Journalist and writer Zuenir Ventura (Photo by Marcelo Dunlop/GRACIEMAG archives, 2003)
The UFC heavyweight title fight took place at almost 4 a.m., Brazil time, making it a strain for even the most diehard of fans. Still, a handful of the country’s journalists were tuned in to the fight between newly-crowned champ Cain Velasquez and the dethroned Junior dos Santos.
The shock of seeing dos Santos’ battered face after UFC 155 in Las Vegas motivated a fresh round of criticism from some of the South American nation’s most seasoned journalists, like Juca Kfouri, Ancelmo Góis and Zuenir Ventura, among others.
In his column for O Globo newspaper, Zuenir took to lambasting MMA mercilessly.
At one point in the post “A violência como diversão” (“Violence as entertainment,” loosely translated), the writer said, “They tell me to stop nitpicking; because these fights have always been around, it’s not something recent. Indeed, they date back to the days when the Christians were thrown into the arena for hungry lions to eat.”
Seeking to weigh the pros and cons of MMA in his article, Zuenir leaves his hardest hitting attack for the closing sentence.
“Something else is the alleged popularity of it as a spectacle, only taking the back seat to soccer, they say. But crack is popular too, and increasingly so.”
What do you say? Does Master Zuenir have reason on his side in getting so outraged by the state “Cigano” was in, or was he resorting to low blows? Share your thoughts with us.
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