So You Want to Be an Ultimate Fighter… in the Era of Social Media?

Long gone are the days of the simple sign of disdain for a fighter when booing and yelling “YOU SUCK” during a live event. Now, social media has created an environment where fighters are bombarded with disrespectful texts and comments from MMA fans. It is crazy to think that people slide in the DMs of a fighter to attack them in a negative fashion and remind them of how brutal their devastating loss really was.

Julian Marquez Harassed By Bitter Fan After Loss at UFC Austin

The cruel, negative world that some fight fans live in was brought to light once again as we were all reminded of how far fans will go to insult these highly skilled athletes using social media to vent their frustrations. After Julian Marquez was handed a vicious loss by Gregory Rodrigues, Marquez put a fan on blast and showed the world the negative comments he had received. You can head over to his Twitter if you really want to see the negativity, but take it from us, it escalated too far.

There is a possibility that the new force of betting that is advertised for each event, which entices fans that they could win a quick buck if they pick correctly on the betting slip, has a part in adding to fan frustration. Fans might even feel that since they lost their hard-earned money on a fight, they are entitled to insult these larger-than-life athletes out of frustration. When adding money to any situation, there is always the possibility of negativity if dollars disappear from a bank account.

There is a lot of money to win these days if you can place the right bet, but sadly it is won on the blood and sweat of fighters who compete in a sport that notoriously has them underpaid. It has become a shame that an armchair coach can win more than the men and women who put their well-being on the line each night that they step inside a cage.

An Ultimate Fighter in the Era of Social Media

It could be guaranteed that if you took a poll of fighters, the result would be unanimous that they at least once in their career have read comments that were not so pleasant. Who knows if the negativity of social media will ever change?

One thing is for sure, some fight fans need to do better and pick the fighters up after a loss, whether money was on the line or not. Sometimes those types of fans also need to be reminded that silence is golden.

What are your thoughts on the situation – do you feel it is ok to slide into a fighter DMs to berate them after a loss? Hit us up in the comments with your opinion.

Featured Image Credits to Embed from Getty Images