Sunday Column: Reality Hits Hard At Cage Warriors 93, But Nicolas Dalby Ended The Night A Winner

Last evening, the Lisebergshallen Arena In Gothenburg, Sweden played host to Cage Warriors 93 and an entertaining night of fights that showcased MMA in its purest form.

The fairy tale endings were there to be written. The triumphant return of Nicolas Dalby, the revenge for heavyweight contender Junior Karanta, the win on home soil for IMMAF champion Cornelia Holm in her own backyard.

The stage was set for all of these narratives to play out, but as is often the case in MMA, reality hit hard all fronts.

What you can say about Nicolas Dalby? Last evening, he did everything but get his hand raised.

The Dane came into the fight in what many around him were saying was the best shape he’d been in mentally and physically for years. Truth be told, the fight came down to who won the first round and there was an argument to made for either man.

The second round clearly belonged to the plucky Italian who landed a beautifully disguised head kick knockdown, but Dalby rallied well in the third and clearly dominated the final five minutes to take it to the cards.

Ultimately, it was unsurprising to hear it was a split decision, but from the vantage point I had, the Italian just did enough.

No doubt, the loss doesn’t do wonders for Dalby, but you can’t keep a good man down and later in the evening he arguably won something more important which was the gift of marriage after he proposed to his pregnant girlfriend.

Often at MMA events you can lost in the detail on the night of who won and who lost and forget the bigger picture and assume that the lives of these fighters are defined by whether they get their hands raised or not.

Sure, the vast majority of fighters in the game are in it to be the best in the world and to be a world champion, but success in any walk of life is hollow if you’re aren’t happy with life outside of your work.

Self-actualization and happiness can only really be achieved with some key life building blocks in place: physiological, safety, self-esteem, and of course, love.

Maybe Dalby won’t ever get back into the UFC, maybe he won’t ever win a fight again. I very much doubt the latter, but last night in his own way he for sure came out a winner and doubt he would’ve ever have traded what he had at the end of the evening for a win.

As he said himself: “f*** the fight. The mother of our child said yes.”

Congratulations to the future Dalby family.

Have a great week.