a long time.[6]”
He went on to say that;
"People are like, ‘You only fight maybe ever four months.' But what they don't understand is there's so much promotion going with it. It's the press tour, the Primetime, the cameras, the this, the trash talking, the build-up. Everywhere I go -- in restaurants, as soon as I step out of my house now in Quebec because the sport now is popular -- everybody says, ‘Hey, good luck with fight. Hey, the fight this. Hey, the fight that. Hey, what are you going to do to that guy?' They talk about me, about this, all the time, and it's completely insane. It's everybody day of my life. So nobody can understand this pressure.[7]"
This is not to insinuate that GSP’s issues result merely from a lack of religious belief, I use these quotes merely to illustrate the huge pressure high level fighters experience, and how this must play on their conscience.
In contrast the sincere religious believer is perhaps able to shield his or herself from these pressures. Why is this?
Sigmund Freud believed that religions “are all illusions, they do not admit of proof, and no one can be compelled to consider them as true or to believe in them.”
However, he also understood the fact that people drew immense power from their belief. He wrote that this was because “it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."
“The true believer is in a high degree protected against the danger of certain neurotic afflictions, by accepting the universal neurosis he is spared the task of forming a personal neurosis.”
Perhaps it is the adoption of this “universal neurosis” that shields the Fedor's and the Silva's from the nagging insecurities that would plague the rest of us if we were to step into the ring or octagon.
If we perform badly, it is somehow part of God's plan. We needn't be nervous, everything has already been decided.
Silva's opponent, the one-man publicity machine Chael Sonnen is also a Catholic, though his take on religion and fighting is somewhat different;
"If I ever found out that God cared one way or another about a borderline illegal fist-fight on Saturday night, I would be so greatly disappointed that it would make rethink my entire belief system."
Though he may have been being flippant, perhaps for some people this is the difference between being good, and being great.
[1] http://www.pammachon.gr/index.php/en/articles/item/23-a-functional-analysis-of-ancient-greek-pankration-inside-kung-fu-04-1996
[2] http://www.fightline.com/fl-news-2009-1123-fedor-emelianenko/
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL-bxN7SGIM
[4] http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/9894-fedor-on-getting-religion,-a-dislocated-thumb-and-fame
[5] http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/9894-fedor-on-getting-religion,-a-dislocated-thumb-and-fame
[6] http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/12/13/5207662/georges-st-pierre-announces-indefinite-leave-of-absence-vacates-ufc
[7] http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/12/13/5207662/georges-st-pierre-announces-indefinite-leave-of-absence-vacates-ufc
[8]
"If I ever found out that God cared one way or another about a borderline illegal fist-fight on Saturday night, I would be so greatly disappointed that it would make rethink my entire belief system."
Though he may have been being flippant, perhaps for some people this is the difference between being good, and being great.
[1] http://www.pammachon.gr/index.php/en/articles/item/23-a-functional-analysis-of-ancient-greek-pankration-inside-kung-fu-04-1996
[2] http://www.fightline.com/fl-news-2009-1123-fedor-emelianenko/
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL-bxN7SGIM
[4] http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/9894-fedor-on-getting-religion,-a-dislocated-thumb-and-fame
[5] http://www.fightersonlymag.com/content/news/9894-fedor-on-getting-religion,-a-dislocated-thumb-and-fame
[6] http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/12/13/5207662/georges-st-pierre-announces-indefinite-leave-of-absence-vacates-ufc
[7] http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/12/13/5207662/georges-st-pierre-announces-indefinite-leave-of-absence-vacates-ufc
[8]