Supporting Champions

Duncan French is the Vice President of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts is a sport that has had an accelerated rise into the public consciousness over the last couple of decades. It seems to have captured the imagination, created interest and intrigue about the unpredictability of the contest. And so has followed a professionalisation of the bouts, the events, and the support they receive. Duncan’s focus is to provide the very best support to the fighters, sometimes supporting two fighters that are about to fight each other. We get into an interesting discussion about the ethics of aiming to help someone do a better job of hurting someone else to the point of submission or unconsciousness, versus the unhealthy neglect that would result if fighters were left to their own devices. Combat has been with us since the dawn of time – way before we were human and it was one of the earliest activities we’d call sport – and let’s be realistic it’s probably not going away any time soon. Duncan i