Ed Herman says he withdrew from UFC Apex fight because of no live crowd: “I need to hear those fans screaming bloody murder”
Ed Herman says he withdrew from a recent UFC Apex fight because of no live crowd, saying “I need to hear those fans screaming bloody murder.”
Herman, a veteran of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season three, is the longest-tenured fighter on the UFC roster with no interruptions, having been fighting for the world’s top MMA promotion since 2006. Despite now being 40 years old, “Short Fuse” has been fighting at a high level as of late as he is currently riding a three-fight win streak over Mike Rodriguez, Khadis Ibragimov, and Pat Cummins. The UFC recently matched Herman up with Danilo Marques at last month’s UFC Vegas 30 event, but Herman withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Kennedy Nzechukwu, who defeated Marques in the third round via TKO.
Speaking to James Lynch, Herman explained why he withdrew from the fight against Marques, admitting that he told the UFC it was too weird to fight without a live crowd and that’s why he pulled out of it.
“Actually, I had been talking to the UFC about fighting on a show with a live audience. When I originally signed that fight (against Marques), I figured that COVID-19 would have passed and we would have had all live shows. I didn’t realize that they were planning on continuing the UFC Apex shows with no fans because it saves them money because they’re all set up and fulfilling their ESPN contract,” Herman said. “But anyways, I told them I wanted to fight on a live audience show. So basically I pulled out of that fight because I didn’t want to fight at the Apex because there were no fans. They said, ‘Look, we can’t guarantee when we can have you on another card.’ I said, ‘Whatever, I’m not fighting with no fans, it was too weird last time.’ I’m an entertainer, I’m a gladiator, I need to hear those fans screaming bloody murder, you know what I mean? I need that. That’s what got me all of this in the first place, that feeling you get fighting in front of a live audience. There’s nothing like it. So that was the main reason man, it wasn’t an injury, it had nothing to do with opponents, it’s just that I wanted to fight in front of the fans,” Herman said.
Fortunately for Herman, the UFC was able to get him a fight in quick order, and the veteran now takes on Alonzo Menifield at UFC 265 next month in Houston, Texas, in front of the live audience that he wants.
Do you think Ed Herman made the right call pulling out of the fight with Danilo Marques at the UFC Apex?
