This morning news broke that fighter Dada 5000 spent the night in hospital, in critical condition, after his fight to Kimbo Slice. The news shone a sobering eye on the debacle that took place at Bellator 149, and offered fans a solemn reminder that Mixed Martial Arts is not an easy sport.
After Dada 5000, (real name Dhaffir Harris) collapsed to the mat last night, it was easy to poke fun. The fight put on by he and opponent Slice was shockingly bad, with both men breathing hard while they were introduced, let alone after a few minutes of fist fighting and grappling.
While Harris lay on the mat, fighters, media and fans alike mocked it all, revelling in its absurdity. After all, this was very much the freak show we’d all signed up for. In the cage, no one laughed. Harris was unable to stand, causing staff to administer oxygen, before having him eventually stretchered to the back.
Eventually, Harris was taken to hospital where he lay in critical condition until this morning. His family released a statement explaining his condition.
“The doctors have now informed us,” the statement read. “That Dada had accumulate extremely high levels of potassium in his blood which led to severe dehydration, fatigue and renal failure. The high potassium levels were likely caused by his 40lbs weight loss in preparation for the fight.
“The Harris Family would like to inform Dada’s friends and fans that Dada is ok and resting comfortably in a Houston area Hospital under the care of an incredible staff of doctors and nurses.”
MMA isn’t easy. Sometimes, probably when we see elite level athletes stand toe to toe with each other for 25 minutes at a time, we can forget that. We can lose sight of the very extraordinary things these athletes go through not just to win a fight, but to even step foot into the cage.
Dada 5000 is not an elite level athlete. He is an obese man, whose major fighting experience consisted of scraps in backyards, with no history of weight cutting. The ordeal very nearly and very seriously took his life. Should that have had happened, during an event that was no doubt watched by millions, what would that have done to the sport of MMA?
In the world of Twitter and trending, how quickly would that gif have been shared, and how much quicker would it have taken people to slam the sport, to criticise it as a blood-sport?
In the our bubble of the MMA world, in the current Rousey-McGregor era, we can sometimes forget that this is a sport that has only very recently been acknowledged by the mainstream, and acknowledged very sparingly at that. If a fighter died on an event put on by the second largest MMA promotion in the world, what does that say?
Imagine how fast would the bid to have MMA legalised in New York state would be sunk?
There is a burden of responsibility that has to be addressed here. The Texas commission who gave Harris his license to fight, for example, need to be examined. Harris had a 2-0 record in MMA, with both of those wins coming on regional shows. Slice had a 7-0 record in boxing, and a 5-2 record in MMA, with two of those bouts coming in the UFC.
To say this fight was even on paper, which is what the licensing decision is based on, is disingenuous.
Of course, it’s with that commissions reputation, that the event was even held in Texas in the first place. And the people who made that decision, Bellator officials, are also at fault.
Bellator are in second place to the UFC. Since the hiring of President Scott Coker, their tactic to shorten that gap has been to put on bizarre fights with the biggest names they can acquire. Sporting prowess need not apply to match-making decisions.
Last night, we saw the risk that comes with these freak-show fights. With Harris carted off to hospital, it’s probably about time Bellator brass looked at a reimagining of their current policy.
Are they going to do said re-imagining? Probably not.
“People are questioning right now ‘hey, should we be doing this?’,” Coker said to MMAFightings Luke Thomas. “And my response is ‘look, we want to put on fun fights. In the Ken fight, [Slice] got taken down, he reversed it, come out with a big punch and it was over. Like I said if the same thing would have happened tonight, which is really what I thought was gonna happen, you wouldn’t be asking me that question right now.’”
Dada 5000, too, is responsible.
One of the best things about MMA is that each bout is unique. Every time two men step in the ring, they do so with weeks and months of preparation, of circumstances completely individual to them that affects the result of the fight. Each bout is a bubble in time, a representation of two mens life work up to that point.
Whatever preparation Dada did, was not enough. Nor is it likely that any amount would have sufficed. Going from 300lbs to fighting shape in the two months since the bout was announced, is not giving yourself ample opportunity.
And yet…
“Dada showed the heart of a lion in the cage,” his family’s statement said today. “Not backing down throughout. He worked extremely hard preparing for the fight and stepped forward for 3 rounds against a tough veteran. he kept digging through the adversity- leaving it all in the cage for his fans and supporters. you can never take that away from him.”
So with Bellator, Harris and the Texas commission are unlikely to make any changes, the burden instead falls upon the fans.
It’s said we vote with our dollars. We also vote with our views. Despite how entertaining or bizarre the next Bellator events main event may turn out to be as it pits some human version of the Loch Ness Monster against King Kong, we as fans have to ask ourselves if the ludicrous nature is worth tuning in for.
While Dada 5000 walks away with his life, it’s important to remember that tragedy rarely gives a second warning shot.
