The Precious Blood & Combat Sports

I watched the UFC Freedom 250 event televised from the White House on June 14. I enjoyed the pageantry! 

There was no shortage of blood in the title fight between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria!

Many may ask, “Why would anyone want to watch two people beat each other up?”

Maybe because it’s fair?

They’re in the same weight class. They’re both professionals. They both want to be there. They’re both handsomely paid. The fights are refereed.

There are no weapons. Nobody was conscripted or drafted. And nobody dies.

There. Are. No. Victims.

I am reminded of the song, “From A Distance,” written by Julie Gold and sang by many different artists, including Bette Midler. One of the lines is, “And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease.”

Guns, bombs, disease...The tragic trio of reliable headline-makers...You don’t see those in prize fights!

Why is other primetime “entertainment,” e.g. news, history documentaries, true crime shows, etc, somehow more palatable than combat sports? Many people have an aversion toward combat sports, but eagerly consume the aformentioned kinds of programming. 

Those programs imply bloodshed that makes title fights look squeaky clean.

Oh distance! The sanitizing effect of distance.

If we can find ourselves so jolted, so unsettled, so made-queasy, by the gore of professional combat sports, than how much more would we be disturbed by the carnage we do not see closely and clearly: the bloodshed outside our homes, outside our communities, outside our borders?

July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

“We are truly devoted to the most precious blood of your Son when we value the life of each person and consider their blood precious…” — Father Al Naseman, C.PP.S., Litany of the Blood of Jesus

In even ordinary drops of blood, Our Crucified Lord points us toward Himself.