Why Can't We Be Friends: Is Friendship More Important Than Competition in UFC?

Earlier this week UFC Welterweight Jon Fitch publicly stated if Welterweight contender and fellow American Top Team teammate Josh Koscheck is to defeat UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St.Pierre, he will move up to fight in the Middleweight division indefinitely.

This isn’t anything new or surprising, because we have learned in the past that fighters who train together and fight in the same division will refuse to fight one another.

Another example is between Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.

The two Black House teammates and close friends have made it clear that neither of them intend of fighting each other.

“Lyoto is my friend, he is my brother, and there is no way this fight will happen,” Silva declared.

It is understandable that two friends can’t bare the thought of beating one another into oblivion, but at the same time, how does one fighter have a successful career when they are avoiding competition?

A fighter’s objective is to fight and compete against the best fighters and to win.

If a fighter has a problem with fighting a friend or training partner, perhaps competition isn't their main priority.

Although the sport of combat looks intense and wild, it doesn’t mean the fighters are. 

In a fight, the main idea is inflict more damage on your opponent than than they do to you, and by doing so, you take away their strength and go after their weaknesses.

It is not necessary to go in and beat your opponent till they can’t stand anymore; they do have respect and concern for one another. 

However it is getting ridiculous to the point where fighters will move to another weight class in hopes of finding success elsewhere.

It is fine to pursue other interests, but avoiding a fight with certain fighters can affect your marketability with fans and even worse, your job.

The point of competition is to see who is the better fighter and the point of friendship is to show support and hanging around people that you enjoy being with.

Sooner or later fighters need to draw the line on which one is more beneficial to them.