The Warrior Spirit is Anathema to Masks

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UFC hosted their first fight in a while last week. It was between Connor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. It got me thinking about risky occupations in general. Men have been risking their lives for years as coal minors, lumberjacks, and more just to put food on the table and not much else. While the top MMA fighters make a fortune, they're still risking their health each and every time they get in that ring.
MMA fighters are in a unique position, I think, to feel especially emasculated when a lesser man dawns a mask to enter a K-Mart. Therefore, I doubt a fighter wants to see his corner cowering behind masks just before he's about to risk his life against some gorilla that wants to kill him. There's something very incompatible about the warrior spirit and government-mandated masks. While fighters have no control over when the UFC will allow fights, I think they can make certain demands on their staff that trains them. Some might even have the stones to tell Dana White "I'm not wearing a mask and no one in my corner is either".
Tito Ortiz is mayor of Huntington Beach, CA and who's a consistent gadfly to the city counsil because he won't let up about social distancing and masks to the point where they may try to remove him from office (www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/tito-ortiz-mayor-pro-tem-huntington-beach/). If I had Tito's ear, I'd tell him to "keep it up. Let them remove you if it comes to that but don't give up your principles". Perhaps Tito ran for office just to be an annoyance. Bravo!

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