The FF-Files: Huge If True

For much of the revived FF-Files series, we have treated readers to pure fabrication, fraud and fallacies from many submitters across the world. As we explained in our reintroduction, for every lousy email we receive or request that goes nowhere, we get many more that are accurate and truthful. While simple spreadsheets listing what took place at a recent Eagle Fighting Championship event are not particularly enthralling, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. On this issue of the FF-Files, presented below are instances of abnormal, yet true, situations you may not believe even after you see them.

It is longstanding Sherdog policy that single matches of events should not be added when the tournament or fight card had multiple bouts throughout the course of the night. The reason behind it is simple and logical: by adding one victor’s match and not all the others that competed, it is unfair to those other winners that do not have savvy teams that can help them send information to Fight Finder. While many managers try to pretend that their fighter was the only one on the card to sneak by our team, the Fight Finder crew can separate the fact from fiction. Every so often, an event truly had one pro match, like this unusual spectacle in Russia.

This 2018 tournament in Russia brought a very interesting dynamic, and there are a few lingering questions as to the specific logistics involved. Four teams competed to win this tournament, and each team consisted of several members that tackled certain challenges. Presented as more of an endurance trial than a martial arts competition, those involved would have to run through obstacles, arm-wrestle, hit their marks at a shooting range and even engage in a tug-of-war. From the information we have received, to conclude the event, the two finalist teams would send one representative to fight professionally inside of a ring – this is where Fight Finder came in. There were other traditional martial arts matches that night, but only one under mixed martial arts rules for all the marbles and a new car. No, really. The tournament winner won a car.


What is a random light heavyweight fight from the first tournament season of the Professional Fighters League doing here, you might find yourself asking? This season kicked off the league’s debut in its new format, where it shed its skin of a standard MMA organization into one solely based on yearly tourneys. Spoiler alert: Sean O'Connell did end up winning the season and the $1 million prize, but that is not the reason this comes up here. The story of O’Connell at this event, opening the main card in his first bout since his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is remarkable.

“The Real OC” was known not just for his heavy hands through out his career, but his clever weigh-in antics to break up the tension at the staredowns. One may remember him booping Matt Van Buren, blowing bubbles across from Steve Bosse, sharing an arm-linked drink with Ryan Jimmo or handing flowers to Ilir Latifi as if he were in Pride Fighting Championships. He even gave Ronny Markes a slice of pizza ahead of this aforementioned bout. What made this appearance at PFL 2: 2018 Regular Season even more incredible was not the pizza gag at the weigh-ins, or his second-round comeback knockout, where in the process he earned enough points to qualify for the playoffs. On fight night, O’Connell geared up, but not in the way you would expect.

O’Connell showed up to the Chicago Theater wearing a suit, however different from the fashionable sense that some stylish fighters walk the red carpet. It was instead that he was working that night, receiving a second paycheck by serving as the PFL’s play-by-play commentator. That’s right. The Utahan actively called fights – four, to be exact – before going backstage to prep and compete some five matches later. This means that O’Connell, while cutting weight to 205 pounds and during his final preparations on fight week, also had to take the time to properly study eight other competitors to accurately call the action. It may have worked to his benefit, as the first tilt on the card came between Dan Spohn and Bozigit Ataev, and he faced both men later on that year. O’Connell remains the PBP guy for the promotion today, having retired from competition after taking home a cool $1 million for his triumphant PFL run.

Unlike Eddie Bravo’s unorthodox advice to Tony Ferguson against Justin Gaethje to “gimme sand” inside the Octagon, shouting that here might actually have some merit. This sight is one you might expect from a “Street Fighter” video game or perhaps in a league like Street Beefs or Strelka Street Fighting. On the outskirts of a city, these gladiators competed on a beach called Beaver Beach for a few dozen fans to enjoy in mid-2020. The fact that a submitter genuinely believed that this trio of matches would pass for legitimate MMA offerings is unfortunate, even when they modified rules to shorten rounds and limit ground engagement. With no visible medical staff on the premises, or anything in the way of sanctioned oversight, this fight card was sorely lacking. Oh, and they were fighting on sand.

In our earlier “Smoke Em’ If You Got Em’” article, we discussed some of the essential pieces that legitimize MMA events. The ring or cage enclosure is practically a must in this day and age of MMA, and that includes a reasonable fighting surface. No pavement, no concrete, no hardwood, and certainly not on the banks of a river. Please don’t send in fights in a swimming pool, on a racquetball court, surrounded by cars with their high beams on, or under bridges, either. This isn’t “Lionheart.”

As long as your request is grounded in reality and not out of a straight-to-DVD movie, please send all Fight Finder-related inquiries to fightfinder@sherdog.com.