Greatest Comebacks In Sports
For the first time in Super Bowl history, a game went into overtime. The New England Patriots erased a 25-point deficit and went on to win. The 28-3 lead was held by the Atlanta Falcons until the third round. It is one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.
Twitter blew up.
Before the 2016 NBA finals, coming back from a 3-1 deficit was not only unheard of, it was impossible. So when the Cleveland Cavaliers fell 3-1 to the hugely talented Golden State Warriors, the general consensus was-- the Warriors are simply too ‘well-coached and filled with talent’ to be beaten. They had the Splash brothers, they had Coach Kerr. The Lebron-led CAVS had done their best.
By Erik Drost
Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 NBA Finals Champions
What followed next remains an indelible stream of horror show for any warrior fan and the ultimate euphoric drug for a CAVS fan.
The CAVS went on to erase the deficit and take their rings.
By UFC 117, the great Anderson Da Silva was widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.
With good reason.
He had six successful title defenses and was an overwhelming crowd favorite. In fact, he was the ‘face’ of Mixed Martial Arts by that time. Then came a notable challenger with promise, Chael Sonnen.
He didn’t come to play. He delivered.
For four straight rounds, he pummeled Da Silva until the challenger looked like the champion. The title was seemingly out of Da Silva’s grasp. Perhaps, his corner was considering pulling their man out to fight another day.
With two minutes to go, Da Silva somehow- from the bottom, both literally and figuratively, got Sonnen in a fatal grip and held on to snatch victory.
sighs
Comebacks are the greatest.
But what inspires comebacks?
It is impossible to rule out the role mental strength play in a sport. When Dani Alves accused Arsenal FC of lacking the mentality needed to succeed, he sounded unfair. But there’s no doubt something higher than ‘being in form’, top-notch physical fitness and quality players pushes the ‘comeback spirit.’
That is for the sports psychologists.
Mixed Martial Arts is a Sport
Mixed Martial Arts is a contact sport. A full-body contact sport. It is the street fighting of old with a professional touch. A mixture of martial arts and combat, the MMA ball rolled slowly but steadily until it became popular.
With this popularity, however, came fears. The ‘no holds barred’ nature of the contests where dangerous. Added to this, without a regulatory body, competitors took liberties and the sport became even more dangerous.
In 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport.
Then came the promoters.
Promoters like UFC and Bellator gives the sport credibility. Weight classes, use of gloves, time limits on fights, drug use eradication and increased prize money raised MMA to a level that now rivals boxing and wrestling.
A Winner Must Emerge
There are three ways a fighter is declared winner. By:
- Knockout
- Submission
- Decision
Knockout is literal because the opponent is unable to continue. So the fight will be stopped to prevent further unnecessary injury to the fighter.
A referee, a ring doctor or the fighter’s corner might put an end to a fight for the safety of the fighter.
In a submission, the fighter gives up and decides to stop fighting by tapping on the opponent's body or verbally admitting defeat.
In a decision, when they are no clear winners, the outcome of the fight falls to three judges.
There are many reasons why a fight is concluded and a winner declared but they fall under any of these three.
Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington Are Friends
Amanda Nunes (16-4 MMA, 9-1 UFC)
Raquel Pennington (9-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC)
A look at Raquel Pennington’s face after going five rounds with her friend, UFC champion, Amanda Nunes gives a different take on the word ‘friends.’
This is in no way a criticism of Nunes because no one forced Pennington into the ring and MMA is a sport.
Before the UFC 224 challenge in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, Raquel ‘Rocky’ Pennington was coming off a twenty-month-old layoff. Around October 2017, she was involved in an accident that nearly cost her her career. In many ways, she was ‘lucky’ to be up against the champion.
Her most notable past victories include the ones against Meisha Tate and Holly Holm, both great fighters in their own right.
As for Amanda Nunes, she is the Bantamweight champion and the longest serving after Ronda Rousey. She is still out to prove a point.
By the fourth round of Pennington’s title challenge against Nunes, she was done.
Bloodied, beaten and brutalized, she could be clearly heard telling her corner, "I'm done!"
but they pushed her. She has to be strong, she was ‘Rocky’, she could still hurt Nunes. The fight wasn’t over.
Really, it wasn’t. There was still the fifth round left to fight. They insisted and she went on till the fifth round where the brutality continued. She absorbed a further nineteen strikes and a busted nose before the referee stoppage.
What were her corner trying to achieve?
Her friend and champion, Nunes was vocal in her criticism of Pennington’s corner. They shouldn’t have sent her out for further beating.
Was she right?
The Pennington corner’s decision to continue the fight even after she pleaded to be let off has led to controversy. Should she change her ‘corner’, surround herself with better persons like Nunes suggested, or were they right in giving her the opportunity of a ‘dignity in defeat; like former fighter, Meisha Tate said?
Following the fight, her girlfriend Tecia Torres and even Raquel ‘Rocky’ Pennington herself has come forward to defend her corner.
Perhaps, the controversy is a moot point after all.
It is part of a Coach’s job to encourage, train and teach an athlete. So we could say her corner were just doing their job.
But how much is enough?
Is it possible to tell when a comeback is impossible? Yes. MMA is a full body contact sport. It is not football or basketball or other sports of this ilk where only a ‘loss’ is at stake. In MMA, the fighter’s life and future are in danger when the competition crosses a limit.
Then it is the job of the coach to monitor his ‘charge’ closely and pull him or her out if necessary. The stories of former sportsmen, especially boxers who live their later years ‘suffering’ from the side effects of their profession isn’t stories.
They are real.
It would have been the greatest irony if Pennington’s freak out of the ring accident that caused her layoff didn’t terminate her career but her title challenge had.
The ‘UFC world’ remain divided on this issue. Personally, I think her corner ‘failed’ Pennington like Nunes put it.
What do you think?
References
Coach Tells Hurt UFC Fighter To Continue After She Says, ‘I’m Done’
Was a beat-up Raquel Pennington done wrong by her corner?
Miesha Tate: Corner for Raquel Pennington let ‘Rocky’ lose with dignity at UFC 224
Tecia Torres says she and Raquel Pennington agree with corner’s decision to let her fight
The 8 biggest takeaways from UFC 224, including Raquel Pennington's one last round
13 Best Comebacks In Sport's History
The 10 greatest comebacks in UFC history
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MMA