When Rich Fighters Fight: Ilia Topuria

"He went down the steps slowly and painfully. He was a very tired man, and he had not eaten meat for days. He would go home to the missus and the kids, and there wouldn’t be any steak—nothing but bread and tea. And he needed the meat. He had lost the fight, and with it had gone all chance of getting a piece of steak."

A Piece of Steak by Jack London

A Piece of Steak by Jack London is at the top of the CSFC’s recommended list of great works of Combat Sports Literature. I did not grow up nearly as hard as Tom King; but I will never forget reading that story my first year of high school. For some reason this story amongst so many others broke through. It helped me understand what it might feel like to be truly hungry and to walk under the blanketing weight that you let your family down.   

Tom is like so many modern combat sports athletes who grew up exposed to violence, from underprivileged areas who live out of their cars, on cots in gyms and for whom combat sports - particularly boxing - was their only way to escape crushing poverty. Have a quick look at the Chechen fighter Khamzat Chimaev’s ascetic living conditions in Sweden. Every day - today - right now - aspiring combat fighters live like Tom King.

Which makes the story of Ilia Tiporia all that more unique. He stands out amongst a very small list of wealthy fighters. Combat sports—boxing, MMA, kickboxing, wrestling—have long been considered a "poor man's sport," attracting athletes from working-class or underprivileged backgrounds. The sport’s physical and financial demands, coupled with the risk of injury, make it a challenging and often unlikely pursuit for those who are economically secure. However, in recent years, a few notable exceptions have emerged, prompting questions about the historical class dynamics of combat sports. A subject we intend to discuss further on The Pankration.