This is the gym training session (video above) sending shock-waves through the MMA Community. Here’s the quick rundown of the story from what we know:
Some random guy decides that he is more than a keyboard warrior, and calls out Josh Neer for a sparring session. The guy actually shows up at Neer’s gym, 40 minutes after training starts, and wants to spar with Josh Neer. Neer sets out to teach the guy a lesson about respect and, in my opinion, throws ONE unnecessary kick. In the old days of MMA this is normal, I hear stories of Miletich’s and Jackson’s where new guys come in and get KO’d essentially as initiation, then pulled off the mat as practice continues.
@GoodNewsEric @MattRoth512 @joshneer This used to be called “dojo busting” and was the norm 20 years ago.
— Pat Miletich (@patmiletich) February 24, 2015
Should Josh Neer have shot this video and shared it? Well that’s a good question, but yes. If you have friends that are fighters/Martial Artists, especially with big names, everywhere they go people are trying to prove something by starting a fight with them. For the most part, including Neer, they walk away and nothing comes of it. So why do I think this is justified? Maybe it will keep one guy from walking up to him in a bar and talking crap to him, making his outing a more pleasant experience. Below are a couple more tweets that we feel are relevant.
@GoodNewsEric @cassierodish NEER should have showed some professionalism and stopped when dude clearly had enough he stooped to his level
— doobs (@Doobs911) February 24, 2015
@MattRoth512 @joshneer Here is how and why this happened. Josh is justified in my mind. Guy came to his gym with bad intentions. — Pat Miletich (@patmiletich) February 24, 2015
Neer felt the need to publicly tell us what had happened.
The real question is are you going to feel bad for a guy that acts like this, after taking that beating from the likes of Josh Neer?