Why would I? I’m not emotionally invested in any way. Their politics, life decisions, beliefs, and general demeanor are irrelevant to me. I simply care if they’ve mastered their chosen skill set.
I don’t care if Topuria had dinner to celebrate his victory the night before. Do whatever you gotta do in order to prepare for hand to hand combat, dude. I’ve got no skin in the game, so who the hell am I to judge how an elite level fighter prepares himself mentally?
Have you ever competed in a combat sport while people are watching? It isn’t a knock, it’s a legitimate question. Because there’s a metric shit ton of anxiety that must be wrangled in order to do it. And I respect anyone who can mitigate it.
As I said, I simply don’t care who wins. I only care that they exhibit beautiful martial arts. And now that I write this, I think we may be coming at it from different perspectives. I’ve been training martial arts (as injury allowed) on and off my entire life. I see it as art. Sean O’Malley makes art in there. His traps, feints, and counters are artwork.