10 Emotional UFC Moments That Made The Fans Cry
Check your machismo at the cage door...
While mixed martial arts fans still love to bathe in the sport's macho image, few forms of entertainment can match its emotional heft.
It inspires a different kind of investment. You aren't only watching two men or women fight when the bell rings, but a set of warriors baring every aspect of their soul. It's not just a grappling exhibition, but the true depths of human character, with spirit, willpower, and heart all pushed to breaking point and beyond. You're buying into a human being and their struggle. Thus, when they win, you feel every drop of their elation, but it goes the other way as well.
Machismo will always be prevalent in a sport where leather is thrown and limbs are twisted, but even the most hardened UFC viewers have felt an emotional twang or two. Though few will admit it, it can be hard to keep it all bottled up when a favourite fighter eats a knockout punch, announces their retirement, or suffers a devastating injury in this cruel, unforgiving environment.
Perhaps you've never bawled like a baby while watching UFC, but admit it: these moments at least had you stifling a sniffle...
10. Hendo's (Almost) Retirement
Dan Henderson is as beloved as he is decorated. A celebrated Greco-Roman wrestler, former Pride and Strikeforce champion, and UFC Middleweight Tournament winner, he remains a beloved folk hero to many, and fought well into his 40s.
Hendo formally retired following a unanimous decision loss to former foe and UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping in October 2016. It looked like he was on his way out prior to that, though. Dan's UFC 199 clash with Hector Lombard was officially billed as his last, and it was a real war, with both fighters knocking each other down in the first round, before Henderson finished the former Bellator standout in the second.
It was hard not to feel something as Henderson stood before his hometown crowd, surrounded by love, and delivered a heavy "goodbye." To top it off, this was the first time his whole family had ever attended one of his fights. They joined him for post-speech photographs, and as the feed cut away, fans assumed they'd seen the last of the H-Bomb merchant.
This wasn't the case, as UFC rewarded Henderson with the aforementioned Middleweight Title shot, but UFC 199 still resonates.