UFC and WWE Unite to Pay Tribute to Muhammad Ali Ahead of Louisville Event

Combat sports is a rather vain line of work involving self-promoters, but no matter how good you are, the buck always stops at Muhammad Ali. And, we witnessed it again as UFC and WWE stars visited Louisville, Kentucky for their respective events.

The UFC will return to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend with UFC Fight Night. The event features a main event battle between Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov. Ahead of the card, the Cannonier and Dominick Reyes visited the historic Muhammad Ali Museum, along with two WWE superstars, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller.

 

The four of them even posed for a photo under the Muhammad Ali mural at the museum; it has since gone viral.

The Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky is a celebration of the life of one of the sport’s most iconic spirits. The museum not only celebrates Muhammad Ali’s achievements inside the boxing ring but also his contribution to bettering the lives of those around him.

Mind you, this was a time when Muhammad Ali couldn’t enter a building to dine with people who had thrown the whole gala in honor of him winning Olympic gold for his country. Jim Crow laws and segregation had corrupted society and Ali had fought the system to get to where he was.

Even that wasn’t enough. When his name was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, Ali refused to join the service to go kill poor innocent people in another part of the world. His refusal speech had aroused passion from both sides of the political spectrum to the point where he was stripped of his world title and imprisoned.

Needless to say, you don’t have too many sportspersons, today or in history to have had the courage to stand up for their convictions and sacrifice everything in the process.

Ali was a great man, inside and outside the ring; a life lesson, Dominick Reyes promises to remember.

Dominick Reyes takes life lessons from the Muhammad Ali Center

In a video uploaded to the UFC X account, Reyes revealed his biggest takeaway after getting to tour around the Ali Center,

“Biggest takeaway from today is, it’s not just who you are inside the ring but who you are outside the ring. Being a humanitarian, being a great human being, it all matters. And I’m honored and blessed to be here.”

Dominick Reyes learned that Ali’s impact on people was not limited to his performances inside the ring. What Ali did when he stood up to segregation and a war on innocent people echoes in eternity.