So you’re looking for something to do tonight and you’re just not quite sure what’s out there. All the movies playing aren’t your thing, the bar is played out and if you spend one more night really cementing that ass groove on the corner of the couch, you may as well just give up and finish the transition to actual hermit.
Here’s an idea, go check out your local fight card. Odds are good there is one near you and soon. You may be asking yourself why in the world you would want to go to a ballroom somewhere to watch people you don’t know slug it out in their underwear. Let me give you a few solid reasons.
1) Fun Fights
If you have even a passing interest in combat sports, which I assume you do as you’re reading this, you’ve seen boring fights. Fights between pros that are so evenly matched they stymie each other’s offense with their excellent defense and seemingly nothing happens. That is rarely the case on your local fight card. Slug fests are common, and sick submissions are likely. If you’re a fan of fights not going the distance it’s hard to beat a local fight card.
2) Great Value
A typical PPV fight is going to cost you 60 bucks and you have to be worried that the cable company or the streaming service might drop the event. At best you’ll get ten fights. At a local show you’ll see double that. In fact, most of the time you can show up after work, grab a seat, and watch 4-5 hours of fights for about 35 dollars. What else are you going to do for five hours on a Friday for 35 dollars?
3) Live Is Better
Sure, watching a fight on TV is fun. It’s exciting, you can get into it. It’s a whole different thing up close and personal. You can hear the kicks land, and immediately see damage as it happens, in a way not so evident when viewed remotely. There is a feeling in the crowd that’s palpable when a hard strike lands or a combo culminates in a KO. Live fights are electric to watch.
4) Next Big Thing Potential
Everyone wants to be able to say, “I saw that guy when he was coming up”. Well, the local scene is where the super stars come from, and they come from all over. Right now there are more and better amateur and new professional fighters than maybe at any time in the past. Big fight promotions have to pull from somewhere and their development leagues are the local fight card. Who knows, you could see the next super star born in front of you.
5) Atmosphere
Local fights are packed with people with real skin in the game. Teammates and family members comprise the bulk of the audience. The level of buy-in in the crowd is incredible. That makes for a really exciting atmosphere; at every fight there is a large contingent of people hanging on every bead of sweat. That collective anticipation makes the fights that much more real from the crowd.
There you go. If you’ve never seen a fight live or need something fun to do on a down night, it’s hard to beat a good fight.