Is the UFC fake & is it acting like WWE wrestling?

Back when the UFC first aired in the early 90s, some viewers were confused as to whether the fighting was legitimately real, or whether it was fixed and acted like WWE wrestling. Since then, it’s been proven real and it’s fair to say when people are getting knocked out, with limbs broken and bloodied up in front of their wives, that it’s actually very far away from being fake or scripted. However, there are certain aspects of the UFC that have similarities with the WWE world. From self promotion to story lines and pushed agendas, it’s fair to say that whilst the UFC isn’t fake – it still has some questionable goings on. Read on for more information.

Chael Sonnen and the role of the ‘heel’

In professional wrestling, a heel is the term given to the bad guy. You could argue that Chael Sonnen perfected his craft in this area, and literally called himself ‘the bad guy’. Such was his level of trash talking, is that it made him notorious and whether you loved or hated him, people would tune in to watch Sonnen fight. In short, his energetic style of talking got people to watch the sport and helped it grow.

Since retirement, Sonnen has often alluded to his self promotional trash talk and whilst he is naturally charismatic, his personality isn’t always as aggressive in real life. Looking back at his post-fight talks, they sounded oddly familiar in comparison to the promos cut over in the WWE. Even with his natural charisma, the likelihood is that Sonnen’s iconic call outs were often scripted and per-rehearsed. This doesn’t make the UFC fake, but it does show trash talk in a different light. As people say, it’s all part of the business.

Is Colby Covington acting?

Taking a persona even further, you could argue that Colby Covington was just a modern day version of Chael Sonnen. Earlier on in his career, Covington’s presence outside of the octagon was very plain and he was relatively unknown. Even in the UFC whilst his fighting got results, he wasn’t known as a character. Then one day, he reinvented his personality outside of the cage. He suddenly endorsed Donald Trump, wore MAGA caps, and was very loud and outspoken.

Ironically playing up to this act, he even used Kurt Angle’s music when entering one fight which led to boos and chants of ‘You suck!’ from the crowd. These same chants were used when Angle would enter the ring in WWE to this theme…so you can also argue that there’s crossover between the two sets of fans as well.

As seen in the video though, it’s pretty apparent that Covington is acting. You could make the argument that he took this persona too far and offended people. Nonetheless, financially at least it proved a great turn for Covington whose new image gained him attention, which helped elevate his fame and fortune. Before hand, his fighting style was sometimes called boring due to his reliance on wrestling. Now people don’t care, and only talk about his personality. Watch the video for yourself though, and you may be pleasantly surprised to see him acting kindly.

When acting goes too far

A classic example of a ‘fake’ persona blending into reality is when Conor McGregor fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. In the years before this fight, the pair had tension and there was a lot of trash talk. McGregor insulted Khabib’s wife, religion and other areas of his life. He even attacked the bus that Khabib was on backstage and although it looked straight out of the WWE, it was all real.

Whilst in the cage, Khabib beat McGregor and shouted ‘Now we talk’ as he repeatedly punched the Irishman on the floor. After one round, McGregor said “It’s just business”. After the fight, Khabib won and even jumped off the cage to fight McGregor’s entourage, whilst members of Khabib’s own crew jumped into the octagon to attack McGregor.

Since the incident, both fighters have still insulted each other on social media and the rift remains. For anyone thinking this was some kind of promotional idea, the answer is no, it was all real.

Does the UFC push certain fighters?

The answer to this question is a resounding yes. However, there is some logic behind this and it doesn’t mean the UFC is scripted either. For example, some argue that the likes of Conor McGregor were given an unfair media push and got given priorities over certain other fighters. In short, there’s an argument that fighters are fed easy fights earlier on in their UFC career to pad their stats. Similarly, some aren’t happy when a fighter or champion can get an instant fight in another weight category without earning the shot with other fights in that weight before hand.

A classic example of this was when Brock Lesnar switched from the WWE to the UFC. Brock Lesnar’s UFC record was 2-1 before he was given a shot at the Heavyweight Championship. Most fighters need to win at least 5 fights in a row or so before they’re given such a prestigious chance at glory. Whilst Lesnar did win the title and legitimately defended it twice in a row, this move was arguably disrespectful for other fights that had been in the promotion working away for years.

There’s also the case that you can win in heavier fights with less skill due to the chance of hitting a knockout due to your size. This is what some people claimed with Lesnar who was clearly a successful fighter yet got a quick route to winning his belt. This all happened in the same year, whereas Khabib Nurmagomedov won 10 fights before getting his shot at the belt, and this took six years, whereas Lesnar got his title fight within the same year as joining the UFC.

Is the UFC staged?

As stated in the introduction, the UFC is certainly not staged and is completely real. If ever you’ve had an MMA fight, then you’ll understand how tiring it is and how difficult it can be – both mentally and physically. These people are literally putting their lives in danger and risk catastrophic injuries when fighting.

Therefore, it’s rare to see people claim that the UFC is fake these days. Instead, you will often hear armchair fans make uneducated criticisms which is equally infuriating. For example, you may hear fans saying ‘stand up!’ when a fighter is taken down, or ‘that wouldn’t work on me’. This isn’t as bad as claiming the UFC is fake, but it’s still disrespectful to the fighters and it always looks easier whilst watching from the safety of your living room or bar.

Logically, it wouldn’t be possible to script the UFC in this day and age either. Unlike professional wrestling, the UFC was around when the internet was – which meant if it was hiding secrets, then it would be incredibly difficult to keep them under wraps.

Conclusion

Overall, it’s fair to say that for the most part – the UFC is a legitimate promotion and isn’t heavily scripted either. Having said this, there’s certainly a level of trash talk that helps fighters promote their image and this philosophy lends towards scripted lines. This doesn’t mean that the fights aren’t real, and merely shows that humans love drama and controversy.

Similarly, it’s also fair to say that certain fighters get more privileges compared to others due to promotional purposes. Ultimately though, if you’re not good enough and can’t fight very well – then you will not get far in the UFC which proves it’s all too real. With this in mind, it’s fair to say that the fights are definitely real, but sometimes the talking outside of the fights is done to improve the promotional side of the organization.