Illusions

I’ve been watching UFC fights of late. YouTube is very helpful with the algorithm throwing them into my “Watch Next” list. I watched this (Bellator, not UFC) one on Saturday.

I mainly watch these because I enjoy seeing hot men beat the shit out of each other. This particular fight was interesting on a different level.

The two fighters are both Russian. One is Russian-Russian; the other from the conquered province of Dagestan. For those who don’t know, Russia is not what we USAians would consider a “country”. That’s a Westphalian illusion we prefer to believe. Russia is actually an “empire”. The provinces are held by force, not philosophical allegiance to a common central government. Normally, this is a minor geopolitical facttible that very few people care about.

Watching these two fight is rather boring. They’re both good and they each know the other is good, which results in a cautious fight. Watching them, I realized that these are the people I had thought made up the Russian army. That illusion was shattered with the invasion of Ukraine. These two fighters are not the typical Russian soldier – although I have no doubt that there are a few.

With the Russian military strained from the fighting in Ukraine, the provinces are getting restive. The Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict flaring back to life may be the only one most people have heard of, but it is far more widespread. Listen to the coaches. Only one corner is speaking Russian. If the illusion of “the” Russian nation cracks, things will get very messy.

The blood in this fight is just the beginning. All around the world, the center is failing to hold. There is a lot of illusion holding up the current world order and people are beginning to see through it. How secure is your company’s freight when a few nomads with missiles can standoff the mighty US Navy?