Imagining the UFC Champions as Rap Albums, Part 2

If MMA was music, it would have to be rap. Not only is individualism at the forefront of the sport and the genre, but both encompass a unique aesthetic that blends gritty toughness with technical artistry; the word “art” is one-third of MMA, and if we are being honest, rap at its best is everything poetry wishes to be. It is only right then to anoint the greatest MMA fighters in each division by comparing them to the rap albums that best encapsulate their fighting styles, personalities and careers. Read More » Imagining the UFC Champions as Rap Albums, Part 1 In part two of this special feature, we bring you the five remaining Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholders, from lightweight to heavyweight. This, of course, excludes Jon Jones. He was the interim light heavyweight champ but has quietly been taken out of the official UFC rankings. For those curious souls, his album analogue was 2-Pac’s “All Eyez on Me.” I’ll let you use your imagination as to why.  Let us turn our focus to the five champions who have not been stripped: Eddie Alvarez: “The Truth” | Beanie Sigel (1999)   It might seem like I’m picking at low-hanging fruit to choose a rapper from Philadelphia to represent a fighter from Philadelphia, but that’s only partially true. If anything, the City of Brotherly Love’s personality has likely left lasting impressions on both men, which has manifested similarly into their respective crafts.    The newly minted UFC lightweight champion exemplifies toughness and grit. Although Alvarez is maturing into a smarter, less reckless fighter, he’s still known for and capable of putting his head down and engaging in power-punching pocket exchanges. His hard-hitting and aggressive style has made him a fan-favorite with an enviable highlight reel, but his game is more layered than that. Alvarez has depth to his striking, even if he doesn’t have much in the way of breadth; he sticks to clever yet fairly traditional punch-kick combinations but does so with enough power and style that it is equal parts exciting and effective in the cage. Although there had been a great deal of potential surrounding Alvarez for nearly a decade before he became the UFC champion, the lightweight belt in the biggest promotion finally fulfilled that promise. Beanie Sigel has similar aspects to his game in the booth. On his debut album, Sigel went from a promising member of Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella posse to a legitimate star of his own. More than anything, “The Truth” showcased the hunger of an MC who had yet to break through. His style is not over-the-top lyrical inasmuch as complex rhyming goes — he tends to stick to one- and two-syllable rhymes and straightforward metaphors — but his hard-hitting style and clever turns of phrase make him an unexpectedly intriguing lyricist. Like Alvarez, the substance of his technique is accentuated by the ferocity of his delivery, and even though he may not be as diversely talented as other MCs, he is no less effective for it. Tyron Woodley: “Get Rich or Die Tryin” | 50 Cent (2003) Before 50 Cent became a household name, he was already a well-known presence on the east coast. Yet when “Get Rich or Die Tryin” dropped and blew up, he seemed like an overnight celebrity even though he had been grinding on the scene throughout the late 1990s. The album became an instant sensation, blowing up the streets and the radio with banger after banger. It doesn’t break any new ground in terms of its sound or style, but it does what it does as good as any other gangsta record before or since. Though it is incredibly consistent, there’s something conservative and even formulaic to its approach. It more or less checks off every box that a good rap album should have, from the street-anthems and posse features to the for-the-ladies jams and diss tracks. Woodley occupies a similar space and not just because of his recent pivot to pursuing money fights. Although he was toiling in lesser-known promotions for several years, it wasn’t until his breakout performance against Robbie Lawler that Woodley became known to wider audiences. More …

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